Latest news with #EdmontonCouncil
CTV News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Mayoral candidate Tim Cartmell apologizes after missing council vote on infill
Edmonton mayoral candidate and current city councillor Tim Cartmell is apologizing after missing a vote on infill. After days of debate on the issue in which councillors heard from hundreds of residents, a motion was passed to delay a decision until 2027 on whether to continue to allow eight units mid-block. The motion passed 6-5 on July 8, with councillors Michael Janz, Ashley Salvador, Andrew Knack, Jennifer Rice and Karen Principe in opposition. Cartmell had pledged to curb infill from eight units to six as part of his mayoral platform. He was absent from the vote on July 8. 'I regret missing the council meeting continuation last Monday. I know many people were counting on me to be there, and I apologize for letting them down,' he said in a statement issued Wednesday. Cartmell said it was necessary to miss the vote to spend time with his family. 'I had made family plans to go to a distant, remote place in eastern Canada. A place deliberately chosen because it had no connectivity and therefore no distractions,' he wrote. 'To spend one final week with my family before the final months of the election campaign and hopefully four years as mayor during which there will likely be no opportunity at all to squeeze in a family vacation.' Coun. Erin Rutherford's seat was also empty on July 8, but she attended the meeting virtually while on vacation in Kelowna. Rutherford voted in favour of Mayor Amarjeet Sohi's motion to leave the decision on infill reduction to a later date after consultations are completed in 2027. Cartmell says he will continue to work to 'get infill right' if elected in October. 'I made a mistake. I intend to learn from it,' he said. Edmontonians will go to the polls on Oct. 20 to elect a new mayor and city council. Sohi is not running for a second term after losing a bid to win a seat in the April federal election.
CBC
05-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Edmonton public hearing to resume next week, after heated city council exchange
Edmonton city council reluctantly voted to continue a public hearing next week — their vacation period — after Friday evening's debate led to F-bombs being thrown. The marathon meetings have stretched all week, as council reviews its zoning bylaw one year after a major overhaul. On Friday, councillors spoke about work-life balance, with some saying they would be on vacation without internet next week. Then, a heated exchange occurred, after Ward Sspomitapi Coun. Jo-Anne Wright commented about how experienced councillors might have expected the meeting eating into their vacation time. "From what I understand… this is a normal course of business with things ramping up, and I would think that maybe the incumbents would be aware of that," Wright said. Ward sipiwiyiniwak Coun. Sarah Hamilton, who said she'd be away and unable to attend the meeting, swore in her response. "That was so f--king rude. F--k you, Jo-Anne Wright. F--k you," she said. "This is absolutely unacceptable," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said immediately afterward. Sohi, who chairs council meetings, asked both councillors to withdraw their comments. Both obliged, and Hamilton apologized for using unparliamentary language. If the public hearing did not go ahead next week, council would have to return in the middle of August. One of the major debates is about amending the zoning bylaw to reduce the number of allowable units in mid-block row houses from eight to six. Sohi said Friday that the hundreds of Edmontonians who have spoken about zoning deserve some closure on the issue, and encouraged councillors to vote to continue next week. "This is not an ideal situation, but this is the situation that we are in," he said. "Whichever decision we make, we need to make that decision as soon as possible," he said. "If we go from eight to six units, there will be consequences if we delay that decision by another month-and-a-half." Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford said moving the meeting to council's scheduled vacation period puts councillors in a "terrible position." "Quite frankly, we are all burnt out," Rutherford said. "This is one of the most important topics that Edmontonians expect us to have, and the councillors that do not attend will be questioned as to why they are not prioritizing this," she said. The motion to continue on July 8 carried 9-4. Councillors Hamilton, Tim Cartmell, Karen Principe and Jennifer Rice opposed.
