In my entire life I've never seen a Premier so brazenly discuss transforming our healthcare system into what the Americans have.
Fundraise for my healthcare? In Canada? Are you literally joking?
In the stream, she repeated her idea that you need to use your "own money" or raise donations in order to pay for medical care. She doesn't want AHS to "make decisions about whether or not you get medical treatment". So instead, it will depend on your ability to pay for it? /6
You'll pardon people who've been worried about climate change for 25 years if we roll our eyes when we're now told not to "politicize" what's happening in Alberta right now.
When exactly is a good time to discuss the predicament we're in, and how we can collectively address it?
"Why are you so passionate about bike lanes?"
Used to ride 83rd Avenue before it had a bike lane. We were harassed regularly, and one time a truck bro "pretended" he was going to kill my wife by lurching his truck towards her.
That all stopped with the bike lane.
Looks like Mr. Staples is doing the UCP's bidding by insinuating that Edmonton is close to insolvency?
Absolutely ludicrous.
This is an unconscionable political attack by the province.
The people mad about $100 million in bike lanes that we will be able to see with our eyes must be going bonkers about the $100+ million flushed down the toilet in secret for the Energy War Room eh?
What? No? Is this thing on?
I'm grateful for everyone who ran for or volunteered for the NDP this election. It takes courage to push back against a group of people who have abandoned reality.
Thank you.
City of Edmonton workers are being offered:
year raise inflation
2019 0% 1.95%
2020 0% 0.72%
2021 0% 3.40%
2022 1% 6.80%
2023 2% 3.90%
2024 2% ?
2025 2.25 ?
Why do we think they're worth so much less now than in 2019?
Eight years ago, we had to fight to get a very contentious $10 million of bike infrastructure built. Today,
#yegcc
just voted for ten times that.
This is a great victory for health, climate, affordability, and economic sustainability.
Someone bought the house on the left for $400K in 2018. They replaced it with the building on the right, which has 18 homes. That building was recently sold for $255K/home. Allowing more density -- more homes on every lot -- lowers the cost of each new home.
People who are deriding
#yegbike
lane investment as a luxury are choosing to overlook the real injury, death, and bullying that people who choose to ride bikes face on the daily.
And that's why they're wrong. $100 million for bike lanes is a fair, ethical investment.
So Smith is asking Albertans to eat shit for 25 years to maybe have some money then and to not get free pharmacare money from the feds because reasons?
Interesting gambit.
I walked across the street in Alberta this morning, my feet shamelessly using the infrastructure without paying their fair share.
Where do I mail my fairness tax?
Every single person that I know speaking against the zoning bylaw renewal later this week is a boomer. On the other side is all 18-40 year olds.
Don't the boomers have the self awareness to wonder if they're the baddies?
Can we all take a moment to acknowledge the white million dollar home owners in Belgravia who are worried about gentrification from Edmonton's zoning bylaw renewal?
A minute of silence everyone, bow your heads.
Alberta plans to move its fixed election from May to October, after wildfires forced the evacuation of nearly 30,000 people as parties jostled on the campaign trail. Ellis says the change is needed b/c of the number of springtime natural disasters
#ableg
Administration has a gross amount of power in this city.
Edmonton City Council gave a direction on 102 Avenue months ago, and admin is still actively fighting it.
(and they, along with the business lobby, have won - cars will be idling on 102 Avenue soon)
Once you see that solar and batteries are on a similar trajectory to computer chips, you start to see the futility of Alberta's cute little solar ban.
More pathetic than cute but you know what I mean.
A representative of "Better" Infill YEG just advocated on the radio:
-more density near busy roads (stick the poors with the pollution)
-not letting "renters" replace "homeowners"
-less density than currently proposed
Blatant NIMBYism with a side of exclusion along class lines.
This is so outrageous.
Edmontonians overwhelmingly voted for candidates with bold climate agendas, but Mr. Corbould isn't feeling it so it sucks to be us?
From
@CJEdmonton
on instagram: City Manager Andre Corbould says he doesn't "feel" Edmontonians are on board enough with combatting climate change.
So he didn't include funding for it in Edmonton's budget.
After council directed him to.
I am FLOORED
#yeg
#yegcc
In 48 years, 25 of those being politically aware, I've never seen a bigger turning point than this election in Alberta.
We decide to start becoming Mississippi or we take a bold step into the future.
City councillors in
#yegcc
are going to get all kinds of grief over the next four years as the bike plan gets built out.
But we know that protected bike lanes are transformational. And electric micromobility tech is going to supercharge adoption!
Do the people yelling at our mayor and councillors under every post understand that Edmonton has delivered one of the world's best driving experiences?
Traffic jams are rare, and even then they tie you up for maybe 2-3 minutes.
hashtaggrateful
Listening to 630 Ched call-in show about the new Edmonton Zoning Bylaw.
"I moved into an inner city neighbourhood because I didn't want the density."
um, okay
During Strathcona's renewal there was a similar group. They even used the word "destroy" in their messaging.
Today, no one will admit to ever having been against the lovely upgrades that our neighbourhood got.
"We want the basics. We want our potholes filled. We want our sidewalks fixed. We don't need fancy sidewalks. We don't need the bike lanes that start somewhere and end nowhere."
#yeg
#yegcc
Rich land owners running illegal parking lots to make speculating on vacant land downtown more profitable is so gross.
And admin suggests not doing anything about it? GTFO
Alberta NDP: scared to say the word climate change because it might scare a suburbanite from Calgary
Alberta UCP: "we dun killed the windmills and health system time for to bring back coal burning!"
The irony of Edmonton NIMBYs demonizing developers to keep exclusionary zoning is that doing so would most help the *actual* big bad developers:
- the ones speculating on vacant lots for highrises
- the ones lobbying to chew up farmland on the outskirts
Edmonton’s mayor says if the Alberta government has concerns about the city’s finances the province should give them more money.
He sent a letter to Premier Danielle Smith with funding requests. Without help property taxes could go up more.
#yeg
#yegcc
"As predicted by climate change models, drought is desiccating the Prairies, especially southern Alberta. ...municipalities to plan for another dry summer..."
Climate change is *not* good for Albertan agriculture.
I'm not a huge fan of high-rises, although I still support this one near my house because we are in a housing and climate crisis.
The solution is mass rezoning. The more widely (and therefore gently) the density can be spread out, the fewer high-rise buildings we'll have.
Oh look, some very smart white men™ are telling me that air-source heat pumps are not feasible.
Same dudes who insisted we couldn't eliminate coal and that wind/solar couldn't possibly be above 10% of total grid supply 10 years ago.
Do you want a high rise near you and more natural areas destroyed by urban sprawl?
Then fight Edmonton's Zoning Bylaw Renewal.
As a bonus you'll be helping to accelerate climate change and making houses less affordable for people who don't one yet! 🥳
"8 stories near a natural area does not improve access"
actually it lets a bunch of people live next to the natural area, thereby drastically improving their access?
The city is planning to renew 76 Avenue, and there is potential for some great bike/walk facilities along it.
Do you want to help me and a few other keeners "give the city courage", so to speak?
If so, please reach out. First meeting is tomorrow night!
So you will ride with your 8-year old on a vehicle lane with a line up of cars behind you? Of course not. You will choose to not ride at all.
We're a decade+ into this and city admin simply will not build high-quality bike facilities.
I'm glad that Kevin Taft and friends' misguided op-ed motivated me to speak to council yesterday.
It just grinds my gears to see people punching down you know? You're a wealthy landowner and you're spending your time fighting cheap housing? GTFO.
Already envisioning playing a part in the greatest get-out-the-youth campaign this city has ever seen for if/when Cartmell or Hamilton runs against Sohi in 2025.
That man was such a great leader yesterday.
The situation:
- 7.5% wage increase over 5 yrs is 1.45%.
- “tax increase of 2.5% if applied to the entire city workforce” -
@CSU52
doesn’t represent the entire city right?
- How was a required retroactive payment not funded for?
- 94% voted to strike.
How was this a surprise?
Alberta's Public Safety minister says UCP is considering involuntary treatment as a recovery option to deal with addictions issue.
Adds Albertans are tired of harm reduction activists pitching "so-called safe supply" etc, saying those policies have failed repeatedly.
#yeg
#yyc
@troypavlek
@ChadOhman
Bike lanes help people with less money and those who aren't housed.
I love (don't love) how it has been set up by admin as bike plan vs. housing.
We're spending 1/2 billion on the Yellowhead.
This will come as a huge relief to the nuclear and oil bros who are so massively worried about recycling wind turbines and solar panels in 25 years from now. 🥰
“This Ohio startup turns wind turbine blades into extraordinary park benches.”
Nakedly trying to paint the city as out of control to set up a "conservatives are good at managing" narrative for the next election.
This is a new low, even for Staples.
Remember when
@_TimCartmell
advocated to keep the speed on residential speeds 50 km/h?
Good thing the other councillors played the adults. Lives were saved.
🧵Since
#yegcc
reduced local speed limits to 40km/hr in 2021 we've seen:
🟢25% reduction in the number of crashes
🟢31% reduction in overall injuries & fatalities
These are amazing results!
I have some deadlines on current
#VisionZero
projects underway I want to share here: /4
It's not core neighbourhoods vs. suburbs. It's a plea for smart investment.
How about this for a rule of thumb: if it has to be surrounded by acres and acres of parking, we don't build it. Full stop.
If one outright owns the company Epcor, is one almost insolvent?
Asking for an alternate-universe David Staples who has a shred of professional dignity.
Do you want a walkable, bikeable, and rollable (scoot-able, wheelchair-able, stroller-able) 76 Avenue?
Join Connect 76, the group that
@troypavlek
and I are part of!
(or just show up at the city consultation on Thursday )
This whole thread is good, and I think this point is particularly important.
High. Quality. Only. Six year olds can bike on it safely, or don't build it.
Like it or not, bike lanes are political and if the city builds a bunch of prominent, low quality, bike lanes that extend into suburbia they will become focal points of opponents (the painted bike lanes that were removed a decade ago on 95th in the west end are one such example).
Apropos of nothing in particular, no organization is more responsible for Edmonton's unsustainable sprawled-out form than UDI, the Urban Development Institute.
They've been lobbying the City for literally decades to keep opening up fresh farmland and building roads for access.
21 years ago this week, the United States launched its invasion of Iraq. Canada (officially) decided not to join the war, but almost every major Canadian media outlet except the Toronto Star published an editorial saying Jean Chrétien made the wrong choice
@newfangl3d
And after I explained it they told me it’s the same as how they get to park on sidewalks.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There is plenty room to set up the tent in a legal and safe area.
We should be adding boulevards to as many streets as possible during neighbourhood renewal . We could make room by converting them to one way where it makes sense.
But this isn’t even on the radar, I brought it up during Strathcona’s renewal and all eyes glazed over.
Going private for a couple of days because it's just too tedious to deal with all the 10-follower white man accounts clutching pearls about how horribly racist the above tweet is.
Valley Line LRT = 223,00 monthly riders
cost = $1,800 million
83 Ave bike lane = 30,000+ montly riders (summer)
cost = $2 million
I love the train but also bike lanes are the best investment around.
Big lesson this year for current and future city councillors: always raise taxes by at least inflation.
Raising taxes by 0% is a tax decrease in real terms that you will get ZERO credit for.
The $2 million Manning Report urges consideration of “alternative scientific narratives” (their words), undermining the hard work and knowledge of experts and healthcare professionals.
You can’t make this up.
Albertans deserve so much better than horse paste policy.
#ableg
It’s a great first step to have that list of things within 15 minutes walk.
But if that walk isn’t safe and pleasant, we’re only maybe 40% of the way there.
The new 102 avenue is gonna be gorgeous, activated and safe.
A line of idling cars. Cars parked in the bike lane. Maybe some beautiful plastic green bollards to beg cars to stop doing that.
World class climate action everyone. 🥰
Hey Sherwood Park! 👋
Meet
@kylekasawski
, your
@albertandp
candidate!
We don’t have a pic together yet, so I made one using my terrific graphic design skills 🤣
I can’t wait to elect Kyle. He’ll be a fantastic MLA. Join us a week from today! 🍊
#ableg
If a provincial government blocks federal funding for something because they simply must own the libs, could the feds not establish federal non-profit organizations to receive and directly spend the money in said provinces?
Edmonton has an unpermitted surface parking lot problem. We have spent years hoping it would resolve itself. We need to be looking at all of the tools we have in our tool belt to ensure these businesses are paying their fair share.
#yeg
#WardM
étis
Looking forward to Edmonton City Council getting painted as “defund the police“ enthusiasts by their opponents over the next three years even as they inflate police budgets to record levels. 🥳
For the right-wing bros losing their minds over Trudeau's mild electric car mandate, let us take a moment to remember when Harper banned the incandescent bulb.
@HaruunYEG
@troypavlek
@CJEdmonton
"Give me overwhelming evidence for which there is no historic precedent, and only then will I consider this 'climate change' thing you're talking about."
And after initially complaining about the changes, communities quickly fall in love with bike lanes.
If they're done well, that is. Which remains to be seen (it's a next year problem, I'm going to enjoy today).
On a day like today, Alberta is burning absolutely enormous quantities of methane gas to keep buildings warm.
To hit net zero by 2050 will require an epic build out of transmission, retrofits, and emission-free energy production.
No wonder we burn through activists at such a high clip.
Oh you want to make the world mildly better? Good for you. But on this specific [insert any fucking issue]? Sorry, no can do.
Cops gotta get their money, cars gotta have all the space.
Go plant a tree or something.