The Pulse: March 18, 2024

This week's agenda includes a discussion of downtown construction incentives, a program to address non-compliant surface parking lots, and upcoming changes to the transit network.

There is a community and public services committee meeting scheduled for March 18, an urban planning committee meeting scheduled for March 19, and an executive committee meeting scheduled for March 20. There is an audit committee meeting scheduled for March 22.

Here are key items on the agenda:

• City staff said economic conditions do not support creating an incentive program for downtown residential construction, including office-to-residential conversions. The city calculated a grant program that would mimic a property tax freeze, equating to approximately $40 per square foot — less than the $75 to $100 per square foot requested by developers. A program budget of $33.6 million could fund about 1,000 units, the city said, but added it's difficult to prove such incentives spur development. Councillors asked administration to analyze whether it could take funds from the Downtown Community Revitalization Levy for an incentive program. The city said that's a risky option, and would mean projects already promised funding through the levy would be delayed. Executive committee is scheduled to discuss the reports at a meeting on March 20.
• Administration has designed a program that would permit owners of non-compliant surface parking lots downtown to keep the lots in exchange for investing in upgrades. A 2023 report found the majority of surface parking lots downtown operate without a permit. In a report due for an urban planning committee meeting on March 19, the city said the 2010 Capital City Downtown Plan made it difficult to create new parking lots but did not address existing lots. The plan also denied existing owners the means to obtain a permit, the city said. The proposed program would add a new use to the zoning bylaw to allow non-compliant surface parking lots downtown and mandate landscaping, lighting, and other design features. The city would then educate owners about the program, and potentially shut down lots if they do not comply with the program after two years.
• The city said it will add a new bus route, boost bus service in newer neighbourhoods, and improve routes for young people in 2024. The bus network service plan update, which is scheduled to be presented at an urban planning committee meeting on March 19, details specific routes targeted for investment. Administration has also identified six routes that may see service reduction due to low ridership, pending further analysis. An update on changes to transit infrastructure is also set to be presented at the meeting. These changes include dedicated bus lanes, and changes to traffic lights and signs, to give preference to transit. The city said it has identified seven areas that would benefit from this, including stretches of Jasper Avenue, Whyte Avenue, 118 Avenue, and Hewes Way.

• Civic Service Union 52, which represents about 5,000 City of Edmonton workers and 680 Edmonton Public Library staff, shared details on a tentative contract agreement that includes a 6.25% salary increase over three years and a $1,000 lump sum payment. The union and the city came to the agreement on March 14, averting a strike that had been set to begin the same day. The deal, which still needs to be ratified by union members, came after 18 months of negotiations. Wages were a major point of contention, as workers hadn't had a raise since 2018 and worked without a contract since 2020.
• The Court of King's Bench has ordered the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights to pay $11,500 of the City of Edmonton's legal fees after its unsuccessful court challenge of the city's policy on homeless encampment removals. The lawsuit was dismissed in January after the court found the coalition did not have public interest standing in the case. The city had argued the coalition should pay $25,000 of its more than $42,000 in legal fees, but in his decision, Justice Jonathan Martin awarded only partials costs because he found the case brought matters of public interest to the court.
• One year after the on-duty deaths of Edmonton Police Service constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan, Chief Dale McFee highlighted the need for better collaboration between law enforcement, social services, the health system, and the education system to prevent future tragedies. McFee said information sharing between agencies could help identify potential threats earlier. The officers were killed on March 16 last year while responding to a family dispute. A private ceremony to honour the officers was held on the one-year anniversary of their deaths and the High Level Bridge was lit blue.
• The Alberta government is reviewing its recall legislation as municipal leaders raise concerns it is being used for personal vendettas and political disagreements. The law, which allows voters to initiate recall petitions against politicians, came into effect in April 2022. Since then, a government spokespersons said they are aware of 11 attempts to recall civic leaders, including one successful campaign in Ryley, a village southeast of Edmonton. Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said the government will discuss ways to improve the legislation, which he said does have "some shortfalls."
• For more than a year, Global News followed the lives of four people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton, chronicling their struggles with extreme weather and their time spent in shelters, encampments, and supportive housing. Their stories will be broadcast in a 30-minute special on March 18 called Global News Investigates: Surviving Edmonton.
• WestCan Proton Therapy Inc. announced it will build the Ben Stelter Centre for Proton Therapy and Neuroscience in honour of Ben Stelter, a six-year-old Edmonton Oilers superfan who died of cancer. The $120-million investment will create more than 250 construction jobs and up to 100 permanent positions, and will be Canada's first proton therapy treatment centre, marking a significant advancement in cancer care. The centre is being developed in partnership with the Ben Stelter Foundation and Edmonton Global.
• In Sync Dog Training offers a unique program at its facility in west Edmonton that allows dogs to hone their natural instincts. During the "barn hunt," dogs track gerbils hidden in protective canisters among hay bales, harnessing their prey drives and improving their behaviour and confidence. Trainer Rebecca Long says that while the gerbils are always safely protected, the dogs "love to hunt and use their energy to find their prey."
• Alberta has achieved an average fee of $15 per day for licensed child care as of Jan. 1, the federal government announced. The reduced fees allow families in Alberta to save up to $13,700 annually per child, bringing the province closer to the goal of $10-a-day child care by 2026.
• The Alberta NDP confirmed the final list of candidates in the party's leadership race. Among the six candidates are Edmonton MLAs Sarah Hoffman, Rakhi Pancholi, and Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, and Calgary MLA Kathleen Ganley. Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi are also in the race to replace current leader Rachel Notley. The party will hold three leadership debates before the vote takes place on June 22.

Communications strategies coming from both the city and Civic Service Union 52 (CSU 52) during their tense labour negotiations have been subpar, said Troy Pavlek, co-host of Episode 255 of Speaking Municipally.

On March 14, the city and union reached a tentative deal, thereby preventing more than 5,000 city workers from striking.

"I think the main thing that really caused this to happen was the gross incompetence of basically everyone involved," said Pavlek. He said statements from CSU 52 president Lanny Chudyk made it seem that council was supposed to take funding from Blatchford, electric buses, and LRT projects to pay for union raises.

"It is galling to me the level of amateurism with which CSU 52 comms, headed by Lanny Chudyk, managed to represent themselves," Pavlek said. "If I was a union member I'd be thinking strongly about a stark change in union leadership."

On the other side, city council released a joint statement that described the city's offer as "fair and equitable." Pavlek said parts of the statement were potentially misleading the public, including describing the city's offer as a 7.25% wage increase over five years. "It's a bit misleading insofar as it doesn't include the two years of zeros that the union has took," Pavlek said.

Co-host Mack Male said the statement also doesn't mention that some employees would be working longer hours as a part of the new agreement. "When you take into account that they are working more hours than they would have been before, the raise is even smaller than that percentage."

The statement said the union's proposal, if applied to all city employees, would cost the city $47.5 million and result in an additional tax increase of 2.5% for 2024. But Pavlek pointed out the proposal would only be applied to CSU 52 members. "The thing that's not being said here is 'If we gave CSU 52 what they were asking for, it would cost us about $11 million,' and that equates to about a 0.6% tax increase."

The co-hosts added they thought it strange that Coun. Tim Cartmell signed the joint statement after releasing his own statement. Cartmell previously said all sides needed to work together to get a contract in place and called for council to "take a leadership role" in negotiations.

"(Cartmell) signed the (joint) letter basically saying the direct opposite — that the negotiating team was great, that the offer put forward by administration is fair and equitable for both the union and the broader citizens of Edmonton and that it was a great deal, and they stand behind the negotiating team and are ready to bargain," Pavlek said. "That was a stark switch."

Hear more on the averted strike, plus discussion of council's automatic raise and the Katz Group's surface parking lots on the March 15 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Moonbeam Meetup — A Beginners Astronomy Event starting at 6:30pm at the TELUS World of Science Edmonton
• Performance Lab Indigenizing Performance Spaces starting at 6:30pm at The Playhouse
• Selling your work with Samantha Williams-Chapelsky starting at 7pm at the Night of Artists Gallery
• Until March 20: Rural Municipalities of Alberta Spring Convention at the Edmonton Convention Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 27: Demo Day for Alberta Accelerator by 500 at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• April 5: Pitch Up! Scale-up Category online
• April 23-25: Canadian Hydrogen Convention at the Edmonton Convention Centre

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