The Pulse: Feb. 24, 2025

This week, council is set to vote on the proposed public spaces bylaw, a rezoning to allow a Nordic spa in the river valley, and establishing a new standing committee on infrastructure.

There is a public hearing scheduled on Feb. 24 and a city council meeting scheduled on Feb. 25 and 26.

Here are key items on this week’s agenda:

• Council is scheduled to vote on the public spaces bylaw at a meeting on Feb. 25 after more than 50 people shared their opinions at a committee meeting earlier this month. Some speakers expressed fear the bylaw would disproportionately harm vulnerable Edmontonians, while some business leaders said the bylaw would help staff and customers feel safer in core areas. The committee removed restrictions on protests, skateboarding, and feeding feral cats from the bylaw.
• A rezoning application that would allow Scandinave Group to build a Nordic spa in the river valley is scheduled to be reviewed by council at a public hearing on Feb. 24. Residents in support of the application said it would bring a unique amenity to the city and increase neighbourhood vibrancy, while those opposed said congestion and parking are concerns, and that housing should be prioritized. The spa is proposed at the former location of Soaring House, left to the University of Alberta by Sandy Mactaggart. The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations opposes the rezoning. In an open letter, the group said the proposed rezoning would allow for private development below the river bank and that the application did not meet the duty to consult First Nations.
• Council is scheduled to discuss establishing a new standing committee that would focus on infrastructure and would have the same procedures as its community and public services, urban planning, and executive committees. Standing committees are typically made up of four council members who discuss reports before making recommendations to the rest of council. The proposed mandate for the new infrastructure committee includes capital project development and delivery; cost, schedule, and scope progression for both growth and renewal components of the capital plan; and progress on the capital plan. Council could create a motion to form the committee at a meeting on Feb. 25, and the committee could start holding meetings by April.
• Administration is scheduled to provide an update on major construction projects on routes in and out of downtown, including bridge renewal projects that recently drew the ire of the Edmonton Downtown Revitalization Coalition. Five bridges are slated for repair in the next few years. The coalition’s chair, Cheryll Watson, said the construction could hamper downtown’s recovery, especially paired with roadwork for the Valley Line West LRT along Stony Plain Road NW, 156th Street NW, and 87th Avenue NW. A report scheduled to be presented to council at a meeting on Feb. 25 clarifies that in 2025 and 2026, only a maximum of two bridges will be closed simultaneously. In 2025, the Wellington Bridge will be closed, the Dawson Bridge will have lane reductions during off-peak hours, and the southbound Low Level Bridge will have lane reductions. In 2026, the Wellington Bridge will remain closed, the northbound Low Level Bridge will be closed, and the Dawson Bridge and southbound Low Level Bridge will reopen. Administration said it does not recommend delaying renewal because the construction is needed to address safety and functional concerns and prevent unplanned closures. Troy Pavlek, co-host of Taproot’s civic affairs podcast Speaking Municipally, wrote a blog post analyzing traffic volumes on the bridges set for renewal.
• Council is scheduled to review rezoning applications in Crestwood, Ritchie, and McKernan at a public hearing on Feb. 24.
• Council will receive verbal updates on Dutch elm disease, potential U.S. tariffs, and collective bargaining at a meeting on Feb. 25.

Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.

• The Edmonton Police Commission announced deputy chiefs Devin Laforce and Warren Driechel as interim chiefs of the Edmonton Police Service following Dale McFee’s departure. Both will retain their current portfolios and will alternate as the senior officer on a monthly basis. A national search for a full-time replacement is expected to take about a year, and both interim chiefs are eligible for the permanent position.
• Edmonton businessman Sam Mraiche, owner of MHCare Medical, which secured a $70-million government contract in 2022 to import children’s pain medication, also has ownership stakes in two private surgical facilities in Red Deer and Lethbridge that were negotiating contracts with Alberta Health Services (AHS). Alberta Surgical Group, which operates a facility in Edmonton, also has ownership stakes in the numbered companies. Alberta’s auditor general is reviewing AHS and the health ministry’s contracting and procurement procedures amid allegations that government officials pressured AHS to sign contracts at rates higher than those of competitors.
• A numbered company led by MHCare Medical owner Sam Mraiche made a $300,000 profit after selling a west Edmonton property to the Alberta government three months after purchasing it. The company bought the property at 14425 124 Avenue NW for $1.7 million in June 2024 and sold it for $2 million in August 2024. Infrastructure Minister Pete Guthrie, who accepted Edmonton Oilers playoff tickets from MHCare last year, has ordered an independent audit of the purchase and notified the auditor general. The Alberta New Democrats are calling for a public inquiry into government procurement practices.
• The Brick House Recovery Centre, a new private addiction treatment centre in Edmonton, offers immediate help without wait lists. The centre aims to address gaps in the public system by providing integrated mental health care and real-world application. It offers virtual and in-person detox programs, intensive outpatient programs, and is entirely privately funded, though some insurance providers may cover costs.
• Four more groups of education support workers in Alberta, including 570 in the Black Gold School Division south of Edmonton, will go on strike on Feb. 24, joining more than 4,000 striking workers in Edmonton and other communities. CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said members are demanding better provincial funding for public education, warning that more union locals may take strike votes.
• The First Nations Health Consortium hosted a free winter golf camp for Indigenous girls in Edmonton last weekend, following a successful summer camp in 2024. The camp aimed to encourage Indigenous girls to feel like they belong in the sport. After the initial plan to register 15 girls between the ages of seven and 18 crashed the website due to high numbers, organizers accepted 32 girls to the Edmonton camp.
• Edmonton LGBTQ+ advocate Marni Panas is seeking a judicial review of an Alberta Human Rights Tribunal ruling, after she filed a complaint in 2019 about being misgendered by 911 dispatchers. Although the tribunal recognized the discrimination, it dismissed the complaint, stating the dispatchers’ actions were unintentional. Panas’s application argues the tribunal erred in not holding the Edmonton Police Service employees liable. The police service said it regrets the hurt caused and has taken steps to ensure similar incidents do not happen again.
• The Edmonton Police Service hate crimes unit is seeking help identifying a suspect who defaced Evolution Wonderlounge, a downtown Edmonton gay bar, on Dec. 22, 2024. The suspect damaged an exterior window, carving what appeared to be a cross over a “Protect Trans Kids” poster, police said in a release. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police or Crime Stoppers.
• An Edmonton youth soccer coach was arrested in Sherwood Park by Strathcona County RCMP after after $40,000 went missing from the Selects Football Club U-11 tier 1 tournament fund. The team has since raised nearly $60,000 through a GoFundMe campaign and plans to attend a tournament in October. Randy Knodel faces 12 counts of fraud and one count of uttering a forged document. He is scheduled to appear in an Edmonton court on March 17.
• Global Health Imports, the company co-founded by former federal cabinet minister and Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault, has been deemed ineligible for federal government contracts until 2030. The decision follows a 90-day suspension in November 2024 and investigations into the company’s claims of being Indigenous-owned. Boissonnault stepped down from cabinet in November 2024 after questions arose about his claims to Indigenous identity.
• Archpriest Cornell Zubritsky of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Edmonton provides support to Ukrainian immigrants in his congregation. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began three years ago, approximately 300,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada on emergency visas. Zubritsky assists the 150-person congregation with employment, housing, and immigration issues, in addition to offering emotional support.
• The Alberta Energy Regulator fined Cancen Oil Processors Inc., an Edmonton-registered company, $303,769 for contravening an environmental protection order at its New Sarepta site. The decision said the company was aware of the risks of leaving fluids in out-of-service tanks since April 2022, and then received a notice of non-compliance in August 2022 for not containing a spill. In February 2023, the regulator issued an environmental protection order, which the company did not follow, resulting in a release of harmful materials into a man-made water runoff pond. Cancen plans to remediate the site starting in May by removing contaminated soil.

Outcries from the Downtown Revitalization Coalition and mayoral hopeful, Coun. Tim Cartmell, about the city’s plan to fix several bridges that connect drivers to downtown don’t match the facts, the co-hosts of Episode 296 Speaking Municipally said.

Co-host Troy Pavlek wrote a blog that breaks down the disruption timelines and the traffic numbers on the five bridges — the Low Level (which is split into northbound and southbound spans), High Level, Wellington, and Dawson. Pavlek’s analysis was prompted by a Feb. 14 op-ed by coalition members Chad Helm, of The Helm, and Puneeta McBryan, of the Downtown Edmonton Business Association, where the two argued that rehabilitating five bridges simultaneously constitute “another devastating blow” to downtown Edmonton.

Pavlek said on the podcast that the devastation argument is a stretch. “You’ve heard that downtown is going to be crippled by five bridge closures,” he said. “Depending on how you count, it’s one to one and a half overlapping bridge closures.”

Co-host Mack Male said debate is healthy, but only if it’s factual.

“It’s fine to have a conversation about, ‘How do we mitigate the impacts of these things so that businesses are impacted as little as possible?,’” Male said. “But it’s helpful if we can have that conversation from a place of truth rather than a place of fear.”

Cartmell criticized civic infrastructure planning on Feb. 13 and 20 with posts on Instagram” that suggested Edmonton is facing an “unprecedented infrastructure challenge.”

Pavlek said there are at least a dozen instances when Cartmell has opted not to take the opportunity to add input or dissent on city administration’s plans for the bridge maintenance that he nonetheless references in the statement.

The Feb. 21 episode of Taproot’s civic affairs podcast also covered Lime’s winter e-bike pilot, the city’s efforts to mitigate wildfires, and Edmonton Transit Service’s plans for improvement based on an audit of DATS. Plus, Taproot’s managing editor, Tim Querengesser, provided an update from the Taproot newsroom. Speaking Municipally comes out on Fridays. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Deborah Dobbins, We Are The Roots: Sharing the African American Western Canadian Journey Towards Equity starting at 4pm at University of Alberta
• Messed Up Mondays starting at 6pm at EPIC Market
• In-Person nêhiyawêwin (Cree Language) Classes starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Highlands)
• Meeting of the Secret LongTree Society starting at 7pm at Felice Cafe
• Science on Tap - Let’s Talk Menopause starting at 7pm at TELUS World of Science - Edmonton

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 15: Night of Artists Gala for Amy’s House at Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre
• March 18: Spark: Igniting Career Paths for Indigenous Youth at Edmonton EXPO Centre
• March 19: ERINnovation Meetup at ATB Entrepreneur Centre

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