Subscribe to my E-Newsletter

Big Questions before a Billionaire Bonus

Amidst the madness of the USA offering free reign over their government and spending to a billionaire, you might have missed our own dose of local corporate welfare. Every Albertan should be offended.

I’m not talking about the orphan oil wells bailout or the growing scandal around healthcare contracts, or even Dynalife. I’m talking about a new agreement pulled together between the Provincial Government and Daryl Katz’s OEG Sports & Entertainment (OEGSE). Katz is listed in Maclean's magazine as the 29th wealthiest Canadian.

Potholes And Roadways

With the big swings in temperature these last few weeks, our roadways are being hit hard. And those potholes have big impacts on our city budget. As a city, we have a lot of roads. In fact, roads are our largest asset and liability. 

The good news is that we are completing pothole and roadway repairs more quickly and efficiently than previous years. The bad news, is that unless we curb urban sprawl, we're only going to be adding more roads and making our pothole problems worse.

Edmonton must watch for three things in the provincial budget

Sometimes I get asked about why city councillors spend so much energy advocating towards the province. You can’t operate a healthy city in an unhealthy province: Edmonton depends on the provincial government. 

Since 2015, building inwards contributes +$263 million in property taxes in mature neighbourhoods alone

A new memo (February 2025) from the assessment and taxation department at the City of Edmonton highlights just how enormous the financial impact of building inwards and upwards is to building a financially resilient and sustainable city.

City Hall News: Feb 4th, 2025

Inside….

1. Province shorts Edmontonians $96 million in unpaid property taxes since 2019.
2. Low Income Transit Programs in jeopardy in provincial budget
3. Better Public Transit Book Club (Human Transit by Walker)
4. EVENT: March 2nd: Annual Service Plan Launch Event
5. EVENT: March 6th: Affordability Town Hall with Canadians for Tax Fairness
6. WEBINAR: Infill and the Residential Zone
7. Re-Cap: Greenfield Safe Streets Event

Safe Streets and Neighbourhood Renewal

All of us, especially our youngest, deserve to be safe from dangerous driving in our neighbourhoods.

I want to share a little bit about 1) steps we can take as a community for safe streets and 2) more information about upcoming neighbourhood renewal process.

Democracy Should Not Be For Sale

Local democracy is stronger when we all have trust in one another, when democracy is decided by the best ideas, not the most money and decisions are made for the good of the many not the few.

Canada/Edmonton's monopoly problem demands stronger public services

To kick-off 2025 and in advance of our upcoming federal election, I wanted to share with you a quick video I can’t stop thinking about. We badly need fair prices, consumer protection, and public competition.

With a little imagination and organizing we can rebuild our public services, the proven check and balance for democracy.

 

Where can you play pickleball in Edmonton?

We recently received a memo from city administration about the "state of pickleball" in Edmonton, and I wanted to share this with you.

Can we do more with Yorath House?

Many a time I’ve been out walking or cycling in the river valley and found myself in search of a bite or a beverage. We have a couple of great spots that I think could be much more.