More than four dozen people signed up to speak at what ended up being a marathon council meeting Wednesday about a proposed public spaces bylaw which would have widespread effects on several parts of Edmonton.
The bylaw was up for discussion at a special Edmonton city council meeting Wednesday that was held virtually.
The meeting lasted about 12 hours and in the end, councillors asked city staff to review multiple parts of the bylaw and change some of the working around transit and weapons. There is no timeline for when the work will be done.
The vast majority of the speakers opposed the changes, saying they will have harmful consequences on the vulnerable population in the city. The bylaw would make several changes, including banning amplification systems like megaphones in all public spaces.
Ice skating would not be allowed on the North Saskatchewan River and lifejackets would be mandatory when boating on the river.
More contentious rules being proposed include the prohibition of panhandling in or along roads or on medians, and not allowing people to stay on transit vehicles if the vehicle passes the same destination more than once.
Several speakers took issue with the proposal to ban people from visibly possessing, consuming or using a controlled substance in a public space.
Dr. Elaine Hyshka pointed out that drug use is already illegal in Edmonton.
“Adding an additional $500 fine is not going to do more to deter drug use, because the vast majority of people who are using substances in public spaces are people who are unstable … or totally unhoused,” she told Global News.
“They don’t have the means to pay these fines.”
Hyshka, a Canada Research Chair in Health Systems Innovation at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health, said research shows the majority of people who die from drug poisoning in Alberta are dying by inhalation or smoking, something that is not permitted at the city’s two supervised consumption sites.
“Adding additional pressure on people to force them out of public spaces and out of the public eye — into alleys or stairwells or parkades — really is going to increase the risk of drug-poisoning deaths,” she said.
“It’s quite counterproductive to making our city safer in that perspective.”
The proposed bylaw would replace multiple bylaws with a single piece of legislation that would cover a broad range of public behaviour in the city.
Doug Griffiths with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce spoke in support of the bylaw.
He pointed out the bylaw is not about vulnerable people.
“Most of the rules are ones we had in public spaces already — it just consolidates them,” Griffiths told Global News. “When most of the people were talking about this bylaw and the concern about vulnerable people, I don’t think making drug use in public spaces is going to help those vulnerable people.
“We need programs to help those vulnerable people. But this bylaw isn’t about that. It’s about ensuring safe public spaces.”
He said the chamber supports the proposed changes as they would send a message to visitors about Edmonton’s priorities.
“It doesn’t seem like a very big deal to us,” Griffiths said. “It just adds a lot of clarity for the business community and continues to push the brand that we’re a safe community.”
City councillors will have an opportunity to ask administration questions about the proposals and can recommend alterations before the final bylaw is approved.