Weekly Update - Oct 24

Welcome back from another lovely weekend. Here’s the wrap up from last week!

Budget season is upon us with last week’s release of Edmonton’s draft capital budget for 2023-2026. There’s a lot to be excited about and I look forward to our discussions on this important $7B decision for our city. I'll be sharing more about how you can get involved next week!

I was encouraged by our Council discussion of new dedicated tax levy funds to help keep our aging infrastructure in good shape. The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund has been a real success and I hope to build on that for other amenities in our communities.

It was a quiet public hearing for Ward O-day'min with just one small change to allow residential uses in a hotel in Boyle Street. Additional housing options in our communities are always welcome.

I was disappointed that my motion related to the Homelessness Response Strategy failed but I’m glad a number of resources are in place for winter. The Provincial requirement for shelters to be open 24/7 and funding for additional spaces are both welcome supports.

The Police Commission meeting on Thursday covered a number of important topics. I was pleased to hear EPS' commitment to not use generalized photos generated through DNA phenotyping and I was supportive of a tech advisory council being created with strong community involvement.

I chose not to support the Commission motion to ask for race to be included on IDs. While I believe strongly in the importance of race based data, I think it's essential that the tools we use are developed with community and expert advice to avoid doing further harm.

Thanks for tuning in and hope everyone has a great week ahead!