november 2005 > a living history > edmonton

Tory Blue Sees Red After Ralph's Remarks; Red Green Solution Suggested >permalink<

Alberta premier and lovable loose-cannon Ralph Klein waded into federal election waters while talking at a business luncheon in Halifax.

"If I were a betting man, I would say there will be another minority. It's a damn shame," Klein was quoted as saying. What wasn't clear was which party Klein thought would hold the minority. Klein added that Conservative Alliance leader Stephen Harper was "too much on the right" for voters in Ontario.

Reacting to the premier's remarks, Tory deputy leader Peter MacKay was heard to say "He said he was going to be helpful. This is not helpful." When asked by reporters how he would deal with such candid remarks in future, MacKay said bluntly: "Duct tape."

Duct tape "Fine," Klein said later when asked about MacKay's suggestion, adding that people should not ask him questions if they don't want to hear his answers. "It's unfortunate that what I said was taken the wrong way," Klein said.

Alberta Alliance Leader Paul Hinman chipped in with "I think the premier is so far off to the left he doesn't see where land is."

Klein was blamed -- although he says unfairly -- for the Conservatives' failure to win the last election by talking about radical health-care reforms. Prime Minister Paul Martin used that to scare voters into thinking Harper and Klein were planning to dismantle the Canada Health Act.

As part of his effort to maintain the high road in the making of public political statements, Stephen Harper suggested in the House of Commons that the Liberal government is linked to organised crime and is involved in a massive corruption ring to defraud taxpayers.

Martin shot back by saying Canadians deserve better debate on the eve of an election. That call was made November 29th and a new level of civility will soon make itself apparent.

Disguise The Limit >permalink<

Robo-radar It almost seems that Edmonton's Police Service have taken a page out of the Monty Python script book when it comes to their latest plan to curb the city's lead-of-foot.

EPS rolled out their newest stealth weapon in the war on speed and it comes in the form of a photo-radar unit disguised as a power transformer. At a press conference police admitted the unit has been perched on roadsides since September, something that came as a surprise to Mayor Stephen Mandel. Mandel feels "It has to be clear to the public where it sits. Hiding too much is not fair."

Described by some as the "can-cam" and "R2-Radar," the units have been in use in nearby Strathcona County for the past six months. City police said the units will come in handy on roads where it is unsafe to park conventional photo-radar vans, which have been the subject of attacks in the past year. Given the public sentiment towards photo-radar it will remain to be seen just how portable the new units are.

Disguised road-side traffic enforcement devices were part of Monty Python's "Hell's Grannies" skit, where vicious "Keep Left" signs were depicted attacking innocent passersby, including a vicar.

Edmonton's Skyline Will Be Lessard For It >permalink<

The Lessard It was known as Victoria Avenue and it was once home to Edmonton's most exclusive addresses. It was also home to Prosper Edmond Lessard, whose business ventures included the Great Western Garment Co. Ltd. (GWG) and who served the community as a school trustee, a Liberal MLA and as a Senator.

Lessard liked the commanding view of the river valley and built his elegant Queen Anne-style at 11936 100 Avenue in 1913 along what is now known as the Victoria Promenade. The house features a large attic gable with a distinctive round tower and front porch. The first storey brick facade features arches over the windows, while the second storey is finished in stucco and simulated half-timbering. It was a mansion in its day ... but it will soon be gone.

A demolition permit was issued in October that would allow WAM Development Group to level the house and raise a six-storey condo project in its place. Although WAM has not made a final decision on the project, the land value and its high-rise zoning speak against leaving the Lessard mansion intact.

The house is one of 21 buildings in the Oliver district on the B list of Edmonton's historical resource registry. The designation allows for consultation but not enforcement. Also on the B list is the structure adjacent to the Lessard house, the Annamoe Mansion. The Community of Oliver Group have begun compiling an inventory of historic buildings built between 1900 and 1960 and will ask an historian to help pare it down to a "best of the best" list. The group will then ask the city to re-zone the areas and give the buildings a heritage designation.

For more about what's at stake, read The House Prosper Edmond Lessard Built, The Houses on Victoria Avenue and The Apartments of Oliver, three of Lawrence Herzog's columns from Real Estate Weekly.

Truth In Advertising >permalink<

Mountain Crest Beer Calgary's Mountain Crest Brewing Company is doing the right thing by labelling the cans of their refreshing cold beverage with warnings advising consumers of their product's properties.

Going against industry flow, 23-year-old Mountain Crest founder Ravinder Minhas says placement of the warnings is simply responsible marketing. Cans will now feature the advisory "Please drink responsibly. Never Drink and Drive. If you are pregnant, avoid alcohol." Minhas encourages his competition to follow.

One can only imagine if the labels reflected Mountain Crest's current ad campaign: "Consumption of this product will not land you the girl of your dreams, make you a better cowboy or help you catch a sasquatch." Consumers may also come up with their own warnings, such as "Consumption of this product will not make your date better looking in the morning" or "This product does not provide thermal insulation during winter."

Can't See The Forest For The Sprawl >permalink<

Aspen Parkland As Edmonton expands to fill its municipal boundaries, many of the region's remaining natural areas are being sacrificed in the name of urban sprawl. In an effort to hedge against the loss of native forestation, city council is mulling over bylaws that would govern the cutting down of trees on public and private property.

Councilor Janice Melnychuk is promoting the philosophy that natural areas be "retained and maintained for the importance of the oxygen ... that we can breathe." Suggestions coming from preliminary discussions include using city money to buy treed areas from land owners and preventing homeowners from cutting down their own trees if they live in an area considered "environmentally sensitive."

City planners have been tasked to draft options for council consideration by Spring, 2006.

Sidewalk Supervisor Season >permalink<

Sir Winston Churchill Square Earlier in 2005, Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel suggested that citizens of the province's capital should have a "zero tolerance for crap" when it comes to ubran architecture. It seems his remarks have captured public attention.

On October 13th, 2005 the Edmonton Art Gallery announced to much fanfare the winning entry in the international design competition held for the expansion of their facility. Two weeks later, the City of Edmonton rewarded its urban planners, handing out awards for best projects including a top prize for the redevelopment of Churchill Square. Earlier in the year came word of an overhaul of the Royal Alberta Museum, and in late October the province announced major plans for the Legislative Grounds. To close out the fall architectural awards season comes the announcement of the 2005 Edmonton Historical Board Recognition and Plaque Awards. "Crap" appears to be on the decline.

The Edmonton Urban Design Awards is a new program established to recognise individuals, organisations, firms and projects that have contributed to the quality of life in Edmonton.

H.V.Shaw/Maverick Brewing HIP Architects won for its work on the redevelopment of Churchill Square. Other awards went to Carlyle and Associates for their plan on how to develop the river valley and to Gene Dub, who created the lofts at 107th Street. Dub also scooped an award for Edmonton's City Hall as well as for his mating of the Shaw Building to the Maverick Brewing Company at 102 Avenue and 105 Street.

Stantec Architecture Ltd. won an honourable mention for its Telus Plaza redevelopment and Cohos Evamy caught an honourable mention for the Transalta Arts Barns. Carlyle & Associates won honourable mentions for their trendy Corona LRT Station entrances and the city's Planning and Development Department won for work on the 104th Street streetscape. More details of the awards can be found in Lawrence Herzog's Real Estate Weekly column.

Edmonton's Legislative Grounds are scheduled for a facelift to be completed by the end of the decade. The green-coloured annex and the Terrace building, both nearly fifty years old, are slated for removal. The Terrace building location overlooking the river is slated to become parkland, while the annex will be replaced by a structure sympathetic to the Legislative building. Also included are plans to utilise the long-empty Federal Building.

To cap this round of architectural achievements comes the 2005 Edmonton Historical Board Recognition and Plaque Awards. Recognised this year are the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Jasper Block, Kingston Powell and Pendennis Hotel buildings, as well as the residences of Cecil Burgess and Roy Gerolamy. More details of the awards can be found in Lawrence Herzog's Real Estate Weekly column.

Here's The Beef -- or -- Selling Ice Cream To Eskimos >permalink<

Moo! Alberta prides itself on growing and exporting the best beef on the planet. So imagine what the reaction has been like to the news of a U.S.-beef-only steak house muscling its way into Edmonton's competitive culinary marketplace.

Further imagine that the Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurant franchise is owned and will be operated by Albertans (and Calgarians to boot).

And for further consideration is the fact that the restaurant will be located in the taxpayer-funded Edmonton Chamber of Commerce World Trade Centre smack in the heart of Canada's cattle-capital's downtown.

Two of the three partners in the franchise have interests in 20 restaurants, including the Moxie's and Tony Roma chains, which do serve Alberta beef. The restaurant is not promoting U.S. beef at the expense of Alberta beef, a spokesman said, but just giving people an opportunity to enjoy a different kind of steak they're not used to getting. "We are not doing any harm to anybody," he said.

A former chamber board member and food consultant said leasing space in the chamber-owned building to a steak house that serves only corn-fed U.S. beef is a "slap in the face" to Alberta's beef industry. A cattle rancher from the Cochrane area who is the vice-chairman of the Alberta Beef Producers said he finds the situation "ironic."

Ruth Kelly, chairwoman of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said the deal negotiated is within the chamber's mandate and will be a boon to downtown Edmonton. The restaurant is scheduled to open by September 1, 2006.

Related Pages

deadmonton
The murdered and the missing in the metro area.
edmonton history and museums
The Last Link guide to local history.
final credits
Reflecting lives that have contributed to Edmonton and area culture.
it's our heritage
The Last Link guide to Lawrence Herzog's articles as published in Real Estate Weekly.

edmonton - a living history - november 2005