As in many other major Canadian cities, issues to do with crime, transit safety, homelessness, addictions and social disorder dominated civic discourse in Edmonton in 2023.
As the mayor of Alberta’s provincial capital, Amarjeet Sohi — and city council as a whole – was compelled to tackle the job of co-ordinating a response to growing concerns arising from those challenges.
Earlier this month, Sohi sat down for a conversation with Global Edmonton’s Quinn Ohler to speak about those issues, plus the city’s recently approved property tax increase. He also spoke about what he believes are some of city council’s successes and to generally reflect on the year that was.
Below you can read a transcript of that interview.
QUINN OHLER: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today. Let’s start with one of the biggest issues that we’ve seen this year when it comes to safety and security for Edmontonians — not just LRT transit safety, not just in the core, but all over Edmonton. What can the city do to keep Edmontonians safe?
AMARJEET SOHI: You know, public safety has become one of the top issues over the last year or so, and we are hearing that all the time out in the community. And the crime severity, as well as the number of incidents of crime, have increased. That is why it is so important that council gave approval to the police funding formula that gives police the predictable funding source they needed … additional funding that the City of Edmonton has allocated — that council has allocated. Police can hire up to close to 100 new police officers. Then we also advocated to the province to add more resources so they are funding an additional 50 police officers and also I would say the settlement with the union will allow EPS to retain more of the police officers, as well attract more people to work.
QO: But it takes to time to train those officers too.
AS: It takes time.
QO: What can we do immediately?
AS: I think all those things combined together will allow police to have more than 200 police officers hired over the next few months and the year. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the province on the root causes of crime, particularly on the social disorder, lack of housing, poverty and the deterioration of the social infrastructure that is pushing people to the brink of desperation and the opioid crisis that we have, the drug poisoning crisis and the and the availability of the toxic supply of drugs, as well as the gangs and the guns that we are seeing in our city. So, you know, intervention (and) prevention absolutely is important, but enforcement is important as well. I think we will continue to work with our partners. But I want to stress this to Edmontonians, that the the crime that we are seeing in our streets, whether it is gang-related, gun-related, whether it is social disorder-related, whether it’s related to the toxic supply of drugs — none of that is caused by local city council policies. These are the symptoms of bigger issues that are beyond our control. We will do what we can and we are stepping up. That is why it’s so important that Edmontonians know that they need to impress upon other orders of government, as we have been doing, that they need to step up to improve safety in our city.
QO: So on that, we talked a little bit about the social disorder and the homeless situation in Edmonton. We hear time and time again from you, this is something that we have to work with your provincial and federal partners with. We all know those wheels move slow. What is Edmonton doing right now to help some of our more vulnerable citizens?
AS: You know, I appreciate the province’s efforts to add more shelter capacity in this city, and those shelters will be open 24 hours and seven days a week with some programming and services available. More affordable housing is being built — not enough, but we are catching up … (We) are adding our own resources to build close to 2,700 additional housing units as well as we opened up close to 640 supportive housing units. But that is only a drop in what is needed. The houseless population doubled since the COVID and the (opioid) crisis … The crisis of drug poisoning is worsening every day. And so recovery facilities being built by the province, I hope will come sooner than later … as well as the social supports that we need in our city. Our role, my role, is to ensure that what we can do as a local government and local municipality and what role we can play, encouraging and urging other orders of government, the community, to step up.
QO: On the encampment issue, we have the encampment hearings going on right now. What role does the city play in that? Should the city play a role?
AS: You know, I am disappointed, actually, the way this whole situation transpired. The lack of communication and lack of co-ordination between the city with the EPS and social agencies and service providers. And here we are in front of a judge. We should have been able to avoid this situation by having a better co-ordination among the various players. And so when it comes to encampments, we need to make sure that vulnerable Edmontonians are protected, are connected to services and programs … At the same time, we need to make sure that the criminal element that is preying upon a vulnerable population is also dealt with. So we want to create that balance, but I think we can only create that balance when everyone is talking to each other and and having those conversations at the same table. I have identified, I would say, a few deficiencies in the city’s approach to encampments. And I have raised those with the city manager, and we are going to be working together to ensure that the table is inclusive, that the voices that represent all Edmontonians are present when those decisions are made.
QO: What were those deficiencies?
AS: I think not having social agencies be part of the discussion — or being present — and the governance of how the encampments are dealt with, particularly when they become dangerous to the occupants and to the community. And it has the potential for harm. And I think having a more Indigenous involvement is absolutely important as well.
QO: Along with safety concerns, we’ve also seen a pretty significant raising of taxes this year. We’ve heard from residents living here who are dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. We’ve also heard from businesses that this is going to be really hard on them. Are you concerned about the reputation of Edmonton as a great place to live and to do business? Are you afraid people are going to move out of the city?
AS: Raising property taxes is never easy. And this was the most difficult budget that I have dealt with. There are pressures on the city, the same pressures that households are facing around inflation, cost for utilities. We have 8,500 buildings that we have to keep running. So utility costs have gone up, transit revenue has declined, not because of ridership, but because we implemented new technology and the people who are working from — home-hybrid work arrangements — are, you know, (there’s) less less people are buying monthly bus passes. But at the same time, Edmontonians expect us to continue to provide quality public services. I can tell you one thing that since I took over, we’ve been working really hard to improve core services. We have added more resources to improve — so snow and ice service, even though we haven’t seen much snow this year. But for the long term, we are adding more resources. We’re adding more bus service that has been lacking since 2018. We have not added bus service into newer communities. We have allocated more resources for LRT safety, doubled the number of transit peace officers as well as hired more social workers. The traffic safety outcomes are improving. There are less collisions in neighbourhoods and the severity of collisions is down. We’re closing down problem properties in in neighbourhoods that bring disorder into those communities. You know, core services are improving in the city, road conditions are getting better. So the things that are the responsibility of city council, we’re working hard to improve those and we are seeing improvements, but it’s always a balance, continue to invest and protect quality public services that people rely on and keeping our taxes affordable. It’s a hard balance. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don’t, but it’s something we strive to do.
QO: Are you concerned that people are going to be moving out because of these tax hikes?
AS: I think every other municipality in Canada is in the same situation. When you look around the regional municipalities, their tax increases range from five per cent to six per cent to seven per cent. So we are in the same range when it comes to annual property taxes. But I would also want to let people know that we are reducing expenditures. We cut the city budget by $60 million over the next three to four years, as well as asked administration to reallocate $240 million of existing budget to priorities of Edmontonians. So we are being fiscally responsible. At the same time, you know, I would not support reducing core services that people rely on. It is important that people have access to good recreational facilities, libraries — that they don’t have to buy those services privately, which are very expensive, that they have good access to fire service, that their garbage is being collected … on time, that they have good bus service in their neighbourhoods, that they don’t have to buy a private vehicle to help keep their living affordable. So these are very important services that Edmontonians rely on.
QO: Talking a little bit about the neighbouring communities. We’ve seen some of the communities pull out of Edmonton Global. We’ve seen the transit plan kind of fall apart. Are we able to still work as a region or is Edmonton now more working as a silo?
AS: You know, my commitment to regional collaboration is unwavering. I’m a huge supporter of Edmonton Global to attract investment to help grow our economy in the region. But at the same time, Edmonton should also strive to get its fair share of the industrial growth that we have not seen in the past. I will continue to support Edmonton Global in their efforts. On the regional transit, we are actually seeing more collaboration among municipalities. What Edmonton did not support was the creation of a commission to run transit service in the region … that commission was very expensive, very bureaucratic. About 40 per cent of the cost, additional cost, was going toward the wages of the managers and high-priced consultants instead of actually hiring bus drivers and improving service and also losing control of ETS, which would have meant not prioritizing ETS service for Edmontonians. And I think those are the things that would have gone against the expectations of Edmontonians at the same time would have cost Edmonton taxpayers $12 million on an ongoing basis every year into the future without seeing any corresponding benefit to Edmontonians. But we will continue to look for opportunities to improve the regional transit system. There are some opportunities coming our way in 2024.
QO: When it comes to relationships. What has your relationship been like with the province and the premier over the last year and how has it changed?
AS: You know, I would say I have been working very, very hard to build my relationship with the premier’s office and the premier and and their ministers, and the relationship is much better than we had with the previous administration … (We) appreciate their efforts on safety, on shelter capacity, on housing and working with them on making sure that Edmonton is treated fairly when it comes to support from the provincial government, that we are getting our fair share of the resources that the province is allocating.
QO: It sounds like you have a little bit of hesitant hesitancy in your voice. Is there work that still needs to be done?
AS: I think the the relationship with the province is a work in progress. We have made serious efforts and we will continue to make serious efforts to have a strong collaborative working relationship with the provincial government … let’s see what happens in the budget in February. I would say the ball is in their court. Edmonton has always been collaborative but we also know that Edmonton has not been treated fairly by successive provincial governments, not just this government, but previous governments as well. And it is time that we start getting the recognition that a capital city deserves from the provincial government.
QO: What has been this council’s biggest victory of 2023?
AS: I would say improving core services has been one of my focuses and we are actually showing results. Our road conditions are getting better. Our bus service is getting better. Our snow and ice response is getting better and will be better come next year. We are seeing a number of neighbourhoods being repaired for basic infrastructure upkeep that we are seeing. I am very proud of the action we are taking on climate change and I appreciate council’s efforts to build more housing for struggling Edmontonians. I think those are the successes that I look back and reflect on … I think Edmontonians will take stock of those things and look at this council and say, ‘You know, this council is really focused on their priorities, what they want us to do,’ and how we are making life better for all Edmontonians. Another thing I’m very proud of is the work that we are doing on anti-racism as well as reconciliation with Indigenous communities and we are stepping up our obligations on that.
QO: So looking forward to 2024, what is your biggest priority and how do we get there?
AS: I think the biggest priority is trying to find ways to improve the conditions around safety as well as disorder and really continue to focus on the vulnerable populations that are really struggling. You know, the opioid deaths have gone up 25 per cent year over year, and that’s very concerning, even though the city has very little levers to pull. But we hear from Edmontonians because we represent people and we see people every day suffering and struggling. So continue to find ways to tackle those societal issues. Social issues is something that we will continue to focus on.
QO: So you’re halfway through your term. Will you run again?
AS: I don’t know. I know we have a lot of work to do. During the last election, we made a huge amount of commitments, so we are on the way to meeting those commitments. But much more work still needs to be done … (I) remain focused on the mandate that I got from Edmontonians (and) to deliver. And we will decide that some time in the future when the time comes.
QO: Thank you so much for taking the time with us today.
AS: Well thank you so much for having me.
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