Week in Review - October 23, 2015
October 23, 2015
While the federal election grabbed most of the headlines this week, there were plenty of other events and meetings of note.
On Saturday night, the Mayor had the pleasure of attending the 33rd anniversary celebration for the Filipino Seniors Citizens’ Association. Mayor Iveson spent the night honouring the work of the Association in keeping seniors healthy, active and involved in our community. He was honoured to participate in the coronation of the new Queen Evarista Velasco.
Monday marked a change in the federal government as the Liberal Party and leader Justin Trudeau were elected to lead our country. Throughout the campaign, Mayor Iveson and Canada’s other big city mayors campaigned to make investing in cities an election issue and historic progress was made in the transit and infrastructure platforms put forward by all major parties. With the Liberal election, the ‘city agenda’ will be well represented in Ottawa as the party had put forward key promises to double current investments in infrastructure, invest $19.7 billion over 10 years in transit and expand the nation’s social infrastructure. The party also announced it would ‘top up’ the government’s share of funding in the Valley Line LRT to match the ⅓ commitment made to other cities - a total of almost $133 million. Mayor Iveson said he would hold the new government to its commitments, and would seek to clarify the promises made around affordable housing in particular. City Councillor Amarjeet Sohi was also elected to parliament and a by-election will be held at a date still to be determined.
On Tuesday, City Council convened to discuss a number of important items and they voted to designate the Molson Brewery Building (located on 104th Avenue and 121st Street) as a Municipal Historic Resource. The City will fund half the cost (with the property owner and developer funding the other half) of rehabilitating and re-purposing the building. The restored building will anchor the new brewery district that's being developed along 104th Avenue between 121st Street and 119th Street. Council also signed off on an MOU to formalize Edmonton’s Northern Circumpolar Secretariat – a collaborative effort of parties with an interest in expanding Edmonton’s relationship with the North, including the City, Edmonton Economic Development, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, University of Alberta, and Edmonton International Airport.
Just prior to Council, Constable Murray Burke and Police Service Dog (PSD) Maverick were recognized for bringing home the top honours at the Canadian Police Canine Association trials last month. Congrats Maverick!
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi joined Mayor Iveson on stage Wednesday night for the annual Hurtig Lecture at the University of Alberta. The two mayors gave separate remarks on the topic: ‘The Future of Cities in Canada’, with Mayor Nenshi speaking about the ability of cities to affect issues of global concern - like climate change - and Mayor Iveson suggesting more local issues like poverty and reconciliation are best tackled by cities, the order of government closest to the people. The memorable evening featured many entertaining sound-bites, including Mayor Iveson addressing how he fights cynicism: ‘I don’t have time to be cynical,’ he quipped.
On Thursday, the Mayor travelled to participate in the Banff Forum, a diverse community of leaders from across Canada engaged in issues of national importance. Mayor Iveson will deliver a keynote address on Saturday and will participate in roundtables that will look at ways leaders can help build a better country and improve the lives of Canadians.
This week marked the second anniversary of Don Iveson's election as the Mayor of Edmonton – and the halfway mark in his term. It’s been a busy few years with many, many accomplishments and we look forward to two more years of hard work and city-building initiatives.
For More Information
Mayor Don Iveson
2nd Floor, City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB
T5J 2R7
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