Category: Amarjeet Sohi

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Amarjeet Sohi Bryan Anderson Edmonton City Centre Airport Karen Leibovici

edmonton businessmen recorded strategizing about city centre airport.

Discussion about how to get Councillors “on [their] side” broadcast live over the Internet.

During the afternoon recess of Thursday’s hearings on the future of the Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), an interesting and revealing conversation occurred between a group of businessmen wanting to keep the ECCA open.

A longtime reader was listening to the public hearings online when a microphone, left on during the break, picked up what was believed to be a conversation between two prominent Edmonton businessmen whom had just spoke in favor of keeping the airport open. Likely without knowing that they were being broadcast over the Internet, the men began engaging in a strategy discussion (there may have also been a third person involved in the conversation).

During their broadcasted conversation, the businessmen hypothesized that there were five City Councillors who would vote to keep the ECCA open, and identified Councillors Karen Leibovici, Amarjeet Sohi, and Bryan Anderson as the most likely targets to “get on [their] side.”

The conversation topic quickly turned to Councillor Leibovici, who was suggested to be coming around on account of her rumored mayoral ambitions in 2010. The businessmen didn’t seem to know much about Councillor Sohi, but one of them either suggested or volunteered to “give [Anderson] a call.”

While the content of this strategy session shouldn’t come as a surprise to many Edmontonians, it does shine a spotlight on the backroom influence that some of our city’s wealthy businessmen are trying to exert in the debate about the future of the Edmonton City Centre Airport.

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Amarjeet Sohi Arts and Culture in Alberta Ben Henderson Jane Batty Laurie Blakeman Lindsay Blackett Rob Renner Stephen Mandel

2009 mayor’s celebration of the arts.


The turnout was excellent turnout at last night’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts at the Winspear Centre in downtown Edmonton. Hosted by the Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton (PACE) and MC’d by CBCs Peter Brown and CTVs Carrie Doll, the 22nd annual event was an entertaining reminder to Edmonton’s business and political elite that there is more to life than profits and balanced budgets (though we’ll hear more about that soon). Notable political attendees included Mayor Stephen Mandel, Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett, Environment Minister Rob Renner, MLA Laurie Blakeman, and City Councillors Ben Henderson, Jane Batty, and Amarjeet Sohi.

The evening included performances by Jeremy Spurgeon, The Be Arthurs, The Raving Poets, Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow from Bash’d, Ann Vriend, John Cameron, the KO Dance Project, and Bomba!.

There were many nominees, but this years award winners were:

Mayor’s Award for Innovative Support: CIBC
Mayor’s Award for Sustained Support: SEE Magazine
John Poole Award for Promotion of the Arts: Ellis Brothers Photography
ATCO Gas Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement: Tim Ryan
Molson Award for Innovative Artistic Direction: Shelley Switzer
Northlands Award for Emerging Artist: Kristy Trinier
Stantec Award for Youth Artist: Roydon Tse
Telus Courage to Innovate Award: Rising Sun Theatre
City of Edmonton Book Prize: Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern
Plains, Jack W. Brink, Athabasca University Press

Like previous years, the final act (Bomba!) ended with a giant audience dance-off on stage, and while he may have tried his hardest, Mayor Mandel was clearly out-danced by Minister Blackett.

MORE: Mastermaq has a posted pictures and a review of the event.

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Amarjeet Sohi Ben Henderson Don Iveson Municipal Politics Smart Growth

building edmonton’s downtown arena.

With Edmonton’s mainstream media bubbling in praise of the report supporting the construction a new arena in downtown Edmonton, I can’t help but be put a back at the lack of objectivity in the reporting. Judging by the amount of support in today’s papers, you’d think that Colin Powell had just made an irrefutable case to the United Nations Security Council…

Here’s a quick look at a couple of things that immediately caught my suspicion…

1) The committee that wrote the report was handpicked by someone who had already voiced support for the downtown arena – Mayor Stephen Mandel. Self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone?

2) The comparisons are reaching. Of course I want Edmonton’s downtown to become vibrant, but building a giant hockey rink won’t automatically put Edmonton in a position to rival downtown Montreal or New York (like some of the article’s have alluded). I’m still not convinced that spending upwards of $450 million (plus land costs) on an arena that will draw the suburbs downtown for a couple hours 2-3 nights a week is what will revitalize downtown. As someone who has lived in the Whyte Avenue area for 4 years, I can tell you that bringing loads of hockey hooligans into an area doesn’t revitalize much for the people who are actually living in the neighbourhood.

3) No one seems to be talking about… “Northlands, the non-profit group that runs Rexall Place, released a study in February that said the arena could be rebuilt for $250 million. That report has been shelved while the mayor’s committee does its work.” (The Battle of Alberta had a good post on this back in October 2007).

4) I think that Journal City Hall columnist Scott McKeen might be getting a little too comfy in his City Hall Office as he spent the majority of his pro-arena article taking aim at those who would rather the public funds be spent on other things, like say, fighting homelessness or fixing infrastructure. McKeen also tried to solidify his case by arguing that the amount of reporters who showed up at yesterday’s media conference means Edmontonians should be convinced of the recommendations. Sorry, Scott, but still I remain skeptical.

Through all the frenzy and praise, I’m glad to see that there is still some sensibility on City Council as Councillors Don Iveson, Amarjeet Sohi, Ben Henderson, and Tony Caterina have all publicly stated their skepticism of the report.

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