The Pulse: Aug. 15, 2024

The University of Alberta hosted a recent wildfire hackathon at roughly the same time as a wildfire burned structures in Jasper and 25,000 residents and park guests were forced to flee.

Fittingly, given what happened as the fire bore down on Jasper, the winnner of the July 27 wildfire hackathon uses tech to combat misinformation during just such a crisis.

"We were looking at some relevant societal challenges that we're aware of, and to bring our expertise, and have impact in society," David Chang, the director of innovation and partnerships for the office of the Vice-President of Innovation at the U of A, told Taproot shortly before the hackathon.

Savannah Lane, a startup specialist at the U of A in the office of the Vice-President of Innovation, told Taproot after the Jasper wildfire that the hackathon was prescient. "Little did we realize how relevant this initiative would become, and we are proud of the work of our participants in developing new potential solutions for this crucial issue," Lane said.

Hackathon winners Eric Gamboa, Sarah Muir, Mohamed Sabek, and Roy Li — graduates of the U of A's engineering and computing science programs — created what they called the disaster information verification system. Essentially a chatbot, the system uses Amazon Web Services tools to combat misinformation by quickly answering user questions via official information from the Government of Alberta and major news outlets. With accurate information, people evacuating or checking up on family members near a crisis will be less influenced by hearsay or incorrect information.

The recent wildfire in Jasper illustrated multiple challenges misinformation can create, including miscommunication of when the fire would reach the town. This is the situation the winning team's system at the hackathon is meant to address.

There have been many innovative technologies for tracking and predicting wildfires developed recently, including by Nu Terra Labs, which participated in the hackathon. Their Firesafe AI services use a combination of mobile cameras, drones, and machine learning to evaluate risk and warn users about wildfires in advance.

Chang said the hackathon, nonetheless, saw a missing piece that technology could address. "People trying to solve the wildfire prediction problem, but specifically on the communication and evacuation management side, felt that there was a little bit of a gap. When we spoke with (the Alberta Emergency Management Agency), they were quite keen on and interested in what the solutions would be."

The agency also helped the team set up the challenge for participants.

• The City of Edmonton faces an $88 million budget gap for 2025, driven by inflation, revenue shortfalls, and new city initiatives, which could lead to a property tax increase of up to 13% without intervention. The current four-year budget calls for a 7% tax increase next year. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said Edmontonians are "tapped out" following last year's 8.9% tax increase. "We have to start saying no...in order to manage the finances of the city," Sohi said. Chief financial officer Stacey Padbury told city council's executive committee that finding $60 million per year in savings or cuts without affecting core services, as council directed in 2022, "is almost impossible."
• Edmonton city council has approved the sale of naming rights for the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre. As part of a 10-year sponsorship agreement, the centre will soon be renamed the Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Terwillegar, or simply the "Booster Juice Recreation Centre." The facility will continue to be operated by the City of Edmonton, with no changes to day-to-day operations. The sponsorship fee remains confidential to protect the city's financial interests in future renaming opportunities. Booster Juice was founded in Sherwood Park in 1999 and is headquartered in Edmonton.
• An undisclosed number of City of Edmonton, Edmonton Public Library, and Edmonton Police Service employees and their families had their data exposed due to a data breach blamed on a contractor. On Aug. 12, employees received a memo stating that a contractor with "limited" access to pension and benefits data exposed it to a third party. The exposed data includes information about family members listed as dependents, earnings information, and employee numbers.
• Although Edmonton is seeing relatively few mosquitoes this season, an invasive species called Culex pipiens is on the rise in Alberta. The species, first detected in Edmonton in 2018, is the primary vector of the West Nile virus in North America. Population numbers are driven more by heat than precipitation, said City of Edmonton bug scientist Mike Jenkins. Alberta typically sees a relatively low number of West Nile cases annually, with spikes every 5-10 years. In 2018, the most recent spike, Canada recorded 437 cases, with 50 in Alberta.
• Chris Wiebe, a lawyer who has worked with the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, wrote an op-ed arguing that the City of Edmonton's encampment evictions did more harm than good. After the Edmonton Police Service ramped up its efforts to remove encampments in January, provincial data showed a steep increase in frostbite-related amputations among Edmontonians without a fixed address. Meanwhile, Homeward Trust data indicates that the number of people living outdoors has increased since January.
• Some residents of the Allard neighborhood are upset that the City of Edmonton removed benches and a bridge from their community park. The benches, installed by a resident during the COVID-19 pandemic, were removed for breaking permitting requirements, according to administration. The bridge, which connected Allard and Cavanagh over a ravine, was considered unsafe, but residents feel it provided a convenient link between the communities.
• Bradlee Whidden, a policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, wrote an op-ed calling for the City of Edmonton to support businesses affected by construction, such as those impacted by the ongoing construction on Stony Plain Road. In June, council's executive committee voted to delay a draft policy to offer financial assistance, but the committee resumed deliberations on Aug. 14. The policy proposes dedicating 0.02% of the capital budget to support 100 businesses, which Whidden calls a "minuscule sum."
• The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating a fatal police shooting that occurred in south Edmonton at about 6am on Aug. 14. Edmonton Police Service officers with the unit that investigates child exploitation were executing a search warrant at a home in the Sakaw neighborhood. A suspect was shot inside the home after stabbing a police officer and was declared dead at the scene. The officer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
• Alberta Health Services says there is a low risk of contracting mpox — formerly called "monkeypox" — in Alberta. So far this year, only seven cases have been reported in the province. Last year, three cases were reported, and in 2022 there were 44. This week, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern for the second time. During the 2022-2023 outbreak, Canada recorded 1,541 cases and zero deaths.

Here are opportunities to inform municipal planning about open spaces, monuments, naturalization, and more. Please only answer surveys from municipalities where you are a resident.

• Open Space Master Plan — Strathcona County has started to create a strategic master plan for its network of parks and open spaces, which include any type of green space owned by the municipality. Residents can complete a survey to help establish a project vision until Aug. 18.
• Indigenous Connections: Reconciliation Monument — Strathcona County plans to build a monument to honour reconciliation and has engaged pipikwan pêhtâkwan, an Indigenous public relations agency, to organize a series of engagement activities. Sharing circles were held in early August, but those unable to attend can schedule an interview with project planners or participate in an online discussion group until Aug. 20.
• Naturalization Survey — The City of Edmonton wants to better understand public perception of naturalization through an online survey that runs from Aug. 15 to 23. This survey, open to members of the Edmonton Insight Community, is in addition to an ongoing survey about naturalization in 30 specific planting locations, which is open until Oct. 20.

More input opportunities

• Until Aug. 18: Plan for Parks — Recreation and Conservation Strategy (Government of Alberta)
• Until Aug. 25: Granville Rezonings (City of Edmonton)
• Until Aug. 31: Business Census (City of Edmonton)
• Until Sept. 2: Priority Growth Areas Rezoning (City of Edmonton)
• Until Sept. 6: Submissions for Made in Leduc County cookbook — 2nd edition (Leduc County)

Photo: The City of Edmonton is running two surveys to better understand how residents feel about ongoing naturalization efforts, which involve transforming "manicured" landscapes into ones that reflect the natural region. (Kevin Holowack)

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Advocis Edmonton: Brewery Tour Talks starting at 2:30pm at Arcadia Brewing Co.
• Poop-A-Palooza starting at 5pm at Heritage Hills Off Leash Park
• Historic Tours: Sturgeon River tour starting at 6pm at Musée Héritage Museum
• Easy Breezy Summer Seafood starting at 6pm at Get Cooking
• Workshop Garden Party starting at 6pm at The Workshop Eatery
• Getting Ready for Extreme Heat starting at 6:30pm at the Ritchie Community League
• ESO Outdoors starting at 7pm at Centennial Park
• Edmonton Jazz Alley - Audrey Ochoa starting at 7pm at The Carrot Community Arts Coffee House
• PRIDE vs. PREJUDICE: The Delwin Vriend Story starting at 7pm at the Roxy Theatre
• Introduction to Chocolate Tasting starting at 7pm at Delavoye Chocolate Maker
• Stony Plain Outdoor Movie starting at 7:30pm at Heritage Park Pavilion

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 19: Library Lunchtime Concerts at the Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Sept. 6-8: Afro x Latin Arts Carnival on Sir Winston Churchill Square
• Sept. 7-8: Strathearn Art Walk & Music Festival on Strathearn Drive

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