+ A more accessible and equitable Edmonton

Edmonton and Ward Karhiio are culturally, socially and economically diverse, and this diversity is growing. By 2050, 50% of our population will be immigrants. This diversity is our strength and contributes to our communities and economy.

These are difficult times—many Edmontonians are finding themselves stuck in unemployment situations that they have never been in before. Many people experience racism, discrimination and inequitable treatment on a daily basis. Many more don’t feel safe doing everyday activities in their neighbourhoods simply for being who they are, the colour of their skin, their ethnicity, religion, ability, gender, and sexual orientation. This is unacceptable. Our city must work for everyone. We need dialogue that focuses on healing from trauma, polarization, racial inequity. City Council must build a fair and anti-racist city for all.

Keren will...

• Advocate for equitable access to supports and services for all. Bring an intersectional, equity lens to City Council.
• Ban hate symbols at public gatherings and in public spaces. Build upon the Public Places Bylaw. Public spaces should be accessible, affordable, inclusive and safe for people of all walks of life.
• Lead community discussions that focus on healing from trauma, racial inequity, and polarization. Unite Edmontonians to promote an inclusive city for all.

+ Reconciliation and relationship-building

There is still a lot we must do to honour and advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Edmonton.

Our city has the second largest urban Indigenous population in Canada. We are at a critical moment in our country about how we interact and connect with each other. This has a direct impact on our cities, communities, and neighbourhoods. City Council has a responsibility to uphold our role in building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Keren will...

• Champion the values, actions, and accountability of Truth and Reconciliation.
• Establish an Indigenous Leadership and Elders Council to guide City Council.
• Seek placemaking and naming opportunities that celebrate and recognize Indigenous culture and contributions.
• Support the new Urban Reserve Strategy , and other ideas like cultural land trusts that offer both business and reconciliation benefits for Indigenous people.

+ Community wellbeing and safety

We need to reimagine public safety. The relationship between the police, community partners, and Edmontonians is strained. The next City Council will have to decide how to facilitate building trust. We need to use creative and socially innovative methods to build effective and inclusive community wellbeing and safety. We need dialogue about wellbeing and safety that focuses on healing from trauma, racial inequity, and polarization.

Keren will...

• Advocate for community policing that builds trust and respectful relations between the police, the public, and community organizations.
• Push Council to carefully review the annual policing budget and tie it to a comprehensive evaluation framework focused on outcomes.
• Lead discussions with the goal of uniting Edmontonians to promote community wellbeing and safety— everyone has an important role to play. Explore possibilities for restorative justice for hate incidents and crimes.
• Facilitate neighbour-to-neighbour networks of support to build collective wellbeing and safer communities.
• Intentionally include historically marginalized Edmontonians in the decision-making process.

+ Housing for everyone

Housing is unaffordable. Many households spend over 30% of their income on shelter. Too many members of our communities are unhoused and struggling with complex challenges. These problems have only worsened with economic downturns and the pandemic.

Providing housing alone is not enough—we need to find ways to build communities that will keep people housed long-term.

All Edmontonians deserve housing that is accessible, inclusive, affordable, and appropriate through all stages of their life - whether they live by themselves or as part of a large intergenerational household.

Keren will...

• Leverage her experience in social services and urban wellness to advocate to other levels of government and ensure that the City is pursuing the most effective supports and services to reduce homelessness and keep people housed.
• Work with communities and industry partners to ensure that diverse housing options, distributed throughout the city, are available for all, through all stages of life, co-locating with social and city services wherever appropriate to create a joint, cohesive support network.
• Encourage the City to apply best practices and processes in community planning so that people have choice in housing and the opportunity to live in great neighbourhoods.

+ High quality public services

With a difficult economic recovery ahead of us, we need the City to deliver public services in a focused, responsible way. Through priority setting and a renewed focus on innovation and efficiency in the public service, we can ensure Edmonton continues to deliver high quality services in a financially sustainable way.

We need to ensure our basic, most essential services and infrastructure are not crumbling around us, so that we can take care of everyone. Ward Karhiio neighbourhoods must not be left behind.

Keren will...

• Enhance public engagement, transparency, and reporting. Offer regular opportunities for citizen feedback to create an open and transparent service model. Encourage innovation through open data and technology to improve the efficiency and quality of municipal services.
• Establish benchmarks for delivery of public services. Realize benefits of regional service collaboration while protecting public sector employment.

+ Vibrant and inclusive neighbourhood hubs

At the heart of every strong, vibrant neighbourhood are hubs where people can gather, share stories, and build community. These hubs support community wellbeing and fight social isolation. They stimulate social connections and economic development. We need to grow and support local businesses, create flexible community spaces, and provide support for creative community-building ideas.

Keren will...

• Reinvigorate strip malls and underutilized neighbourhood retail spaces to become community hubs through an expanded and adapted Corner Store Program .
• Create equitable and accessible points of entry for diverse, emerging, and multicultural businesses and new entrepreneurs to access City resources and supports.
• Support the development of intentional, flexible places for community members to gather, grow, and prosper.

+ Thriving local businesses

As our economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be critical that the City does everything in its power to help new and existing businesses succeed. This must include a commitment to enabling new businesses to get off the ground with as few barriers as possible and ensuring commercial tax rates are competitive within our region, our province, and with comparable cities across Canada.

Importantly, as outlined in Edmonton’s Economic Action Plan (April 2021), this work needs to be grounded in social inclusion and equity, by paying “careful attention to who is included and who is left behind” and building capacity and access to resources for entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds (including newcomers).

Keren will...

• Push for a permitting process that is simple, fast, and fair - with the aim of empowering businesses to thrive. This should include designing processes centred on the user experience.
• Advocate for more permissive zoning that enables small businesses to operate within our neighbourhoods. Let’s commit to building true 15-minute neighbourhoods.
• Reduce the tax burden on commercial properties by supporting priority-based budgeting and advocating for a better regional cost-sharing model.
• Establish a Community Economy Coordinator / Business Ambassador Program to help new and existing businesses flourish.

+ An innovative and diverse economy

Edmonton has a strong community of innovators. We have many building blocks in place to help diversify our economy and drive resilience. We need fresh strategies and direct support of our entrepreneurs, to ensure there are jobs in place for generations to come.

Keren will...

• Reinvigorate the Edmonton Research Park with a new strategy to attract a broader range of companies to the Park. Offer rapid permit approvals and innovative tax models.
• Support grassroots and people-led economic development projects, to create more pathways for the private sector to invest in and catalyze our economy.
• Make the City of Edmonton an active partner for local innovators looking to trial new products in City facilities or using City assets.

+ Local climate solutions

The City of Edmonton declared a state of Climate Emergency in summer 2019, and we are already feeling the impacts of climate change. Heat waves, wildfires, smoke advisories, drought, and flooding threaten our quality of life. Infrastructure damage will cost us financially too.

Taking action on climate change is urgent and must be a priority for City Council.

Cities have an important role to play in leading climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives. While climate change efforts are underway at both national and provincial levels, local solutions need to come from the local level.

Keren will...

• Champion the implementation of the City of Edmonton’s climate action, adaptation and mitigation strategies: Climate Resilient Edmonton: Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan, the Energy Transition Strategy and Action plan, and the 25-Year Waste Strategy.
• Use climate science to inform Council’s decision-making.
• Support community level climate initiatives including community gardens, tree planting, tool libraries and other sharing organizations, repairathons, and community solar projects.
• Advocate for the preservation of our river valley and green spaces.

+ Connected and accessible transportation options

We need a transportation system that gives you choices in the ways you move around the city--choices that are accessible, affordable, safe, and reliable--so you can fully enjoy and participate in our city.

Transportation infrastructure also needs to be planned, built, operated and maintained responsibly.

Innovations like the new electronic fare Arc (Smart Fare) card open the door to opportunities like more flexible transit pricing and support data-driven decision-making.

Keren will...

• Advocate for neighbourhoods where people don’t need to travel more than 15 minutes to meet their daily needs. Increasing density and availability of local services will shorten the distance to destinations and make it easier to use a variety of transportation options.
• Focus on data driven improvements to our mobility networks. For example, we could use what we know about transit users (based on data) to improve ridership experience, or co-design routes with seniors and youth.
• Support innovation and technology advancements that improve Edmonton’s transportation system.

+ Focused and fair growth

It’s time to prioritize and mobilize our investments. Ward Karhiio has all the essential elements for residents to live, work, and play in one place. If we can better focus our infrastructure funding, we can intentionally build a ‘community of communities,’ knitting these elements together to provide a healthier, more prosperous life for everyone. For example, focused funding could reduce traffic congestion on major arteries like 50th Street, or encourage development and growth in priority areas such as around Mill Woods Town Centre.

Keren will...

• Support the development of 15-minute districts that offer community-focused businesses, services and amenities close to home.
• Advocate for financial tools that will incentivize development and growth in priority areas throughout the ward.
• Fight for a better regional infrastructure funding model to help pay for critical infrastructure.