The Pulse: March 3, 2025

This week, council committees will meet to debate whether to extend the community revitalization levies in downtown and the Quarters, hear about the city's new plan to prevent violence, and discuss more locations for transit priority measures.

There is a community and public services committee meeting scheduled for March 3, an urban planning committee meeting scheduled for March 4, and an executive committee meeting scheduled for March 5.

Here are key items on this week's agenda:

• The community revitalization levies in the Quarters and downtown may be extended, according to reports scheduled to be presented to executive committee on March 5. The CRLs are tools for municipalities to rejuvenate underdeveloped areas by allowing public infrastructure investments to attract private investments that can repay the public investment. Within the levy area, a baseline property assessment is established, and for up to 20 years, increases in property tax revenue above that baseline, resulting from new development and property value growth, go toward the CRL. That means new developments essentially repay for infrastructure investments. The Quarters CRL has so far been used to build $100 million worth of projects, which include The Armature pedestrian path, Kinistinâw Park, and the adaptive reuse of spaces the city owns for the arts. These projects have attracted private developments like The Hat, Double Tree Hotel, and Stadium Yards. However, the city said its projections show that there has not been enough private investment in the Quarters to pay for the infrastructure investments, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid epidemic, increased construction costs, and worsening social disorder. Council could apply to extend the levy in the Quarters by 20 years and add five new projects. One project proposes to redraw the street grid in the Quarters by breaking up large blocks, which would create more opportunities for north-south access through the neighbourhood and allow easier land consolidation, the report said. The downtown CRL, meanwhile, has been more effective; the city said infrastructure investments downtown have attracted more than $4.7 billion of new investment, with 3,500 housing units completed or under construction since the levy came into effect in 2015. Council could apply to extend the downtown levy by 10 years and add new projects. Administration said it could use the downtown levy to improve LRT entrances, remediate empty contaminated lots, and contribute to an outdoor event space at the ICE District. If council approves extending both levies, the province would need to approve the extensions. The province announced on Feb. 28 it is working with the city and the Oilers Entertainment Group to provide funding for the ICE District event space and other projects in Edmonton's core.
• Administration will present its new Blueprint for Violence Prevention at a community and public services committee meeting on March 3. The plan's three goals are to strengthen and connect government structures; prevent or interrupt violence that is already occurring through tailored strategies; and tackle structural and social issues that can cause violence. Some actions the city plans to take are to establish a violence and crime reduction board, grant adequate and sustained funding, and engage the public on its role in violence prevention.
• City staff have developed a metric to calculate transit passenger delay hours, which measures both ridership and traffic congestion delays to identify routes that could benefit from transit priority measures. The new locations identified by the metric include 114 Street NW between Belgravia Road NW and 87 Avenue NW, 107 Avenue NW between 120 Street NW and 156 Street NW, 124 Street NW between 107 Avenue NW and Jasper Avenue NW, and the area around Clareview Transit Centre. The routes are outlined in a report scheduled to be presented to council's urban planning committee on March 4. In other areas, the city is already implementing such measures, like dedicated bus lanes, queue jumps, and intersection modifications, but there is no funding available to address the newly identified routes. Administration said it will develop a program to identify locations that need transit priority measures and funding.

• Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi appeared on CBC's Edmonton AM to provide his response to the 2025 Alberta budget. The budget restores grants in lieu of taxes for provincially owned properties, which the mayor had been asking for through a public campaign. "I'm glad that the province has listened to our persistent data-backed, evidence-based advocacy that we undertook on behalf of Edmontonians," Sohi said, adding the revenue will be used to lower property taxes in the city.
• Wayne Gretzky, once revered as Edmonton's hockey royalty, is now facing backlash from Canadian fans over his close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. The controversy began after Trump suggested Gretzky was open to the idea of Canada becoming part of the United States. The backlash intensified when Gretzky, serving as honorary captain for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, appeared distant from the Canadian team while showing support for the U.S. players. A petition is circulating to rename Wayne Gretzky Drive in Edmonton, and fans have begun booing him at events. Gretzky has remained silent, but his wife, Janet Jones, has defended him against the criticism.
• Alberta's wildfire season officially began on March 1, after firefighters contained a 16.67-hectare fire west of Ghost Lake. Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen highlighted the province's three-pronged approach to the season: prevention, mitigation, and readiness. Mitigation projects are underway in areas including Hinton, Whitecourt, Slave Lake, and the Bow Valley near Canmore. The provincial budget allocates $160 million for wildfire personnel, equipment, and aircraft.
• A memo obtained by CTV News says Alberta Health Services is struggling to keep up with ambulance demand due to hospital backlogs, forcing EMS crews to work harder and rely on help from nearby communities. Paramedics and union leaders warn that burnout and short staffing are making things worse, with some crews working entire shifts without breaks. The provincial health authority says it's making progress, pointing to shorter hospital transfer and response times, but frontline workers say the system is still in crisis.
• Former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos had cautioned the Alberta government about the potential effect of chartered surgical facilities on the province's healthcare system prior to her dismissal, CBC reported. In a draft letter, Mentzelopoulos noted these facilities have higher pricing than AHS and other surgical providers, and that healthcare staff may choose to work in private facilities over the public system because they can offer higher incomes.
• As Ramadan begins, more halal restaurants, including some in Edmonton, are extending their hours to accommodate those observing the holy month, when Muslims abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours. Some restaurants will stay open later, even until sunrise, serving halal food, including Middle Eastern, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisine. Food blogger Imran Kayesh noted the tradition of unusual operating hours during Ramadan in countries with large Muslim populations.
• A McDonald's in south Edmonton temporarily rebranded as McDavid's to celebrate Connor McDavid's winning goal at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. "It's just about celebrating, it's a great Canadian moment," said franchise owner Chat Sangha.
• Edmonton lawyer Tom Engel is calling for a public inquiry into the conditions at the Edmonton Institution after two inmates died within three days. The Edmonton Police Service investigated both deaths and deemed them to be non-criminal. A 2022 report described the maximum-security federal prison as overpopulated and understaffed, with no programs or meaningful work opportunities for inmates.
• The University of Alberta Golden Bears wrestling team secured their fifth national championship by narrowly defeating the Brock Badgers at the 2025 U SPORTS/Wrestling Canada National Championship. The team won seven individual medals, including three golds. The victory marks the first championship for the Golden Bears and Pandas in the 2024/25 season. Meanwhile, the Pandas finished fourth overall, earning three individual medals, as the Brock Badgers claimed their second consecutive women's title.
• The University of Alberta Pandas tennis team won its 14th consecutive Western title and a spot in the 2025 U SPORTS Championship after defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 6-1. Key performances included doubles and singles wins from Emma Rutherford and Alexandra Jewitt, along with dominant singles victories from Emily Granson, Marena Diaz Nakagawa, and Klara Merrick.

A newly reported link between a provincial appointee to the Edmonton Police Commission and a businessman at the centre of corruption allegations within the province's healthcare system may create turmoil for the commission, the co-hosts of Episode 297 of Speaking Municipally said.

"I think there's nothing the public is more interested in politically right now than this scandal and everything it affects," co-host Troy Pavlek said.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis appointed cardiac surgeon Jayan Nagendran to the Edmonton Police Commission in May 2023. At the time, Nagendran was a co-director alongside Sam Mraiche of a numbered company and the surgical director for lung transplantation at Alberta Health Services. Mraiche owns 25% of two surgical facilities operated by Alberta Surgical Group, which has reportedly charged more than double the standard fees for hip replacements. Mraiche also signed a $70-million contract with the province in 2022 to import children's pain medication from Turkey. Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former president and CEO of AHS, alleged in a wrongful termination suit filed in February that she was pressured to make deals with Alberta Surgical Group.

The suit is not yet settled by the courts, and two reviews are still underway by Alberta's auditor general and an unnamed third party, per The Canadian Press.

Pavlek noted that public scrutiny has pushed police commissioners to resign in the past. In December, John McDougall resigned after sharing plans to continue his role despite moving to Portugal, and in January, Dan Jones resigned after his appointment was criticized by former police chief Dale McFee, who has just been appointed by the UCP government as deputy minister of executive council and the head of Alberta Public Service. Nagendran's term on the police commission is set to expire in April 2026.

"We're seeing the police commission makeup shift a little bit," Pavlek said. "It shows that this board is not invulnerable to public outcry."

The Feb. 28 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast also covered ongoing discussions of bridge maintenance around downtown, the idea behind an infrastructure committee, and council's decision to approve a rezoning to allow a Nordic spa in the river valley. 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.

• Messed Up Mondays starting at 6pm at EPIC Market
• nêhiyawêwin (Cree Language) Classes starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Highlands)
• For Girls By Girls - University of Alberta starting at 7:15pm at Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Terwillegar
• Jeremie Albino starting at 8pm at Winspear Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 6-16: Dance Nation at Gateway Theatre
• March 11: DiscoveryLab at Enterprise Square
• March 12: We Will Be Brave at Arden Theatre

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