The Pulse: March 17, 2025

This week, council is scheduled to discuss its budget process, adding peace officers to transit stations, and several rezonings in south-central Edmonton.

There is a public hearing scheduled for March 17 and a city council meeting scheduled for March 18 and 19. There is also a special audit sub-committee meeting scheduled for March 18.

Here are key items on this week's agenda:

• Administration has proposed council begin using a results-based budgeting process for the 2027-2030 municipal budget. In December, council directed administration to develop a new zero-based, line-by-line budget process for the next four-year budget, itself a different process to what council has used in recent years. The zero-based process requires all programs, expenditures, and service levels be evaluated, and needs council to confirm each program, which can slow decisions, according to a report scheduled to be presented to council on March 18. Administration recommends, instead, that results-based budgeting be used. In that process, performance information is used to understand if budget decisions are having the desired impacts in the community. To achieve a results-based budgeting process, administration has proposed that, starting in 2026, each city department will present reports to council's executive committee. Staff would present an overview of the branch, a line-by-line budget, funding model, key cost drivers, structural budget variances, staffing composition, outputs and deliverables, services and service levels, benchmark comparisons with other municipalities where possible, and any audit information. Council is set to vote on this proposed budget process on March 18.
• Administration recommends council reallocate $5 million from security guard contracts with Commissionaires to use to hire more peace officers at transit stations. In a report going to council on March 18, administration said it will create an enhanced transit peace officer deployment plan for citywide coverage and increase the number of peace officers from 96 to 126, while phasing Commissionaires out of the 19 transit facilities that they currently work in.
• Council is set to review three rezoning applications in Strathcona: One at the intersection of 99 Street NW and 90 Avenue NW to allow for an eight-storey building; one at 10039 87 Avenue NW to allow for a three-storey building; and one at 10448 84 Avenue NW to allow for a four-storey building. Council will also review a rezoning application in McKernan at 11267 73 Avenue NW to allow for a three-storey building, and one in Garneau at 10948 89 Avenue NW to allow for a four-storey building.

• CUPE Alberta announced that tentative deals have been reached with Edmonton Public Schools, Fort McMurray Public School Division, and Fort McMurray Catholic School District, which could end strikes that began months ago. The deals, which include wage increases and would be in effect until August 2028, still need to be ratified by CUPE members. If approved, workers could return to work as early as March 19. The settlements do not affect the 2,600 workers still on strike in Calgary, Sturgeon, Parkland, Foothills, and Black Gold school divisions.
• The City of Edmonton will end its curbside Christmas tree pickup program next winter, a move expected to save $120,000 annually. The collection service, which began in 1990, has seen declining use, with a 50% decrease in trees collected over the past decade. This year, the City collected 6,408 trees. Residents can still drop off trees at Community Recycling Depots and Eco Stations.
• Edmonton businesses on 101 Street, including Padmanadi and Freecloud Records, are concerned that planned bus lanes will remove vital parking spaces and deter customers. The City of Edmonton plans to implement a dedicated transit lane on 101 Street between Kingsway and 107 Avenue starting this summer to improve transit efficiency. The Chinatown Business Association says businesses were not properly consulted and that the notification period wasn't enough. The City says it wants to reduce delays for transit users travelling to Chinatown and the downtown core.
• Parking at the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market will no longer be free, effective April 6. The City of Edmonton did not renew the market's lease for the parking lot at 83 Avenue and Gateway Boulevard, ending the two hours of free parking offered to customers on Saturdays, the market said in a statement.
• To address the student housing crunch, the City of Edmonton is partnering with the Edmonton Students' Association to survey post-secondary students this fall about housing availability, affordability, and location. MacEwan University will open 50 new rental spaces near campus this fall as part of a pilot project with a developer, while Concordia University of Edmonton is investing in a 200-bed on-campus residence expected to open in January 2027. The moves follow a survey last spring that found 40% of MacEwan students said they could not afford more than $500 rent monthly.
• Canada Post unveiled a new stamp celebrating Eid with a multicultural design created by Edmonton's Muslim and Indigenous community. The artwork, created by a Métis artist, incorporates a lodgepole pine, Cree symbols, and a colorful archway symbolizing the purpose of prayer. Omar Yaqub of the social services organization Islamic Family highlighted the stamp's significance during Eid, comparing it to other holiday traditions that involve sending letters and gifts.
• The Rebel Boss Women's Day Market in Edmonton showcased more than 50 women-owned small businesses, offering a supportive community amid economic challenges. Organizer Alissa Tukkimaki emphasized the importance of a safe space for female business owners. The event also included a silent auction to support the End FGM Canada Network.
• Alberta Health Services issued a warning about potential hepatitis A exposure for customers who visited the Tim Hortons at Millbourne Market Mall in southeast Edmonton between Feb. 20 and March 5. The health authority confirmed that a food worker was infectious during that period. Individuals who consumed food or drink at the location between March 1 and 5 may be eligible for a vaccine if received within 14 days of exposure, while those who visited between Feb. 20 and 28 are advised to monitor for symptoms for 50 days.
• Alberta Health Services filed a statement of defence arguing that former CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos's wrongful dismissal lawsuit is baseless and an attempt to secure a larger severance payment. The health authority said it terminated Mentzelopoulos due to her inadequate performance, not because of her internal investigations into surgical contracts. Mentzelopoulos alleges she was fired after investigating contracts with potential conflicts of interest and for resisting political pressure to extend deals she considered overpriced. She is seeking a $1.7-million settlement, while AHS and LaGrange are asking for her lawsuit to be dismissed.
• Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta is still trying to import medication from Turkey to fulfill a $70 million deal. The deal is under scrutiny due to allegations of government interference at Alberta Health Services to benefit private businesses, as contained in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit from former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos. Smith said MHCare Medical, an Edmonton company facilitating the deal, began the import process for intravenous acetaminophen in November 2023 and submitted an application to Health Canada a year later. However, Health Canada said it has not received an application from the province or associated companies to import drugs.
• The University of Alberta Pandas hockey team is the top seed at the 2025 U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship in Elmira, ON, which runs from March 20 to 23. The Pandas, who are heading to the tournament for the 18th time, will be seeking their record ninth Golden Path trophy.

Pride flags at Edmonton libraries, dozens more transit peace officers at LRT stations, and one two-term councillor's decision to drop out of the coming municipal election in October are three stories that the co-hosts of Episode 299 of Speaking Municipally examined. Here's a snapshot:

1. Flagging Pride flags

On March 13, Civic Service Union 52, the union that includes library workers in Edmonton, posted a statement that alleged the Edmonton Public Library has directed staff to remove Pride flags from city libraries. But the library soon posted a statement that said the CSU statement was inaccurate.

Co-host Troy Pavlek questioned whether, because the EPL is a city-funded entity, voter reactions to the statements could emerge on campaign trail for the municipal election. "(Do Pride flags at the library) become an election issue?" he said. "It is politically charged right now, council is about to go into an election season, and there's going to be people running who have opinions."

2. LRT safety changes and perceptions

On March 18, council is scheduled to receive a report it requested to examine reallocating money away from private security to transit peace officers to increase safety on the LRT system. That report suggests hiring 30 transit peace officers while phasing out private security guards at stations. Pavlek said council's vote to endorse this recommendation is "as pretty close to a done deal as done deals get." For evidence, he pointed to Coun. Aaron Paquette comments on Reddit — that council urged these changes in the first place.

Despite ridership highs and a drop in the severity of crime at LRT stations, co-host Male said feelings are a big part of the transit safety conversation. "Perceptions of safety have consistently been a thing that has been on people's minds, and not just councillors'," he said. "This report, and this recommendation, is yet another thing that administration is trying to do here to improve both the real and, as importantly, the perceived safety of taking transit."

3. Hamilton bows out of race and endorsements

And then there were two. Following Coun. Andrew Knack's decision not to seek reelection in the 2025 municipal election, on March 13, Coun. Sarah Hamilton told Ryan Jespersen that she, too, will not seek reelection. Hamilton said she is not running for mayor, did not say whether she would run for office at the provincial or federal levels, and is not yet ready to endorse a mayoral candidate.

"At the end of the interview, Jespersen asked her, 'Are you endorsing anyone?'" Male said of the video. "She said, 'No.' She said she hasn't decided yet, (that) she wants to see how people campaign, that she might make a decision in the fall about who to endorse. And then she said something that I thought was really interesting: She basically explained that it's dangerous to make an endorsement of someone until you see if they're successful."

The March 14 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast also covered statues that are being stolen, public art at LRT stations, and more. 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.

• Library Lunchtime Concerts starting at 12:15pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• nêhiyawêwin (Cree Language) Classes starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Highlands)
• Edmonton Cocktail Week - Bartender Competition starting at 6pm at Fu's Repair Shop
• Her Badge, Her Voice: Women Leading Change in Policing starting at 6pm online
• Grant Writing Reimagined Workshop starting at 6:30pm online

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 26: Women's Month Mentorship Panel at World Trade Centre
• March 28-30: GOBfest at Alberta Avenue Community Centre
• March 31: IWD Edmonton 2025: Redefine Possible Hackathon at Edmonton Unlimited

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