Week in Review #1

Campaign days are long, every minute packed with heartening encounters and meaningful conversations with excited and hardworking Edmontonians. But it can feel like a blur, and that’s why every Sunday I want to pause and reflect on the past week. Here, I will share with you the small, the poignant, the fleeting and the funny moments that stay with me, that inspire me, that challenge me, and reinforce why I’m running for mayor — and hope to earn your vote.

75th anniversary of the Al-Rashid Mosque

One such moment was a visit to Fort Edmonton to celebrate something very moving: the 75th anniversary of the Al-Rashid Mosque. The story of Alberta’s Muslim pioneers was told very eloquently by a number of speakers at the event and reminded me that Edmonton isn’t just discovering inclusion and cosmopolitanism, we’ve been practicing it for decades. Built in 1938, the Al-Rashid Mosque was the first mosque in Canada — a point of pride for our city and worthy of celebration.

Twenty-two years ago, it was decided to preserve the mosque and relocate it to Fort Edmonton. This initiative was led by the Edmonton chapter of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women who organized to have it moved and who fundraised to initially construct it seventy-five years ago. It is an amazing and inspirational story of pioneers and women taking leadership in the community to build the mosque and then, a generation later, to save it. It was an honour to participate in the celebration and meet some of the women who were part of the initiative to relocate the mosque.

25th anniversary of Recycling in Edmonton

Another great milestone this week was the twenty-fifth anniversary of recycling in our city. While cities like Calgary are just starting to implement curb-side recycling, Edmonton stands as a global leader in recycling technology. People come from all around the world to learn about what we do at the Waste Management Centre, and recycling is a huge part of that.

Setting an example of great environmental leadership, the Greys Paper Recycling Industries have pioneered Closed-Loop Recycling at the Waste Management Centre. Instead of recycling paper once or twice before the paper breaks down, Greys has developed technology that allows for endlessly recyclable paper. Innovated in India and commercialized in Edmonton, they are producing Closed-Loop Recycling in partnership with the City. It’s exciting to see that several other cities have expressed interest in licensing this technology and building these types of facilities, and they are looking to Edmonton as a leader.

City Council Wraps Up

It was an emotional week at City Hall as council met for the last time before the election. Most of us were pretty emotional at the last council meeting when realizing that this team that has worked very well together over the past three years will not be together anymore. It has been a pleasure to work with my colleagues on council to serve the citizens of Edmonton. One of the more emotional moments at the meeting happened when an aboriginal elder, Betty Lafferty, gave an extremely moving blessing and thanks to Mayor Stephen Mandel for his leadership on behalf of Edmonton’s indigenous community.