The Pulse: Aug. 21, 2024

Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global, says the organization's now complete six-month listening tour has produced insights that could result in changes, including potential shifts to how the organization is funded and governed.

"Are we structured the right way? Do we have the right processes in place to function?" Bruce said he asked during the self-imposed listening tour of the organization's member municipalities. "Part of this undertaking was: How do we make the organization better? While the reason why we kicked it off was probably a little more negative, the actual end result has been to make this organization stronger."

The negative spark that kicked off the listening tour was Sturgeon County, Strathcona County, Parkland County, Fort Saskatchewan, and Devon all announcing their plans to leave the organization in 2023.

Mayors have subsequently shared some reasons why their municipalities voted to leave, citing desires to balance budgets, to find a stronger return on investment for tax dollars, and potential mismatches between Edmonton Global's economic development work and the industries in their jurisdiction. For example, some municipalities in the region have little activity in life sciences or hydrogen industries, and presumably don't stand to gain from Edmonton Global incentivizing companies in those industries to come to the region. Still, the region overall benefits from investments as a whole.

Edmonton Global was established in 2017 and launched in 2018 by multiple municipalities across the region. The main industries the organization currently promotes to foreign investors are artificial intelligence and technology, clean technology, digital media and entertainment, food and agriculture, global logistics, health and life sciences, and hydrogen.

Bruce said the industries Edmonton Global promotes to foreign investors may change based on an ongoing review that should conclude by an annual general meeting in early 2025. "Maybe it's time to revisit what we did to kick the whole process off six and a half years ago, which is we did 12 sectoral reviews," Bruce said. "When the shareholder group says 'Can we revisit that?', the answer is 'Of course we can.'"

In June, Edmonton Global's member municipalities (which it describes as shareholders) and its board issued a joint statement that hints at what could change in the future. The statement said the organization has accepted recommendations from a committee of shareholders focused on what to do next, but provided few details on what those recommendations are. Edmonton Global said it promised the shareholder committee confidentiality in exchange for its candour, and cited this as the reason for vagueness in emails to Taproot.

"Some of the decisions that were made are now in the process of being executed on through an implementation plan," Bruce added about this situation. "We have milestones of reporting back to the shareholder group, both (in October) and then at the AGM 2025."

Other large changes being considered following the listening tour are a potential shift to Edmonton Global's funding model (members currently pay $5 million combined each year), its governance structure, and the way it communicates with members.

"There's a whole plethora of the communication side (of our work) that we're going to be working through, and we're going to test and experiment some (new) things," Bruce said. "(Some feedback was) about the way we communicate, how they want to receive information, and what kind of information they want to see."

• Edmonton city council has voted against a $250,000 grant program for businesses struggling with the impact of Valley Line West LRT construction on Stony Plain Road. The motion, which aimed to provide small payments to affected businesses, was rejected in an 8-5 vote due to concerns about its limited impact and the city's ongoing budget challenges. Business owners have reported losing up to $15,000 a month due to construction impacts, but some councillors argued that the proposed $2,250 payments wouldn't provide significant relief. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and other council members cited the need to prioritize citywide financial challenges, including potential service cuts and higher property taxes.
• A petition to save the former Royal Alberta Museum building from demolition has attracted more than 17,000 signatures following Alberta Infrastructure's plan to convert the site into green space. The decision has sparked opposition from Albertans, including senators, historians, and MLAs, who argue the building should instead be repurposed. The petition, originally started in 2016, has seen a resurgence in support since the demolition announcement.
• NorQuest College in Edmonton has cancelled several employment preparation programs due to changes in federal funding, including a key program for young adults with developmental disabilities. The funding reductions, stemming from the end of federal top-ups to labour market transfer agreements, have left hundreds of students without educational opportunities. A spokesperson for the federal government said the province was aware of the funding reductions and should have planned accordingly.
• Agnes Murphy, a descendant of early Black settlers in Edmonton, celebrated her 105th birthday at Shiloh Baptist Church on Aug. 17. Murphy reflected on her experiences with discrimination and resilience throughout her life. Despite facing racial prejudice, Murphy said she found ways to thrive and emphasized the importance of self-worth and perseverance.
• The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) says there is confusion among educators about Alberta's new cellphone ban in classrooms, which takes effect Sept. 1. ATA president Jason Schilling noted that while the ban starts this fall, schools have until Jan. 1 to create their own policies, leaving teachers uncertain about enforcement and worried about confiscating expensive phones without the proper policies in place.
• Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway have joined the St. Louis Blues after Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman declined to match the offer sheets for both players due to salary cap constraints. Holloway signed a two-year deal worth $2.29 million and Broberg's two-year contract is valued at $4.58 million. The Oilers received draft picks as compensation, and Bowman said the team is focused on maintaining flexibility in the future to retain key players like Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard.
• Two Edmonton families received new homes through Habitat for Humanity. The homes are part of the Orest Myckan Legacy Build, named after a volunteer with the organization who died in 2022. The families celebrated the additional space and comfort their new homes offer.

On this day in 1942, an Edmonton fighter pilot was sharing his recent experiences during the infamous Dieppe raid of the Second World War.

Flying Officer Cliff Horncastle recounted the tale to a Canadian Press reporter a few days after the raid. The failed assault on the then German-controlled port of Dieppe, in France, led to a high number of Allied casualties, the majority of which were members of the Canadian infantry. Horncastle was flying with the overseas 414 Squadron during the raid. Its primary role was to provide reconnaissance on German troop movements and defences. However, as Horncastle told the reporter, he instead ended up in a battle with a German pilot in the skies above Dieppe.

The battle ended with both pilots living to fight another day. Horncastle was able to get behind the German fighter, but his guns malfunctioned and he wasn't able to down the aircraft. (The newspaper account called the P-51 Mustang plane ("a hawk without claws")).

Horncastle was born in Saskatchewan. His family then moved to Ponoka, and then eventually to Edmonton, where he attended high school. He worked as a clerk before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force in his early 20s.

He was one of many young men from Edmonton who joined the Air Force during the Second World War. Despite being on the other side of the world and away from the conflict, Edmonton served as a vital aviation hub during the Second World War. Blatchford Field became both a major training airfield for Allied pilots, as well as an important staging ground to fly supplies in to support forces and civilians in the Soviet Union (which was fighting the invading Germans). All this also prompted many local men to enlist in the Air Force, several of whom went on to become aces, like William McKnight and Russell Bannock.

But many of these pilots never returned home, Horncastle included. In November 1942, just a few months after the Dieppe mission, a fire started inside Horncastle's Mustang shortly after it took off from an airfield in England for a patrol operation. The 24-year-old pilot was killed when the plane crashed. The accident reportedly happened just a few days before Horncastle was supposed to serve as the best man in the wedding of a close friend, a pilot from Calgary.

The stories of pilots like Horncastle are part of Edmonton's wartime history. But the future of some of what remains of Blatchford Field is less fixed. Earlier this year, arson destroyed Hangar 11, which was built in 1942 as part of the wartime operations at the airfield. In May, Edmonton history advocate Dan Rose told Taproot that Hangar 11 was deeply important to the city's story. "You could pull a thread on each of those (narratives) and I think you'd end up at the same place with like, 'Wow, this was a pretty significant place in terms of social, cultural, (and) economic development of Edmonton as a region,'" Rose said.

The Alberta Aviation Museum is currently in negotiations with the City of Edmonton to take ownership of Hangar 14.

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.

• Dragon's Fest: Sweet Side of Chinatown Dessert Tour starting at 11am at the CTC Storytelling Centre
• The ED Room: Lunch With Liz O'Neill starting at 11:30am at CKUA
• HBC Futurpreneur Information Session starting at 12pm at Alberta Block
• Student Innovators Showcase: A Celebration of Innovation and Talent starting at 1pm at Edmonton Unlimited
• River Lot Historic Tour starting at 3pm at St. Albert Historic River Lots and Grain Elevators
• TOPONA Gathering starting at 3pm at AKSIS — Edmonton's Indigenous Business and Professional Association
• Music in the Park: Funk the Matriarchy starting at 5pm at Butler Memorial Park
• Delta Defenders starting at 6pm at Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park
• Women In Leadership Networking Dinner starting at 6pm at Brew + Bloom (South)
• Together for Jasper — A Fundraiser starting at 6pm at Rocky Mountain Ice House
• Coffee with Cops starting at 7pm at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Sept. 1: Twilight Picnic Experience at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden
• Sept. 6: Garden Concert starting at 12pm at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden
• Sept. 6-8: Afro x Latin Arts Carnival at Churchill Square

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