Readers have been asking for my final assessment of city council to help them with their voting choices, so here it is. Along with a short thread. There’s a lot to unpack from the past four years, more than I can cram into a single column. #yeg #yegelxn edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

SCOOP: A consultant advising Alberta Health Services on private surgical facilities simultaneously negotiated with AHS on behalf of a company vying to open such a clinic, according to a confidential report obtained by The Globe. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

Pity the 94 people who have stepped up to run for council in Edmonton's civic election. Will their efforts even matter, when the interfering UCP government keeps threatening to run everything itself. #yeg #yegcc #yegelxn edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...

Tim Cartmell, Rahim Jaffer, Andrew Knack and Michael Walters faced off in another mayoral debate Wednesday night — the second in 5 days — this one hosted by Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations. Here's a thread on the event, since I won't have a column. #yeg #yegelxn 1/19

After the city-Oilers-province finalized the Downtown investment deal (including event park), Mayor Amarjeet Sohi reports the premier is open to working with the city on a "phase two" deal. The idea is to give Edmonton equal treatment for the $330-million contribution to Calgary's arena. #yegcc #yeg

Keith Gerein: Edmonton mayoral debate begins to separate the contenders edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

My latest. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

BREAKING: Edmonton city council votes 9-4 to approve the master agreement with Oilers Entertainment Group, clearing the way for construction of the $250M Downtown event park, Village at Ice District land work, and demolition of the coliseum. #yegcc #yegc

Back in 2023, I wrote a column (link below) about how Alberta's electoral map was already too heavily skewed toward rural ridings. Now, some in the UCP government want to widen that disparity. Is it further gerrymandering? Sure feels like it. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #yeg #ableg

"It is not plain and obvious that the constitutional referendum proposal is constitutional" edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...

Not my opinion piece, but a good one. #yeg #yegcc edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Keith Gerein: How Edmonton's old CKUA building is being used to 'crowd-fund' Downtown revitalization edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

At a public town hall w/Premier Smith, government staff banned local reporters' cameras and audio recorders. Okotoks Western Wheel editorial: "Limiting the ability of the media to do its job shouldn’t happen, nor should it be tolerated." www.westernwheel.ca/opinion/edit...

edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #yeg #yegcc

Edmonton city council votes 6-5 in favour of a Mayor Sohi motion to keep the maximum number of units for a mid-block lot at 8 units, rather than going down to 6. Had Coun. Cartmell shown up to the meeting he would have changed the result to get the 6 he wanted. #yeg #yegcc

This is a must watch for us all, particularly for Albertans. Kudos to @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social for her unvarnished comments on separatism, to @markhamhislop.bsky.social. #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAzK...

Tensions are fraying at Edmonton city council as the group pushes through a difficult public hearing on zoning rules that is threatening to grind into its third overflow day. Council is debating to continue the hearing next Tuesday, when summer break was set to begin. #yeg #yegcc

A big scheduling screwup at #yegcc: Council likely didn't leave enough time before its summer break to complete a packed public hearing that includes controversial changes to zoning rules. A lot of speakers want to weigh in, which should have been expected. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n... #yeg

City council is beginning its public hearing on the proposed deal with OEG and the province (event park, Village at Ice District land work, etc.). A fairly long list of speakers have signed up. For what it's worth, at this point the supporters outnumber the opponents. #yeg #yegcc

Major debates are afoot at city council in the coming days that will have big implications for the civic election. While Tim Cartmell pushes for a temporary ban on infill projects, Andrew Knack is trying to convince council to reject the event park deal with OEG and the province. #yeg #yegcc

Reuters reporting that oil and gas producers in Alberta flared (i.e. burned off excess) natural gas to the tune of 912.7 million cubic metres in 2024. By my math, that would emit about 1.8 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Or roughly the equivalent of Alberta's entire cement industry.

Mayor candidate Tim Cartmell says he will make a motion June 30 to place a moratorium on all new infill (at least for awhile). I'll wait to hear more, but this seems like a bizarre overreach. What's the message to home builders, to young and new residents looking for affordable homes? #yeg

Earth will warm 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in just two years, new data shows. Irreversible tipping points — like the melting of Arctic ice sheets or the collapse of coral reefs — are closer at hand than previously believed.

My latest, on the UCP record in Edmonton two years after the last provincial election. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #yeg

Have been monitoring the #yegcc council meeting today with Edmonton police and commission leaders. The tone and discourse is massively improved from what we have seen in previous years. "Remarkable what a few months can do," Coun. Tang said. "Like night and day," Coun. Paquette said. #yeg

Proud to share my 5th anniversary episode of Alberta Unbound, with provocative political observers Anne McLellan, Ken Boessenkool and Shannon Phillips. We talk thru ALL the election fallout - including the seeming rise in Alberta separatism. #abpoli #cdnpoli #AlbertaUnbound @sphillipsab.bsky.social

Today, in your late-Friday-before-a-long-weekend news dump, there is a significant development at the Edmonton Police Commission after a merciful couple of months without any drama. #yeg #yegcc

For those who care, the City of Edmonton reports no new positives of Dutch elm disease beyond the five infected trees that were found in 2024. ... #yeg

Sum: uncertainty + rage = embrace of conspiracy theories + authoritarianism Study: The authoritarian syndrome as an attempt to restore control👇 "...social crises make people particularly vulnerable to regaining control via conspiracy theories & authoritarianism..."

Bad news for Albertans trying to run a civic election campaign who just can't catch a break. Looks like those mayor/council races are about to be usurped again. I don't know if the NDP is right in their characterization here, but our premier sure doesn't make it easy. #yeg #yyc

Further to bike lanes, Minister McIver sent a letter last fall that his gov't had no plans to restrict cities from building them. He said his gov't "respects the autonomy" of municipalities and confirmed they have "control over their local roads." UCP singing a different tune 6 months later. #yeg

Something that did not make it into this column ... At the town hall last week, I asked Minister Dreeshen a question about bike lane funding. #yeg 1/3

Edmonton city council just confirmed a 5.7% municipal property tax hike for 2025. That's down from the 6.1% council approved in December. The change is due to the AB gov't starting to pay a bigger share of its property tax bill. #yeg #yegcc 1/2

How did two parties miss this in vetting, and how did the UCP miss it in oppo research? nationalpost.com/news/politic...

This is wild: a judge is calling for a public inquiry into allegations Edmonton prison guards were running an inmate fight club, finding it's the only way to figure out why the Crown never charged the corrections officers. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...

The UCP government dissolved the board of Alberta Health Services the same day the organization was scheduled to receive a report from investigators examining whether some of its business deals were subject to “improper activity,” according to a document obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Edmonton city council votes 11-2 to officially apply to the province for an extension of the Downtown CRL to 2044 to fund a bunch of new projects — including OEG’s event park and Village at Ice District land prep — and then hold a public hearing for Edmontonians to weigh in. #yeg #yegcc HOWEVER....

Some interesting stats on #yeg businesses shared at today's #yegcc meeting, regarding the potential impact of tariffs. - Roughly 25% of Edmonton businesses are in the wholesale and retail sector. - About 12% of all Edmonton businesses export goods outside Canada.

"Authoritarians try to crush independent referees and civil society institutions, including news organizations, universities, statistical agencies and central banks." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/o... Grouping newsrooms with central banks, universities, the Bureau of Labor Statistics gets it right.

Soul-crushing allegations here. Absolutely worth a read. edmontonjournal.com/news/ahs-ath... #yeg #ableg

From @matthewblack.ca — On Wednesday, Auditor General Doug Wylie’s office confirmed that the notice of the investigation was served to the parties on the morning of Jan. 31, five days before the Globe and Mail broke the story. #abpoli #ableg edmontonjournal.com/news/politic...

Latest column from @keithgerein.bsky.social — UCP determined to make it tough on independents in Edmonton's civic election #ableg #abpoli #yeg #yegcc edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Latest column from @keithgerein.bsky.social — Edmonton voters deserve answers on Sohi's election plans and new MLA seats #yeg #yegcc edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

New year, new controversy for the Edmonton Police Commission. Lots of news in here. - Ben Henderson new chair - Former vice chair not renewed by city is back as provincial appointee. - EPS files grievance to minister over two provocative city appointees edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n... #yeg

Holy smokes: Edmonton police are asking the provincial public safety minister to investigate city council's decision to appoint two police commissioners: Dan Jones and Renee Vaugeois. I had no idea such a thing was possible.

My latest, on the province's head-shaking decision to cut the legs out from EMRB. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... via @edmontonjournal #yeg #yegcc

In a pre-Xmas bombshell, the Alberta gov't announces it will be bypassing Homeward Trust as its partner in #yeg for distributing funds for housing and homelessness. Some good, some bad to this, but why does this deeply weird gov't insist on controlling everything? #yegcc

My latest column... It should be obvious by now, no politician ever lost votes by attacking photo radar, and no columnist ever lost readers by writing about it. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #yeg #yegcc

344 days ago, I FOIP'd the City of Edmonton for data on its encampment responses. The FOIP office just gave me 230 pages that all look like this:

Edmonton's worst kept secret is finally confirmed by the provincial government. This will put McFee in a power position over some of his nemeses, including Edmonton city council. #yeg #ableg #yegcc