In his first calendar year as Edmonton’s mayor, Amarjeet Sohi said one of his highlights was going through the budget process this month with his fellow city council members.
That might come as a surprise to some Edmontonians — the process was grueling, with weeks of all-day council meetings, full of decisions with the potential of disappointing a lot of constituents.
But Sohi told Global News the budget is one of the things he’s most proud of.
“(It was) going through this budget process and really working in a collaborative way with council members … working together and really shifting the focus on where this city needs to go: focus on climate change, focus on affordable housing, investing in core services and investing in preventative services that reduce cost,” he said.
Controversial budget items
There were a number of decisions in the budget that sparked the ire of Edmontonians for different reasons, like the approval of $100 million towards a bike lane network across the city.
“I know that active modes of transportation, particularly cycling infrastructure, is polarized,” he said. “But we are building a city for everyone. There’s a lot of Edmontonians who bike and would like to bike more.”
Another controversial decision was when council voted 8-5 to back out of a regional transit commission, putting a stop to a years-long initiative supporting a seamless, integrated transit system across eight regional systems.
Sohi stands by his decision. He said he didn’t see enough benefit for Edmontonians to justify the cost – about $50 million over four years – and was opposed to creating a commission rather than building on the regional partnerships that already exist.
“I feel this is the most fiscally responsible decision for us to make, not to continue to throw money at a system or create a governance model which is very expensive,” said Sohi.
Changes are coming to city-owned parking spots: fees will rise, Sundays will no longer be free, free parking will start later in the evening and the 30-minute free period will be halved.
“We have not reviewed our parking policies and fees for a long time. And as far as I understand, the fees on parking have not been adjusted for a long time,” said Sohi.
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He said parking fees have stayed the same while transit fees have risen.
When asked whether this was in line with his goal of revitalizing downtown Edmonton, he said investing in public transit and building cycling infrastructure will help bring people into the core.
Chinatown
He also brought up that this summer, city council approved $15 million over two years to fund the Healthy Streets Operations Centre, located in Chinatown.
“I’m so happy that we are doing that because Chinatown has been neglected.”
Calls for more help from the city came from Chinatown residents after two men were killed in the neighborhood.
In August, Sohi responded to a demand from justice minister Tyler Shandro to come up with a safety plan for Edmonton’s downtown and transit. He detailed a list of initiatives meant to address social disorder downtown, including increasing police and peace officer presence, amending the Conduct of Transit Passengers Bylaw, increasing responses to encampments and problem properties, funding business security and community recovery, installing temporary public washrooms and increasing cleaning in parks and alleys.
The full plan can be read online.
According to a city spokesperson, the city spent about $30 million this fiscal year on downtown and Chinatown initiatives.
Edmonton’s relationship with the province
The province launched a task force this month in an attempt to address Edmonton’s social issues, addictions and homelessness. The group included two councillors who Sohi says were “hand-picked” by the UCP government.
“I wish that they reached out to my office and went through the proper process of appointing council members to this task force. But, you know, I focus on the outcome.”
While he’s happy Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has created the task force, he has concerns that diverse voices are missing from the group.
“There’s no representation on this task force from urban Indigenous leadership or racialized communities or people from the public health sector,” said Sohi.
Sohi wants a spectrum of interventions available for those dealing with addictions, not solely a focus on recovery.
“We need to make sure that we have safe supply to reduce harm. We need to make sure that harm reduction strategies are in place. We need to make sure that treatment is available, that detox beds are available, that recovery is supported.”
While Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek has spoken up against Smith’s controversial Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, Sohi hasn’t been seen criticizing the Act.
“I don’t think it’s my role, to wade into provincial decisions that touch on inter-governmental relations with the federal government,” said Sohi.
His responsibility is to advocate for the capital city, a city that hasn’t been given the respect it deserves, he says.
“I firmly believe — and I hope that this will change under the leadership of Premier Smith — our city has been ignored by the province.”
Sohi said the crises of homelessness, mental health and addictions are mostly the province’s responsibility and that Edmonton’s needs are not currently being met.
Police service funding and accountability
The mayor has called the accountability and governance model overseeing the Edmonton Police Service outdated.
In October, council debated a funding formula for the police, which would set a base number for the service and be increased equal to the rate of inflation and population growth every few years.
However, council didn’t end up setting a formula, calling the proposal confusing, and instead provided EPS with about $414 million for 2023. They will revisit the formula again in the spring.
Sohi says he wants predictability for the police service while securing the same for taxpayers.
He said the operational component of the police budget has gone up close to 60 per cent while other departments have not increased in the same way.
“It is our job to continue to challenge the status quo, and we need to do things differently.”
He said the recently approved capital and operating budget will increase support for crisis diversion that will put less pressure on policing.
Edmonton has the highest average police costs per capita when comparing seven similar cities.
While Edmonton spends $397 per capita, Winnipeg spends $360, Calgary spends $357 and Regina spends $354.
The review also found Edmonton has one of the lowest costs per incident when comparing the seven cities.
While Edmonton spends an average of $4,503 per call, York Regional Police Services averaged $10,056 per call. Regina spends about $3,444 per call.
Valley Line LRT delays
Problems with the Valley Line LRT, which is two years behind schedule, have been one of the most disappointing things about Sohi’s time on council, he says.
“Yes, it’s not costing us more, but that’s no comfort to the people who’ve been waiting to get on this train to move around our city. So it’s really frustrating,” he said.
In the past Sohi has blamed the public-private partnership (P3) model for the delays, saying it takes away accountability.
The P3 model means TransEd is responsible for designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the line for the next 30 years but the consortium has to do it all within a strict $1.8-billion budget.
“I have asked city administration to undertake a comprehensive review of large projects, particularly P3 projects where city council and city administration loses control or loses accountability,” said the mayor.
He said it’s particularly frustrating because he was part of initiating the project when he was a councillor for Millwoods back in 2008, and nearly 15 years later there is still no set opening date.
However, TransEd said all of the cracked piers on the line have been repaired and Edmontonians can expect to see trains running the full length of the track as part of testing before the new year.
Looking to 2023
Valley Line testing is not the only thing Edmontonians are looking forward to, according to the mayor.
“I go out to community events on a regular basis. I see optimism. People are hopeful for the economy of our city. People are hopeful for the future,” said Sohi.
“People want to do their part in building a better city, and we are giving them the tools to build that better city by investing in the right type of infrastructure that they can use.”
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