The Pulse: May 6, 2025

A non-profit launched in 1998 that once borrowed space from the City of Edmonton to begin to offer women skills training for careers in the trades is now expanding its training programs to a third province.

Women Building Futures has expanded to Sarnia, ON, an attractive location because of the oil refineries and other industrial facilities there that are owned by Shell Canada, NOVA Chemicals, and Imperial Oil.

"When we're thinking about launching in a new province, and we're thinking about the long-term vision, it's very exciting to think about these large industrial assets that are going to require skilled workers to run and maintain them over long periods of time," Rachel Veilleux, manager of external relations and growth for Ontario at Women Building Futures, told Taproot. "We think about the women that we're ultimately trying to help create a pathway (for), even as a stepping stone. There is a lot of opportunity out there for them at some point on their career journey."

Women Building Futures was founded in Edmonton in 1998 to help women find economic security through skilled trades and transportation. Its mandate also includes the gender-diverse population. The organization offers more than just training, with resources like financial aid, success coaching, affordable housing (in partnership with Civida), and more. Women Building Futures has its own training facility in Edmonton, and the organization has graduated 3,000 women. The non-profit launched Saskatchewan programs with $248,000 from the province and support from industry partner BHP.

Veilleux highlighted the agriculture, petrochemical, food processing, and manufacturing industries as ones with a high degree of opportunity surrounding Sarnia. In nearby Windsor, for example, there are jobs in the auto industry, which is the focus of the first Women Building Futures hands-on training program in the province.

The Women Ready to Work in Automotive program begins in August and entails eight weeks of class time and a paid eight-week work placement. The latter is divided into four weeks as an automotive service technician and four weeks as a heavy duty equipment technician. More programs are already being explored.

"We've gotten support from the provincial government of Ontario to run some very specialized, trade-specific types of programs," Carol Moen, the CEO of Women Building Futures told Taproot. "We want to improve our capability and actually support women to economic security and at the same time find critical resources for the province that are needed."

"We often say that what we do is just literally remove barriers," Moen said. "If you think about what the barriers are in between unemployed and underemployed women and economic security, in this case in the trades, it could be awareness of the opportunity. It could be them being able to actually see themselves in those occupations, because quite literally, there aren't many women in the trades across the country … It could be their financial situation."

• Coun. Anne Stevenson announced her plans to run for a second term as city councillor for Ward O'Day'min. She made the announcement at ArtsHub Ortona. Stevenson said she is proud of her work on affordable housing, including efforts to remove property taxes for affordable housing to help keep rents lower.
• Edmonton is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Dedicated Accessible Transit Service, commonly known as DATS, a door-to-door paratransit service for those unable to use conventional transit due to disabilities. Edmonton Transit Service marked the occasion with an open house at the Percy Wickman Garage on May 5. DATS began as a pilot project in 1975 and provided more than 930,000 trips in 2024.
• The Edmonton Police Service is seeking public assistance to identify a man believed to be connected to an arson at a southeast Edmonton strip mall on April 8. The fire destroyed 25 units and caused several million dollars in damages. Police released security footage of a man, who was driving a white Ford F150 with a red maple leaf on the tailgate.
• Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced expanded measles immunization efforts in central and south zone clinics, as well as an awareness campaign. As of May 5, Alberta has seen 265 cases of measles, with 42 active, and 86% of all cases are located in the south and central zones. Alberta Health Services also issued a public alert for the Edmonton zone after a confirmed case of measles was identified at the Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas on April 26. The province will add vaccination appointments in the central and south zones, and has introduced a new early dose of measles vaccines for infants six to 11 months of age in the north, central, and south zones.
• The Alberta government is investing $141 million in Alberta Hospital Edmonton for construction and improvements. The funding will be used to add more beds, enhance existing infrastructure, and upgrade various facilities within the hospital.
• Despite Edmonton Public Schools' commitment to inclusive education, some parents say the division is failing to honour the right of children with disabilities to be supported in community schools. Some parents said they faced pressure to place their children in segregated programs, while Rajesh Kumar spoke at a board meeting in April, citing concerns about transparency in the capital plan for the Centre for Autism and about how parental choices around inclusive education are being honoured. Inclusion Edmonton Region has called on the board to end segregation and ensure families are not pressured into segregated placements.
• The new Edmonton Islamic Academy will accommodate 1,600 students and currently has a growing waiting list. The academy aims to address the increasing demand for Islamic education in the Edmonton area.
• The Edmonton Public Library has released a free children's album titled Sing it, Edmonton! Songs from the Neighbourhood, featuring local artists.
• A recent analysis found that injuries from rentable e-scooters are an increasing burden in Edmonton, with many adults presenting to emergency departments with multiple injuries. The study, which was published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery, investigated 759 e-scooter related injuries presenting to Edmonton EDs more than three summers (2019 to 2021) and found that most patients had multiple injuries, with fractures and head injuries being the most common. Helmet use was rare, but substance use was common.
• A trial began on May 5 for former Edmonton Police Service officer Oli Olason, who is charged with assault after a video surfaced of him allegedly kicking and stomping on a man's head during a March 23, 2021, arrest of Lee Van Beaver. Beaver testified that Olason assaulted him despite his compliance, while the defense argued that Beaver was trying to avoid arrest and was not compliant. Another officer, Const. Dustin Adsett, was also charged by ASIRT following the arrest.
• Premier Danielle Smith announced the creation of a new "Alberta Next" panel and a negotiating team to address Alberta's future within Canada, ahead of a potential citizen-led referendum on independence in 2026. In an Alberta-wide address on May 5, Smith listed grievances against the federal government and stated that the panel will explore steps Alberta could take against Ottawa, with popular ideas potentially going to a provincial referendum.
• A wildfire southwest of Grande Prairie that prompted an evacuation order on Sunday is now approximately 90% contained, according to emergency officials. While the evacuation order remains in effect for part of the County of Grande Prairie, crews are optimistic that the fire, which is about one square kilometre in size, will soon be classified as being held. Around 60 firefighters are working to extinguish hot spots, supported by two helicopters conducting bucketing operations.
• A wildfire in the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area, northeast of Edmonton, which has burned 400 hectares, was sparked by an all-terrain vehicle fire. Sturgeon County Fire Chief Chad Moore said the fire started in a remote area of the park, and the rider attempted to extinguish the flames. An evacuation alert remains in effect for an area of Sturgeon County. One home has been destroyed. As of May 5, the fire was 70% contained, but crews are preparing for a shift in winds.
• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's January visit to meet then president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago cost more than $10,000, according to documents obtained by CBC through a freedom of information request. The trip included Smith's chief of staff Rob Anderson, principal secretary Rebecca Polak, and James Rajotte, Alberta's senior representative to the U.S. The expenses covered flights, hotels, and meals. Travel costs totalled $7,935, including a business class flight for Anderson. The premier's office said that Anderson has a doctor's note requiring him to travel business class due to a blood condition.

As Saskatoon-based e-bike manufacturer and retailer Biktrix nears the one-year anniversary for its shop in downtown Edmonton, a company leader says the experience has underlined the importance of doing business in the core.

"In Saskatoon, for example, we're right next to (a downtown) mall that has a fairly high crime rate. When you're reading on the news about people being pepper sprayed, nine out of 10 times it's at that mall," Ryan Barber, Biktrix's general manager told Taproot. "I think there is a struggle, Canada wide, with downtown cores not being as friendly as they used to be. I think it's good for us to take part in trying to help turn that around."

Biktrix is something of an anomaly in e-bikes given the company started in Saskatoon with a Kickstarter in 2014 and now has two locations in Prairie cities that, despite recent changes, are often perceived as being far less bike friendly than cities like Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver.

The Edmonton location is the company's fourth showroom (the others are in Saskatoon, Vancouver, and Kelowna) and opened in June. Barber said Edmonton is one of Biktrix's top cities for sales, though said he couldn't tabulate a specific ranking because lots of Albertans have made the trek to Saskatoon to buy in person, in addition to strong online sales. "Edmonton is a real cycling hot spot," he said. "There's a lot of avid cyclists."

It doesn't hurt that the showroom at 10135 97 Street NW is close to the river valley's bike trails, Barber added. Despite describing the area surrounding the Edmonton Biktrix location as a bit "rough around the edges," Barber said he's found the city to be extremely welcoming. For example, while biking in the river valley, Barber said he encountered city employees and they later delivered bike network maps to the Biktrix showroom. Barber also has a personal connection to the city because he lived here for a few years after graduating high school.

Not all is smooth going for Biktrix, however. Some of the parts Biktrix uses come from the United States, which is itself a high-volume customer of the company. Does that make it subject to threatened tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump?

"That's a really good question, and that's one that we don't have a definitive answer for at this point," Barber said. "It's difficult for us as a business that ships there. There's a date that they say these things are going to be tariffed, and then it's removed, and then applied, and then it's removed. We're doing everything we can to ensure that we're sending a Canadian product that should be exempt under the (Canada-United States-Mexico) Agreement, but there's a lot changing daily, so we're not 100% sure what's going to happen. As of now, we are fine."

Biktrix bikes are a mix of parts from Canada, the U.S., and Asia. Barber said the XD line of e-bikes have motors that are designed and assembled in Canada using mostly Canadian parts. The motor is exclusive to Biktrix.

Barber said Biktrix is having a "scratch and dent" sale closer to the showroom's first anniversary for gently worn e-bikes. In the Biktrix lab, its team is working on new anti-theft measures that offer an "added layer of protection" in addition to bike locks. Barber declined to give further detail.

The City of Edmonton is also interested in preventing theft of bikes, electric or otherwise. A secure lock-up at Century Park Transit Centre moved from pilot to permanent in June 2024. The city has also partnered with Bike Edmonton on a seasonal downtown bike valet program with secure parking in 2023 and 2024.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that not all Biktrix e-bikes use American-made frames.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• New technology for well remediation and decommissioning starting at 9am online
• Green Sleeves: Advance Care Planning Presentation starting at 1pm at Devon Public Library
• SAiF Space Sessions for Seniors starting at 2pm at St. Albert Public Library (downtown)
• Stephen King Book Club starting at 6:30pm at Bailey Books
• Alberta Native Bees: Why We Need Bees and How You Can Help! starting at 7pm at Millhurst Community Hall
• Jewish Film Festival
• Book Launch: Lisa Martin starting at 7pm at Porch Light Books
• Tuesday Jam Hosted by Joel Jeschke starting at 8pm at Yardbird Suite

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• May 8: The State of the City at Edmonton Convention Centre
• May 15: Artificial Intelligence and the Power of Creative Thinking with David Usher online
• May 20-23: Upper Bound 2025 at Edmonton Convention Centre

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