Alberta premier Danielle Smith and Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi meet Tuesday – Edmonton

For the first time since becoming Alberta premier five months ago, Danielle Smith will sit down with Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

The two are set to meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Alberta legislature.

Both Smith and Sohi said Monday they were looking forward to the meeting.

“I am always optimistic,” Sohi said. “It’s my job … to continue to advocate on behalf of Edmontonians.”

The premier said she hadn’t yet received a priority list from Calgary’s mayor, but said, through community consultations, she understood a top priority for Calgary is public safety.

Smith said she had received a letter from Sohi, outlining the most urgent issues for Edmonton.

“The priorities for Edmonton are around the same issue: mental health, addiction, social supports, affordable housing.”

Smith said she’s looking forward to meeting with Calgary’s mayor too.

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Sohi said Monday that the city is grappling with broader issues that fall in the provincial government’s purview: mental health, addictions, drug poisonings and houselessness.

“We cannot resolve these issues on our own,” he said. “We need the province to step up because these are provincial responsibilities.

“We are giving Edmonton police another $13 million in 2023, more than 2022.

“We are opening up the Healthy Streets Operations centre in Chinatown, we increased transit security officers, we are investing in crisis diversion and we are hiring more social workers.”

He said the city is doing what it can, but other orders of government have to pull their weight.

“Cities are not responsible for public health,” Sohi said.

“We don’t have the mandate, we don’t have the resources and we don’t have the authority to do many of the things that the province can do in these areas.”

“I’m going to be stressing all these points with (the premier) and her officials. And I hope they recognize that people are hurting, our communities are hurting and our businesses are hurting.”

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— More to come… 

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