SIX MONTHS STRONGER
During the campaign, I talked about building our communities stronger. This is about taking decisions that make our city more resilient to the challenges we face now and into the future. There are a number of ways over the past six months that I’ve worked to make O-day’min stronger.
Prioritizing Housing Affordability for All
Safe and affordable housing is a fundamental human right, and essential for alleviating poverty and creating community wellbeing. This Council has advanced a range of resources to start to address both short and long-term housing needs.
To address the immediate impact of the housing crisis, City Council has allocated resources to a number of critical responses. Most recently, we approved $1.8m to support extended operating hours at the Bissell Centre and in February I brought forward a successful motion for $4.8m to extend the operation of four bridge housing sites that were at risk of closure. During the December budget deliberations, I was also able to secure $900,000 for Indigenous-led encampment outreach teams who can help connect those currently living without housing to the services and supports they need, as well as a quarter of a million dollars to help REACH expand their Crisis Diversion team to provide responses to urgent, if not emergency, needs.
In addition to these immediate responses, Council has been continuing to invest in more lasting solutions. This includes approving $16.77m in Affordable Housing Investment Program Grants, and $7.5m to supplement the $11m in federal Rapid Housing Initiative funding which will go towards 222 units of permanent supportive housing. I also initiated a conversation about how we might be able to use our Downtown Community Revitalization Levy funds to invest in housing infrastructure to support both those experiencing houselessness and businesses in our downtown core.
Amongst these wins, there was a miss. I advocated for property tax breaks for affordable housing, a motion that ultimately wasn't successful. But the alternative property tax subsidy program coming forward is one that I'm hopeful will help reduce the operating costs of affordable housing providers and reflect the huge value their work has in our community - particularly in reducing the costs that homelessness has to our City services.
As proud as I am of the work we've accomplished in the past six months, there is so much more to be done. The number of people without shelter in Edmonton has doubled in the past two years and too many others continue to struggle to pay rent. Housing and homelessness is a topic that will continue to be front and centre for me and I will be sharing much more in the time ahead.
Taking Decisive Climate Action
While there are things we can each do to help decrease our carbon footprint, systemic changes are needed to truly tackle our climate challenges. As a Council, we are working hard to build city systems in ways that can reduce our carbon emissions.
One of the most transformative ways we can do this is to change our land use and transportation patterns. As I highlight in my Six Months Smarter blog, the 15 Minute City will be an extremely effective tool in lowering our emissions as a city, and the land use decisions I’ve made to date have been in line with these efforts.
Another approach I’ve taken is to consistently ask City staff how climate change considerations have been factored into their analysis, particularly for capital projects. Through this line of questioning, I’ve learned about the City's Green Building policy which I think sets a high bar for our new capital investments. I’ve also asked about the possibility of phasing out of gas powered landscaping equipment used by the City, something that will now be considered in the carbon budgeting process. That carbon budgeting process will be coming up soon and I'm excited for the transformative change it can support by allowing us to make more fully informed decisions.
Another climate-related decision I supported was the City moving forward on a bylaw to ban single-use plastics in the city. The bylaw would ban single-use plastic shopping bags, foam cups and containers and would require restaurants to provide things like napkins, straws and pre-packaged condiments by request only. Single use plastics are an easily preventable source of greenhouse gas emissions so a ban can help us limit our emissions as a city.
And while perhaps less directly climate related, I also voted to discontinue the aerial mosquito control program. I know from your emails and phone calls that there is lots of passion about this topic on all sides. My focus was on addressing some of the root causes of high mosquito populations (for example, a lack of predators or characteristics of the land) rather than a band-aid solution we need to pay for year after year. I truly believe this is a better use of our money and will yield better results in the long run, both financially and ecologically.
Climate action needs multi-faceted solutions and I am proud to be part of this Council that is making decisions to ensure Edmonton is continuously working towards climate resilience.
Supporting a Diversified Economy and Mobility Network to Create Choice and Adaptability
We all know the old adage of not putting all your eggs in one basket - the exact same is true for cities. The more diverse our economy and transportation network, the better able we are to respond to the sudden shocks and gradual changes we know are coming - even if we don't know exactly what they'll be! Council is working hard to find ways of making sure Edmonton residents have different ways of making a living and getting around the city.
Over the past six months, I've had the opportunity to connect with the six Business Improvement Areas that fall within the ward to find out what they need to support their businesses and a diversified economy in Edmonton. They have shared a range of creative solutions they're pursuing, from extending the new outdoor patio opportunities to strengthening connections with Northern Canadian markets. I've also heard about the challenges that so many businesses have faced over the past two years. I'm pleased that in December, Council voted to reduce the levy applied to businesses in BIAs to remove a small piece of their financial burden, and I've been working to secure a micro-grant program for businesses that have been impacted by property damage and vandalism, which I'm hopeful will be rolling out soon.
Downtown has been a special area of focus for me as we look to rebuild this essential part of Edmonton's economy. I was able to advance a range of resources to support the area, including a new City staff position dedicated to Downtown Economic Recovery, $3m to immediately roll out new public washrooms in the downtown and other priority areas across Edmonton, and $1.4m to staff a new 10 person special waste team who will be deployed to put a shine on our downtown to support a vibrant economy. I'm also pleased to have the opportunity to support the great work of Edmonton Global, Health City, and Innovate Edmonton through my shareholder role in these organisations, and am particularly excited that O-day'min will soon be home to all three of these exciting teams that are doing so much to build up Edmonton businesses and attract new ones to our city.
I've heard from many businesses that quality of life is a huge factor in attracting and retaining talent, particularly when it comes to more active ways of getting around town. One of the most exciting motions I've had the chance to make is to potentially pedestrianize 102 Avenue as part of the LRT Valley West construction. This would allow for a better pedestrian experience for those strolling 102 Avenue and show leadership from the City on making space for other modes of transportation other than vehicles. I was also pleased to support a number of initiatives to fund an acceleration of the bike plan implementation and improvements to sidewalk repairs that will keep us all walking and rolling safely. I'm also so happy to have advocated successfully for a dismount- and detour-free solution during EPCOR's construction on 102 Avenue, with a new temporary shared use path being set up for the summer.
We will be having a number of critical conversations about investment in our transit system, including how we approach regional transit. My motion back in March to have City staff report back on the implications of regional transit to ETS operations will provide us with the information we need to make an informed decision moving forward. Much more to come on this topic in the months ahead!
But wait - there's more!
Thank you to anyone who has made it to the end of this exceptionally long blog. The length of this post is a testament to how complex and diverse the work of City Council is - and it's only the beginning! I invite you to check out Six Months Smarter to learn about other initiatives my colleagues and I have been pursuing since October.
