The Pulse: June 5, 2025

FireSafe AI CEO Nafaa Haddou has returned to his alma mater to offer students credit for helping his company tackle how artificial intelligence and tech can address the growing wildfire problem in Alberta.

Haddou, who graduated from MacEwan University in 2016, is now the CEO of both Nu Terra Labs, which makes AI products for businesses, and FireSafe AI, which uses AI, cameras, and sensors to prevent, detect, and respond to wildfires. He said he's spent 100 hours with students as part of the Griffin Challenge, a pilot program that offers credit for real-world experience. Student teams will present their work on the challenge at a Friendly Friday event on June 6 at MacEwan, hosted by Technology Alberta.

FireSafe AI recently won a prize at the YEG Startup Community Awards and made the finals of a Startup TNT summit this year.

Haddou said the students have created several ideas to help FireSafe AI's bottom line. "We have some students in chemistry, business, computer science, and design and marketing," he told Taproot. "Together, they've basically built out the full business case, a technical roadmap, and a prototype within the course of 100 hours, for an AI agent to address the business problem that they'd selected."

The students were not tasked to put out wildfires, Haddou said, but instead focused on finding solutions for FireSafe AI, including tackling AI's potential for market intelligence, content creation, customer success, and management. "The business challenge that we actually worked on wasn't necessarily for direct wildfire solutions, but it was towards the use and development of AI agents that can help facilitate FireSafe's growth and FireSafe's engagement," Haddou said.

Haddou said this matters because governments are responsible for fire response but do not move at "the speed of innovation." Private industry must be a useful partner to address the gap in speed, he added.

"We have a very disjointed, fractured system of communications," Haddou said about wildfire management in Alberta. "It's not necessarily any one organization's fault or any one community's fault, but the red tape that they have to go through … plays a significant part in regards to what communities can do and what they can afford to do."

FireSafe AI's clients include the Bighorn municipal district surrounding Exshaw, AB. FireSafe's products help municipalities and first responders to keep wildfires under control by using AI, Haddou said.

"AI, in our use case, allows us to better assess and identify patterns that are not necessarily intuitive," Haddou said. "There are a few things that happen, non-intuitively, that artificial intelligence really helps us detect."

The presentation of work on the Griffin challenge with FireSafe AI takes place at 1pm at MacEwan University on June 6. The main Friendly Friday program begins at 2:30pm.

• Healthier Together, a collaboration between the City of Edmonton, Alberta Health Services, and social agencies, is running a pop-up health and wellness clinic every Tuesday at Butler Park in the Jasper Place neighbourhood, weather permitting. Services offered include wound care, blood pressure and sugar monitoring, STI testing, referrals, and access to preventative supplies. From May 2024 to May 2025, the clinic saw 2,378 total visits, and community feedback has been "overwhelmingly positive," the City said.
• The City of Edmonton issued a release pointing to the success of its Chinatown Vibrancy Fund, launched in 2024, which has invested $960,000 into community projects in Chinatown. This year, 14 projects will get funding, including the annual Togather Chinatown Arts Festival, which drew more than 2,000 people in 2024. A further $480,000 will be invested through the fund in 2026. The City's website has information about the fund and recipients.
• The Alberta Conservation Association is actively monitoring several peregrine falcon nests in the Edmonton area. A live feed was set up for chicks at the Bell Tower site, where viewers can watch the birds during nesting season. The animal was endangered in Alberta until 1999 due to pesticides, but was reclassified as threatened in 2000.
• The Alberta Worker, a labour news outlet run by Kim Siever, examined a settlement reached between Lafarge and a union representing about 10 workers at its asphalt division in Edmonton. The workers are set to receive an average increase of 2.8% per year for the next three years, which will bring base pay for all of them to $30 an hour or more. They'll also get a new training fund and improvements to pension contributions, Siever wrote.
• YMCA of Northern Alberta is offering free access to health, fitness, and aquatic centres for wildfire evacuees who have fled to Edmonton. Individuals and families can use the Castle Downs Family YMCA, Don Wheaton Family YMCA, Jamie Platz Family YMCA, and William Lutsky Family YMCA for recreation, showering, and drop-in programming during standard operating hours by presenting a photo ID.
• Mobile Solutions Fleet Services, an Edmonton company, is manufacturing "Fire Skid" firefighting kits in partnership with the charity Global-Medic. Each unit contains a 1,000-litre tank, a pump, and a hose that can be mounted on a pickup truck to fight fires in areas inaccessible to full-size fire trucks. The company has sold 104 units for use in Canada and California, said owner Paul Turczyk.
• Two religion scholars republished a piece in The Conversation about how the oil industry helps fuel "religious fervor" around the Edmonton Oilers. "Some fans are not only cheering for the home team, but also cheering for themselves – affirming that their industry and their labor matter," they wrote.
• Hockey fans across Canada are rooting for the Edmonton Oilers in their playoffs series against the Florida Panthers, CBC News reported. Toronto's CN tower was lit orange and blue during Game 1 to support Canada's only remaining team. Some observers say it could be the most important Stanley Cup final series in years for Canadians, especially in light of international tensions with the United States.
• Edmonton curling star Kevin Martin is among the athletes who will be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in October. Martin won an Olympic gold medal in 2010, was a 2008 world champion, and earned four Brier titles as a skip, among other accolades. He was named to the Order of Canada last summer.
• The Edmonton Elks have extended a contract with American linebacker Nick Anderson by one year. Anderson was the CFL's top rookie last season, recording the most total tackles and tying with teammate Nyles Morgan for most defensive tackles.

Here are opportunities to inform government decisions about historic resources, open spaces, and more. Please only answer surveys from the municipality where you live.

• Heritage Places Strategy — The City of Edmonton is developing a new strategy for identifying, commemorating, and preserving places that matter to residents, including historical buildings, natural spaces, and community landmarks. The strategy will replace the 2009 Historic Resource Management Plan. Residents can ask a question, take a survey, or contribute to an interactive map until June 8.
• Breathe: Green Network Strategy — The City of Edmonton is developing a plan to ensure neighbourhoods have access to high-quality open spaces as the population grows to two million. The Breathe strategy, first created in 2017, is being worked into an Open Space Management Plan that will guide investments in open spaces (not including the river valley and ravine system). Residents can share how they use open spaces that are close to their homes by completing a survey by June 9.
• Waste Reduction Roadmap '30 — The City of Edmonton is developing a roadmap to reduce waste between 2026 to 2030. Residents can review proposed actions, contribute to a discussion board, or take a survey until June 11.

More input opportunities

• Until June 6: School Library Standards (Government of Alberta)
• Until June 8: Skatepark Feedback (City of Leduc)
• Until June 10: Crestwood Arena Playground Renewal (City of Edmonton)
• Until June 10: Duncan Innes Park and Playground Survey (City of Edmonton)
• Until June 15: Animal Welfare Issues (Edmonton Humane Society)
• Until July 26: Plan for Parks (Government of Alberta)
• Until Aug. 31: 2025 Business Census (City of Edmonton)
• Until Aug. 31: Community Wellness Scan (City of Leduc)

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• FutureWave 2025 starting at 9am at NorQuest College
• Seniors' Week Writing: Making Peace with History starting at 10:30am at St. Albert Public Library (downtown)
• Indigenous Voices: Leadership, Legacy, and Economic Empowerment starting at 11am online
• Homeless Memorial starting at 12pm at Homeless Memorial Plaza
• Preparing For Financing | Business Learning Series starting at 1pm online
• Scaling: The Realities of Building and Growing Fast starting at 4:30pm at Edmonton Unlimited
• Art Gallery of Alberta AGM starting at 5pm at Art Gallery of Alberta
• St. Albert Gallery Walk starting at 6pm at Visual Arts Studio Association
• CAFÉ bicyclette Patio Concert Series: Andrea House starting at 7pm at La Cité Francophone

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• June 7: What's on your mind, municipally speaking at Edmonton Public Library (Castle Downs)
• June 11: What's on your mind, municipally speaking? online
• June 17: Dear Future YEG Presents: Youth Symposium at ArtsHub Ortona

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