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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.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘So f***ing rude … f**k you': Edmonton councillor swears at colleague as infill debate spills into summer break
A debate on infill got heated at Edmonton City Hall on Friday. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson reports. Edmonton city council got heated late Friday afternoon when conversations around zoning bylaw pushed back the summer break. It was the third day of public hearings on the topic, with all sorts of supporters and detractors weighing in on how to add density in the growing city. City council was set to break next week, but the public hearings saw more than 150 Edmontonians register to speak – leading council to consider an extension. Both Ward sipiwiyiniwak Coun. Sarah Hamilton and Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell said they would not be able to attend due to pre-planned trips based on the approved break. Things got heated shortly after when Ward Sspomitapi Coun. Jo-Anne Wright suggested they could have anticipated a delay. 'From what I understand … this is a normal course of business with things ramping up, and I would think that maybe the incumbents would have been aware of that,' Wright said. 'I wasn't, but I've been able to adjust my schedule for the most part.' 'Point of order,' interrupted Hamilton. 'That was so rude, Mr. Mayor. That was so f***ing rude. F**k you, Jo-Anne Wright. F**k you.' Both Wright and Hamilton withdrew their comments shortly after. Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford, who also had travel plans booked, expressed disappointment and concern over the extension and the possibility multiple council members would be absent. '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,' Rutherford said. 'So I think it is putting us in a terrible position.' In the end, city council voted 9-4 to return on Tuesday. In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, Hamilton said 'it was not the more parliamentary language' but that last-minute schedule changes are difficult for staff and council. 'The cruel attack on her (Wright's) colleagues for having personal commitments that are not easily changed betrays her ignorance of how constructive governing bodies are actually run,' she said. Wright spoke to media after the meeting ended and apologized for the exchange. 'I'm sorry that it happened,' Wright said. 'If I had done something to sort of encourage that, or comments that I made, I do apologize for that. 'But, I'm still concerned that we aren't going to have everybody on council at our public hearing to continue this.' A lot of public feedback The week of public hearings came 18 months after the city's new updated zoning bylaw came into effect. Supporters say infill projects under the new bylaw are increasing the housing supply and bringing new residents to aging neighbourhoods, where they support local businesses and boost the tax base. 'All of these mature neighbourhoods were designed to accommodate a much greater population than what they have,' Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said on Friday. 'Bus service is available, fire service, police service, recreational facilities … why would we not utilize the existing services and programs that we have in place and be more fiscally and sustainably and also environmentally responsible?' Those opposed say too-tall infills are being dropped into communities without considering if they fit in the neighbourhood, with towering multi-unit homes breaking up blocks of single-family bungalows. 'People are caught by surprise when an eight- or 10-unit building goes up right next door,' said Kevin Taft, who registered to speak on Friday. 'In McKernan right now, there are 16 applications to zone to higher density, that's in addition to all kinds of plexes,' he added. 'That's too fast. People can't accommodate that and it's unnecessary.' Kelly Petryk spoke at the hearings on Monday and Thursday. She said she isn't opposed to infill but doesn't think it's being done right – pointing to four fourplexes currently being built on a lot next to her home. 'My situation has been dubbed the 'Crestwood situation',' she said. 'It's a small crescent, (it) was one lot, now it's two. It didn't have the required frontage to be split. It has been split, and now there are 16 units going on.' 'Crestwood situation' A large infill project will see 16 units built on what was a single lot in Crestwood. The build prompted neighbour Kelly Petryk to sign up to share her thoughts on Edmonton bylaw during a lengthy public hearing in July 2025. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton) Petryk called what's happening next to her house a 'cautionary tale' and she is calling for better building guidelines and more effective public consultation. 'Are we ready to risk destroying neighbourhoods and say, 'Oh gosh, well, I guess that didn't work. Let's go back and figure it out?'' she said. 'I'm really frustrated at the realization that we're a guinea pig and we're just going to wait and see and figure out what happens.' Kalen Anderson, BILD Edmonton Metro CEO, supports the city's infill plan and said the current conversations are all part of the process. 'I don't think anybody should feel at all worried or ashamed about making changes that are smart,' Anderson said. 'This is what city planning is about. It's not a one-and-done.' Council has said it is currently considering a number of changes to the bylaw based on feedback from residents, including: reducing the maximum units on a mid-block lot from eight to six; requiring more windows on the fronts of buildings; shrinking the maximum building length by two metres; changing how many side entrances a build can have; building homes further apart; and keeping side stairways from jutting out too much. Anderson said many of them are reasonable, but she acknowledged they could negatively impact current builds. 'They would have to completely redesign their project. They might lose their financing. They might lose their customers,' she said. 'They would likely have to sell the units … for a slightly higher price point or rent it at a higher market rate. 'Those are the trade offs. Again, city building is messy and wonderful and that's why it's a democratic process.' Taft agreed that making changes is fine but said they should have been made as smaller changes over time. 'Council has like eight units on a 50-foot lot … when people are asking to go back, say to six or four, it throws off investors. It creates conflict,' Taft said. 'It's much better to make 1,000 small changes when you're planning a city than to make one massive one that incorporates so many neighbourhoods so dramatically.' Ward Karhiio Coun. Keren Tang said on Thursday that there won't be a way to satisfy everyone but that council will consider the input from across the board. 'We're all in this learning exercise where we're responding to what people are saying, and I think we need to remember that this is a collective journey that we're on,' Tang said. 'We're trying to figure out what is going to be in the best interest of the city and Edmontonians.' City council will continue Friday's meeting on Tuesday. With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson
CBC
04-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Edmonton to consider mandating envelopes, warnings for graphic flyers
Edmonton's city council will consider adding restrictions aimed at preventing people from unwittingly seeing flyers with graphic imagery. Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette introduced a motion during Wednesday's city council meeting that administration prepare changes to the community standards bylaw to require all unsolicited print material containing graphic images to be contained in a sealed opaque envelope with a content warning and senders' names and addresses. Paquette said he regularly receives complaints from residents coming across flyers in their mailboxes with pictures of aborted fetuses. He said such images have traumatized his constituents for a variety of reasons. "It's often children who bring in the mail and they're confronted with imagery that they are not emotionally or developmentally prepared to process in a healthy way," he told CBC News on Thursday. Paquette's motion, which passed unanimously, proposed a minimum fine of $500 for violating the rules. The motion did not mention abortion and the city councillor said he thinks the rules should also extend to other types of graphic imagery. Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford said at the meeting that her office has also received complaints about this topic. Ward Sspomitapi Coun. Jo-Anne Wright said she hasn't been hearing the same complaints but she's willing to explore restrictions to address concerns. "I think I'm going to take the guidance from our legal department as to what they define as being graphic," she said in an interview Thursday. Edmonton follows other cities Calgary's city council approved a change to its community standards bylaw in 2023. The regulations apply to graphic images of fetuses and violations carry fines of $1,000. The City of Edmonton's legal team told councillors Edmonton's bylaw requirements could be modelled after Calgary's. Cities in other provinces have also passed similar bylaws, but several have faced legal challenges. The City of St. Catharines, in Ontario, repealed its graphic images bylaw last year after the Association of Reformed Political Action, a Christian political advocacy organization, launched a legal challenge against it. The ARPA filed a notice of application last month challenging the constitutionality of a similar bylaw in London, Ont. Who's distributing flyers? Blaise Alleyne, the eastern strategic initiatives director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, said the organization distributes abortion-related images across the country. He said volunteers with a partner organization, Edmonton Against Abortion, deliver postcards in Edmonton year-round and an internship team from Calgary visited the city for a week of outreach in June. Both groups use the same flyers, he said. CBC News has not confirmed which flyers have prompted complaints to city councillors' offices. Alleyne said there are a few versions of the group's most up-to-date flyer and the organization rotates photos every few years, with slight variations since 2017. Alleyne said the CCBR believes bylaws like Calgary's won't survive constitutional court challenges. "City councillors would be better off to recognize that victim photography is a part of discourse in a democracy, even on contentious issues," he said. Gerard Kennedy, an assistant professor of law at the University of Alberta, said there can be limits to expression but the duty is on the government to prove that any are reasonable and proportionate. "Freedom of expression is supposed to be content-neutral with very rare expression limits, which means that you by all means regulate the time, place and manner in which expression is done, and by all means protect vulnerable persons, but you shouldn't be stopping a message being sent out simply because you disagree with the message," he said. Richard Dur, executive director with Prolife Alberta, said Albertans won't reject abortion until they see the reality of it. "When something is so horrifying we can't bear to look at it, perhaps we shouldn't be accepting it," he told CBC News in an emailed statement. Dur said Prolife Alberta launched a province-wide advertising campaign, in part "to bypass unjust municipal censorship." The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada says on its website that graphic images of aborted fetuses are harmful and encourages people to complain to municipalities and ask for regulations. Alleyne said he has not heard of any cases of people being fined under graphic images bylaws. He said the CCBR complies with municipal bylaws, usually by not delivering in communities with them since doing so is much more expensive and time-consuming. "We've not faced fines, but it's impacted our ability to share our message with the public," he said. Councillors on Edmonton's community and public services committee are set to discuss possible bylaw amendments early next year.
CBC
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
New bike skills park in river valley gets green light from Edmonton city council
Social Sharing The Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance has received the final approvals needed from city council in order to start building a skills park on the site of a former wastewater treatment plant in Queen Elizabeth Park. The EMBA has called the decision a big win for Edmonton riders. "Next stop: shovels in the ground!" the group said in a social media post Wednesday. The free park, intended to be a place where mountain bikers can learn and practise skills, will include trails, a looped asphalt track and an area for jumps. The $1.2-million project has been funded through donor contributions and grants from the municipal and provincial governments. Eleven council members voted to approve the skills park on Wednesday morning, with Jo-Anne Wright and Karen Principe, who represent Ward Sspomitapi and Ward tastawiyiniwak, respectively, voting against it. Principe said she thinks that the park will be a wonderful addition to the city but she was not convinced the location, southeast of the Walterdale Bridge, was the right place for it and Wright made similar comments during the council meeting. "Other locations really haven't been considered that might be actually even more accessible for people," she said. City council approved a master plan for Queen Elizabeth Park, which included a bike skills park, in 2013. Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford said before the vote that council should respect the decision that was made then because pivoting at the last minute would create distrust and uncertainty for community members who have been working on the project. Cyclists and conservationists clash over skills park in Edmonton's river valley 2 days ago Duration 2:09 The Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition has argued the park would be destructive and launched a petition asking council to find a more ecologically sound location for it. As of Wednesday, the group's petition had more than 500 supporters. Kristine Kowalchuk told CBC News on Wednesday the coalition is extremely disappointed with the city council decision, calling it "another major blow to the river valley." A recent city report said an environmental impact assessment identified some potential environmental impacts from the project but estimated the cumulative impacts to be low to moderate. A site location study concluded the skills park would not cause significant environmental impacts. Rutherford said directing bikers to a specific area could help protect the river valley by reducing use on unauthorized trails. "There are areas I'd like to see completely blocked off from bikers so that there can be restoration and naturalization in other parts of the river valley, but I think in order to do that, you need to give people a space to go," she said.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Business park proposal that would relocate Fulton Creek, remove 6,900 trees fails to pass
A rezoning application that would relocate a creek in southeast Edmonton and remove thousands of trees to allow for more industrial land failed at a public hearing at Edmonton's city hall Wednesday. The application was submitted by V3 Companies of Canada on behalf of Fulton Creek Business Park with the aim of allowing for more land for industrial use near Roper Road, 30th Street and 24th Street. The complexity of the application meant requiring council to approve amendments to the zoning bylaw, the Maple Ridge Area Structure Plan, the North Saskatchewan River Valley Area Redevelopment Plan and the Southeast District Plan. However, council was divided by what proved to be one of the most controversial aspects of the application: the relocation of Fulton Creek. The motion failed as the vote ended in a 6-6 tie during Wednesday's public hearing meeting. "I think council and our administration has been put into a very sort of compromising or contradictory position," said Coun. Jo-Anne Wright, whose Ward Sspomitapi includes the creek. Wright was among those who voted against the motion. "We're being asked right now to compromise our commitment and policy direction for environmental sustainability," she said. "We're being asked to make a choice between the economic benefit — as slight as I think it is — in this specific land use case and the protection of our natural areas, which have been I think, degraded over the years." Wright also expressed concern over a lack of consultation with Papaschase First Nation. "I would have liked to seen a little more effort to connect with the Papaschase band," Wright said. "It was Papaschase band that stewarded these lands before they were stolen." CBC has requested further comment from Papaschase First Nation. City administration told council they were in support of the rezoning application after weighing the pros and cons of the project. An approved application would have seen an expansion of 4.9 hectares of land for industrial use and create up to 400 jobs. However, city administration found it would require the removal of 6,900 trees and might cause potential harm to the ecosystem. "The sound bite of 6,900 trees being removed. Remember that these trees are being replaced," Mark Edwards, the senior director of development at Panattoni Development, told council about the mitigation efforts the company would undertake in relocating the creek. "This isn't a net loss, so there's actually a net gain in trees." Other council members like Tim Cartmell and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, who both voted in favour, said they felt satisfied by the mitigation efforts outlined by the business park applicant. "We're still a city of 1.2 million people. We still need a significant amount of non-residential development. We still have considerable financial restraints and concerns on our city," Cartmell said. "This will actually, with approval of this application, result in a protected space and a well-managed space, which is not necessarily the case if it falls back to the city to take responsibility for." Sohi expressed apprehension at voting against the application, citing it could be seen as a deterrence to other projects. "We have lost a huge amount of industrial growth to the region, and that has put our city in a very difficult financial position, where we are putting such a burden on the residential property owners, because we have lost our share of industrial growth from 74 per cent, to six down to 60 per cent," said Sohi. "So every incremental decision that comes in front of us to rebalance that back into more industrial growth." Other public stakeholders like the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition were staunchly opposed to the application. "We're very relieved that this proposal did not pass," Kristine Kowalchuk, coalition chair, told CBC in an interview. "This landscape formed over thousands of years, and you can't just replace trees … you can't just replant them and redevelop an ecosystem, a functioning ecosystem, in 10 years," Kowalchuk said noting the land was found to have at least 20 species of birds in an environmental assessment made public as part of the hearing at city hall. "We did a site visit just a few days ago to take a look at this creek, and right now, the creek is full of frogs singing. So it's not a heavily degraded land. This is land that is functioning as important habitat and a wildlife corridor today."
