While the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Andrew Knack agreed on much at this year’s State of the City address Thursday, one prickly issue was whether city office workers should return to in-person work full-time.
Chamber president Doug Griffiths, along with Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams, BILD Edmonton Metro CEO Kalen Anderson and others, penned a letter earlier in the week asking Knack to make the move.
Edmonton’s city workers went remote during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now most work hybrid. Griffiths said having more people Downtown would help bring needed vibrancy and help improve safety.
“If you’re going to address Downtown issues around safety and around prosperity and around beautification, safety starts with people being present,” he said.
Knack thought differently. He said the move would cost the city between $5 million and $10 million for needed office space. Instead, he said the money would be better spent on the city’s downtown action plan.
He said there is also a letter of understanding with the city workers’ union, and he wants to honour that. Knack said that he’d rather build a culture where workers would choose to work in person than be forced to.
“We want to be a magnet for our employees to come Downtown. We don’t want to have a mandate,” Knack said
Focus on boosting city pride
The annual event hosted by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce is a chance for Edmonton’s mayor to speak about the city’s goals, make announcements and take questions about current issues.
When it comes to city pride, however, both Knack and Griffiths were on the same page. Both agreed that the city needs to be less humble.
Griffiths presented Thursday’s audience with a unique map of the world where Edmonton was smack dab in the middle.
“Edmonton is actually at the centre of everything,” Griffiths said. “This is the way we need to view the world.”
Last year’s event saw a change in format, where then-mayor Amarjeet Sohi didn’t attend. Instead, there was a multi-person panel featuring business leaders and the city manager.
“Some people from the city will deny it, but Edmonton does not have a pro-business brand out there. I would like to see an attitudinal shift,” said Griffiths at last year’s address.
This year, Griffiths said he is feeling “encouraged” by the work council had done so far. In their speeches, he and Knack lined up on many points.
Knack, who is just six months into his four-year term, focused on the city’s new priorities — economic development, growth management, quality services and safety — which the council announced in February.
Griffiths also detailed the chamber’s biggest wants for the city. While two of his asks, on economic growth and safety, lined up with the mayor’s, his third ask was for the city to become “unmistakably investable.”
“We need everyone to be talking about the data, the policy, the improved timelines, and signal clearly that Edmonton is truly open for business,” Griffiths said.
Chamber ‘encouraged’ by council, eager for results
Attendees walking into the event were met with reminders from the chamber of the city’s economic situation.
Signage told how Edmonton is Canada’s fastest-growing major city, but its GDP per capita still trails Calgary. Another mentioned that while incomes are growing, they aren’t keeping up with inflation. A third pointed to how the city has been growing by around 50,000 people each year.
“This year’s tax bill for an average family home is $3,100,” stated another. “Are we getting what we pay for?”
But since becoming mayor, Knack has been centring the economy as a priority.
On that front, he spoke about the city’s tourism and making Edmonton a world-class destination for entertainment and sporting events. He has also described how the city could be an ideal place for military infrastructure as the federal government amps up defence spending.
Housing, something Edmonton has been lauded for doing well, was another thing Knack said is providing opportunity for economic growth.
Speaking to reporters, Griffiths pointed to how most of the former council members were re-elected, but the chamber has seen a shift in city hall.
“It just shows, I guess, that the same mix of people can have a shift in priorities,” he said.
He added that while the chamber has been encouraged by council’s new priorities, what comes next are results which he hopes are measurable and critical.
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