The Pulse: Nov. 26, 2024

Here's what you need to know about Edmonton today.

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Essentials

  • -7°C: A mix of sun and cloud with 30% chance of flurries in the morning. Clearing in the afternoon. Wind up to 15 km/h. High minus 7. Wind chill minus 20 in the morning and minus 11 in the afternoon. UV index 1 or low. (forecast)
  • Blue/White: The High Level Bridge will be lit blue and white for Salvadoran Abroad Day. (details)
  • 282: Accident Support Services International received 282 accident reports over the weekend as Edmonton experienced its first major snowfall of the season. (details)

Three people holding booklets smile in a gymnasium.

City says participatory budgeting experiment was challenging but taught lessons


By Colin Gallant

As city council prepares to discuss a fall adjustment to Edmonton's budget, the city has shelved participatory budgeting due to how much time and effort it takes, but said it will nonetheless carry forward learning from the work for future grants.

Participatory budgeting is the allocation of public funds for community projects based on community input. It began in Brazil in the 1980s, and helped reduce infant mortality rates there by boosting funds for sanitation and health services. In Edmonton, a community-based budget model took place over two rounds in 2022 and 2023. Councillors Keren Tang and Andrew Knack both participated in 2022, while Knack bowed out in 2023. Also in 2023, city administration separately piloted the participatory model in Balwin and Belvedere to distribute neighbourhood revitalization money.

Tang told Taproot that increasing the visibility of public spending can improve trust, which is needed. "I think right now we're seeing this trend around the world of distrust in institutions, in public institutions and governments," Tang said. "I think processes where you can increase transparency, in whatever way that means to you, I think it's all the better, and that's why I really believed in (community-based budgeting)."

But Tang said the work needed to perform participatory budgeting is considerable. In 2022, Tang and Knack were able to fully fund nine of 18 community project pitches that cost between $500 and $2,000 in 2022, and seven further projects in 2023 (further details are in an evaluation report). In 2023, Tang spearheaded the budgeting with just two office staff, who took on the work on top of everyday duties.

"If you think about the job of an elected office, it's none of this," Tang said. "It's responding to emails and phone calls, it's resolving complaints, it's following up with 311, it's reading reports, and developing policy briefs. It's not community building, right? So, we were doing this off the side of our desk, especially in our second year."

Some of the 2023 projects spilled over into 2024, but Tang did not run another round this year and has no current plan to do so again. She said she always hoped community-based budgeting could move to city administration's workload. But the city's team who worked on the Balwin and Belvedere pilot reported back that they, too, found participatory budgeting unsustainable in its full form.

"It was really resource-intensive in terms of the number of people, but then also the number of hours that were invested," Kim Turcotte, the community grants team lead in the social development department at the City of Edmonton, told Taproot. "Over 300 hours ended up going into this project in a period of four to five months. Normally, a process like this is a longer-term project — like 12 to 18 months."

Those 300 hours were divided between 13 city staff from the community services department. The work resulted in $69,000 in neighbourhood revitalization funds spent on six projects. Residents, business owners, non-profit organizations, and even grade school students all got a say in an online voting process and an in-person gathering. The organizations that executed the projects were KARA Family Resource Centre, the Belvedere Community League, the Balwin Community League, Trinity Christian Reformed Church, Balwin School, and Princeton School.

"Some of the criticism that we got was that it felt a bit like a popularity vote," Turcotte said. "Princeton School did a mural project. Their kids obviously voted on their own project. They also, though, were really engaged. They went out and did some door-knocking. There are some really amazing outcomes that have come out of that project for the students who were involved, but there was a feeling of, well, did that create an inequity?"

Still, Turcotte said the lessons from these experiments are informing how the city grants money, including in its anti-racism funding stream. Community volunteers were added to the assessment of those grants last year, and their feedback led to adding honoraria and additional training on what anti-racism means this year. More is still to come.

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Headlines: Nov. 26, 2024


By Mariam Ibrahim

  • Edmonton's theatre community is mourning the loss of veteran actor Julien Arnold, who died during a performance of A Christmas Carol at the Citadel Theatre on Nov. 24. Arnold was a cherished figure in Edmonton's theatre scene for more than 25 years, and a founding member of Free Will Players. Tributes expressed admiration for Arnold as both an artist and a mentor, celebrating his legacy as one of the most beloved and accomplished theatre artists in the region. The Citadel Theatre plans to adjust the performance schedule to allow performers and staff to grieve, and will contact any affected ticket holders.
  • The Alberta government announced it is cutting its $1 million in annual funding to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board starting in the 2025 budget, making membership voluntary instead of mandatory. The news raised concerns about the future of regional planning and collaboration among the 13 municipalities involved. Coun. Andrew Knack called the decision "essentially the death of this organization."
  • The Edmonton Police Service is investigating a series of 24 arsons across six south-side neighbourhoods this year, including Allendale, Belgravia, Holyrood, King Edward Park, Ritchie, and Strathearn. The investigation, which began in May, has been expanded with the help of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, and police say they have identified several persons of interest.
  • Academic upgrading programs in Edmonton are seeing a surge in demand, with schools like Centre High Campus and St. Joseph Catholic High School facing capacity challenges. Edmonton Public Schools has implemented measures to help manage the pressure, such as limiting students to three courses per semester and expanding facilities. Students who can't secure spots in public programs often resort to paid options at institutions like NAIT and NorQuest College.
  • The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce released a statement in response to Alberta's 2024-25 second quarter fiscal update, which projected a surplus of $4.6 billion, driven by increased revenues from taxes and resource royalties. In its statement, the Chamber urged the province to use the surplus to support municipalities, reduce small business taxes, and reinstate job training grants to address inflation and labour shortages. "These measures will ensure sustainable growth, strengthen Alberta's position as a leader in innovation and opportunity, and enhance the well-being of our communities," the statement said.
  • The Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree concert is returning after a five-year break and will move to the Edmonton EXPO Centre. The event, running from Dec. 12 to 15, will include 150 choir members and more than 300 local performers, offering a mix of holiday classics and modern hits.
  • Edmonton was among six Canadian cities included on Resonance Consulting's global ranking of the top 100 urban areas. Edmonton ranked 65 overall, recognized for its extensive park system, and ranked 24 for tree cover. The rankings consider factors such as livability, prosperity, and global reputation. Other Canadian cities on the list were Toronto (15), Vancouver (22), Montreal (35), Ottawa (52), and Calgary (54).
  • The Alberta government announced it will transition to its new "Care-First" auto insurance system over the next two years. The government said the change aims to provide "better medical and faster income support benefits", and will potentially save Albertans up to $400 annually. The province launched a website to explain the changes, which are expected to be fully implemented by January 2027.
  • The province is exploring ways to increase oil and gas exports to the U.S. by encouraging private sector investments in pipeline capacity without direct government subsidies. "We're looking to make connections with the United States, to see their appetite for assisting in helping to get more product going into the United States," Premier Danielle Smith told reporters, highlighting the potential to use existing infrastructure to expand exports.
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A title card that reads Taproot Edmonton Calendar: edmonton.taproot.events

Happenings: Nov. 26, 2024


By Debbi Serafinchon

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

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

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