Edmonton city council called a special meeting today to declare a housing and houselessness emergency in the city.
This comes after record-breaking cold temperatures swept across Alberta, and following the closure of lots of encampments by city officials and police shortly before the cold snap.
According to Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, there are an estimated 3,170 individuals experiencing houselessness in Edmonton, a historic high. He also said that the usage of Edmonton’s Food Bank is currently double of what the organization saw during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Declaring this emergency will signal to Edmontonians that council understands the magnitude of this problem. This is a call to action,” Mayor Sohi said.
