The Pulse: March 6, 2024

The United Conservative Party government describes its recently-launched homeless reception centre as a success, but some advocates for people without housing strongly disagree.

The province launched a navigation and support centre out of a Hope Mission building in January. Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community, and social services, said the centre was in the works for months and was created to connect homeless people to housing, identification cards, and health and addiction services. "Alberta's government has worked closely with Edmonton police and fire rescue, Indigenous partners, Alberta Health Services, and local shelter providers to come up with a strategy to take people from encampments and connect them to supports and services that will help them get back on their feet," Nixon wrote in a Postmedia op-ed.

But Jim Gurnett, spokesperson for the Edmonton Coalition on Housing & Homelessness, said the centre has led to "abject misery" for many. Before the centre, a person sleeping rough would only have their shelter removed every two or three months, Gurnett said. Now, removals can happen daily. Gurnett added that because of these frequent removals, any belongings a person can't carry with them are now at risk of being thrown out and lost. "A lot of the people that I'm connecting with now, they've got nothing left except maybe a blanket or a single tarp," he said.

Gurnett also said the province's response is, counterintuitively, increasing people's physical danger and attacking their mental health, too. When a person's tent is repeatedly removed, "you cannot keep your spirits up, you cannot keep a positive sense about your life," he said.

Even though some homeless people choose to sleep outdoors instead of using the shelter system, Nixon said encampments are not the answer. "Encampments are unsafe and only lead to vulnerable Albertans being victimized and exploited," he said. "Alberta's government cares deeply about vulnerable Edmontonians and we will always ensure that anyone who wants shelter and supportive services will receive it."

Heather Barlow, Nixon's press secretary, told Taproot the centre has seen more than 415 people and made more than 1,500 referrals. More than 200 people have been connected with health services, and 70 with mental health and addiction support, including 22 people who have started opioid agonist therapy. Barlow added that more than 150 people have been referred to housing programs and more than 220 people have been connected to emergency shelter spaces, including about 70 people who were linked to transitional housing or bridge housing.

But Gurnett said these referral numbers tell only part of the story. "Just being taken to the reception centre says nothing about whether anything has improved in your life," he said. "From that experience, what you might have done is leave there an hour later with a few pamphlets in your pocket, and still had to find somewhere to sleep that night."

Gurnett added that the province's centre provides services that were already offered by providers like Boyle Street Community Services, Mustard Seed, and Bissell Centre. "The people that work (at the provincial reception centre) are good-hearted people who do want to help, but it was a redundant thing developed with no consultation or research about what was really needed," he said. "So it's costing a lot of money, and it doesn't really add to the available services in the community."

• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi expressed optimism about making progress on housing and homelessness in Edmonton following a landmark meeting with municipal, Indigenous, provincial, and federal representatives on March 5. "This is the first time that I know that four orders of government have come together at the same table to talk about how we can better coordinate existing funding, where the gaps are, and what more we need to do together to tackle this crisis," Sohi said. Representatives discussed options to address the crisis, including improving government coordination, accessing national housing strategy funds, and speeding up the creation of affordable housing. The meeting was called after Edmonton city council declared a housing and homelessness emergency in January.
• Coun. Tim Cartmell, who chairs council's utility committee, says EPCOR's communication efforts were not sufficient during the ban on non-essential water use in Edmonton and surrounding areas. EPCOR representatives attended the committee's March 4 meeting to provide an overview of an equipment failure at the E.L. Smith water treatment plant that prompted the ban. The committee also heard from some of the 250 business owners EPCOR directly contacted to cease operations or reduce water use. "EPCOR's communication efforts must improve dramatically," Cartmell said in his statement posted online. "While their approach was fair and equitable, this was not clearly communicated and understood by the affected customers."
• Changes to Edmonton's zoning bylaw are concerning some residents who worry about the new developments that are now permitted in residential areas. Julie MacLennan says she has concerns about the lot next to her McKernan home being rezoned to allow the construction of a four-storey apartment. While councillors unanimously approved the rezoning during a Feb. 20 hearing, both MacLennan and the McKernan Community League argued the development doesn't fit with the neighbourhood's character. Coun. Michael Janz said the city needs to find ways to increase density amid a climate crisis and housing emergency. "We never want to be in a situation where 40 residents are held back from having a home because of one," Janz said.
• The Jan. 23 attack at Edmonton city hall was politically motivated, RCMP said during a March 5 news conference. "Our investigation shows that his actions, including the use of violence, led us to believe that this was a politically motivated crime and ultimately led to the supporting terrorism offences here," Supt. Glenn Sells told reporters. Bezhani Sarvar, 28, has been charged with counselling commission of a terrorism offence and possession of property for terrorist purposes. He is due back in court on March 15 as his case transitions from provincial to federal jurisdiction.
• Edmonton's housing market improved in February as detached home sales increased by 60% compared to the previous year, according to the latest monthly report from the Realtors Association of Edmonton. The average price of an Edmonton home is now $407,458, which is a 10.4%-increase over the same time last year, while detached homes hit an average of $508,411, a 5.2%-increase from January 2024 and a 10.7%-increase from February 2023.
• Construction on the Valley Line West LRT project is continuing in 2024, with significant work on 107 Street and 102 Avenue planned, and the development of new LRT stops connecting Lewis Farms to downtown. The project hit several key milestones in 2023, including the demolition and reconstruction of the Stony Plain Road Bridge, progress on an LRT bridge over Anthony Henday Drive, and progress on the elevated guideway between West Edmonton Mall and the Misericordia Hospital. Marigold Infrastructure Partners is building the 14-kilometre line, which is expected to be complete by 2028.
• Edmonton Oilers players Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins became off-ice heroes after they helped three teens push their car out of a snowbank in Edmonton's west end on the weekend. "Next day I was like, 'No way that just happened,'" said Karson Scholtes, who was driving the car. "I don't think anyone would have believed me if there was no picture proof."
• Edmonton-based Flair Airlines is seeking to acquire several Boeing 737 Max 8 planes from the now-defunct Lynx Air. Flair CEO Stephen Jones said in court filings that the company should be allowed to bid on Lynx's assets alongside other major airlines in a court-supervised sale. Jones said acquiring planes would support the company's growth plans, though some observers noted Flair's financial challenges, including $67.2 million owed in unpaid taxes, could hold it back.
• The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Sam Gagner on waivers for assignment to the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors. Gagner, who has been with the Oilers for three stints since being drafted in 2007, has scored five goals and made five assists in 27 games this season. His career with the Oilers includes 116 goals and 211 assists over 569 games.

On this day in 1943, Edmonton's own naval reserve was searching for a ship to call its own.

The sailors at the HMCS Nonsuch weren't on the lookout for a full-sized frigate or anything of the like. After all, with about 800 kilometres and the Rocky Mountains dividing Edmonton from the Pacific Ocean, it's a pain to dock a ship. Instead, the sailors were asking for a donation of a model ship for their newly renovated barracks.

HMCS Nonsuch got its start in 1923. It was created as part of a series of divisions established across the country by the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, aimed at growing Canada's tiny navy. Edmonton's reserve started as a smaller half-company, stationed out of the Prince of Wales armoury. The division's name comes from a boat sailed by what became the Hudson's Bay Company in the late 1660s. The name means "With no equal."

Volunteers at HMCS Nonsuch would drill at the facility, while nearby Wabamun Lake would sometimes fill in for the ocean for training on the water.

In 1939, with war again on the horizon, HMCS Nonsuch moved to a more permanent home on 102 Street and 97 Avenue. During the Second World War, HMCS Nonsuch went into active service and became a training centre. Throughout the war, some 3,500 naval recruits were trained at the facility before heading off to ships in Vancouver or Halifax.

Despite many of them never having seen the ocean before, Prairie recruits gained a reputation for being solid sailors. This was partially because they usually had no experience at sea, and therefore were blank slates for training.

After the war, HMCS Nonsuch transitioned to peacetime service. The division's story almost ended in 1964, when it fell victim to funding cuts and was decommissioned. It would be another decade before Nonsuch was revived to once again provide training to recruits. This was also the time that the reserve moved to its current home off of Kingsway Avenue.

That home, by the way, is considered a "stone frigate." While it might look like a big rectangular building beside a large parking lot, it is treated like a ship by the people who work there. As such, they refer to its starboard and port sides, prepare meals in its galley, and even have a ship's bell installed inside. Last year marked the naval reserve's centennial. The anniversary was marked by a small celebration where the HMCS Nonsuch was awarded Freedom of the City in Edmonton.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse of @VintageEdmonton.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Community Coffee: Allyship Amplified In Partnership with CITI starting at 9am at Edmonton Unlimited
• ASTech Awards Information Session starting at 1:30pm online
• Northern Alberta Shopping Centre Association Annual General Meeting starting at 2:30pm at The Bell in Scona
• How to Run a Cost-Effective Business: Operation Optimization Secrets starting at 3pm at the ATB Entrepreneur Centre
• Table Talks by NAIOP Edmonton Developing Leaders starting at 5pm at The Annex — Aspen Properties

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 21: The St. Albert Public Library presents Housing Stories & Solutions online
• March 24: Fit for Tech at Black Tusk Athletics
• March 28: Guest Lecture — Looking Beyond the Temples: The People of Angkor at the Royal Alberta Museum

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.