Edmonton • Spending
Public Art and Public Dollars

City council’s rejection of Gene Dub’s entrance markers last week was surprising. After a national call for submissions, the lopsided obeliskoids seemed like a done deal. But we’re not crying over the loss of yet more pyramids.

Now, before you go accusing SEE of being short-sighted or lacking in taste–let us say that there are several other taxpayer-funded projects we’d happily axe before taking away Edmonton’s “daring” symbol. The 23rd Avenue interchange would be at the top of that list. The overpriced Capital Ex and the noisy Indy Race? Outta here. Buses that wind around endless suburbs for one passenger? So over. (Art lovers, you’ll notice we spared the $21 million for the new art gallery from the chopping block.)

Edmonton spends a lot of cash on frivolous events and poor planning. We should be offering people more affordable housing. Period. No, it’s not a bold, world-class-city thing to do. It’s the human, compassionate thing to do. That’s what Edmonton needs more of.

Alberta • Edmonton
Dropping Out

Albertan teenagers are more likely to drop out of high school before graduation than any other Canadians, according to new Stats Can numbers, which put the province’s graduation rate at 68 per cent.

Not surprised? Think all those kids are getting huge salaries working in the oilsands? Well, maybe some of them, but the boom isn’t the only answer here. Ontario, with its sagging manufacturing sector, isn’t keeping kids in school any better—their graduation rate sits at 70 per cent.

Alberta does have a labour shortage, but not everyone is raking in the dough. According to Public Interest Alberta, 22 per cent of working Albertans make less than $12 per hour. How much of a draw do you think $12 per hour at a variety store or mall really is? There’s more at play here, and the province needs to figure it out, pronto.

Canada • Tasers
Human Rights Begin at Home

Amnesty International criticized the Chinese government for not fulfilling their promise to improve human rights in their country as part of the lead-up to the Olympic Games. And you could practically hear good, liberal-minded Canadians tsk-tsking in agreement over their newspapers at the breakfast table.

But Amnesty International has also called for the removal of tasers from Canadians police forces, starting in 2004. Since then, Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski has died at a Vancouver airport after being tasered.

Documents uncovered by the CBC and CP in March show that taser use in Alberta has actually increased in the last three years, from 89 incidents to 371. And this week, 17-year-old Winnipegger Michael Langan died after being tasered.

It’s easy to was a disapproving finger at a faraway country. Apparently it’s harder to have compassion for some kid in your back alley.