EDMONTON – Tastawiyiniwak has six candidates vying for your vote in the 2021 municipal election, including councillor Jon Dziadyk.

The new ward includes most of what was Ward 3 and some of Ward 7.

Tastawiyniwak is bounded by Anthony Henday Drive in the north, 66 Street in the east, 127 Street in the south, and 97 Street in the west until 153 Avenue. The western boundary then extends along 153 Avenue until Castle Downs Road.

In Cree, tastawiyiniwak roughly translates to the in-between people and is a term referring to the LGBTQ2S+ community. It is pronounced TASS-TAW-WIN-EE-WOK.

Here’s a look at the candidates in tastawiyiniwak.

Jon Dziadyk (Supplied)

Dziadyk won in 2017 after defeating two-time councillor Dave Loken with 29.1 per cent of the vote.

“Four years ago I was interested in trying to make a difference in the north side of Edmonton,” he told CTV News. “The work is not done yet. I think I am prime for four more years where I can make some meaningful differences in the quality of life of northsiders.”

Some of the accomplishments he is most proud of include participating in the Beaumaris Lake rehabilitation project, giving 97 Street the honorary name Canadian Forces Trail, starting the Top of the City soccer festival, and voting for a zero per cent tax increase for the past year.

This time around, Dziadyk says he wants to keep taxes low and find ways to maintain COVID-19 solutions, like photo inspections for electrical or plumbing installation permits.

“We can’t raise taxes,” he added. “It’s been a hard time on the city and the responsible thing to do is to collect ourselves and start slowly moving in the direction we want to be going in.”

Dziadyk said he believes this term will be an “austerity term,” based on lower provincial transfers and lingering economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We got to get back to just our core services and doing what a city is supposed to do,” he said. “Anyone dangling big shiny projects as a campaign platform is not in tune with reality.”

Ahmed ‘Knowmadic’ Ali (Photo supplied.)

Candidate Ahmed ‘Knowmadic’ Ali is a community advocate involved in the National Council of Canadian Muslims, Law Enforcement Review Board and the Edmonton Arts Council. He is a local artist and a past City of Edmonton poet laureate.

“I came to Edmonton at age eight as a refugee speaking two languages and Edmonton welcomed me,” Knowmadic shared. “It’s provided the foundation for me. So it’s an obligation, especially as I have two beautiful children, to leave an Edmonton greater than it found me.”

If elected, Knowmadic wants to ensure transit is working for everyone, that there is affordable housing and accessible mental health resources. He also wants to create a coalition for north side businesses and guarantee that they are consulted by council, like the Downtown Business Association.

“I want to make sure no one is left behind and that they are taken care of,” he added. “We need to guarantee the north side has a voice.”

While the city has committed to upholding the spirit and specifics of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action, Knowmadic says more needs to be done.

“We need to do the work and not just talk about it,” he said. “We have to move further.”

Cody Bondarchuk (Supplied)

Lifelong Edmonton resident, former community league president and University of Alberta Students’ Union vice president operations and finance, candidate Cody Bondarchuk is running to make lasting improvements to the city and the ward.

“There is so much I love about the north side,” he said. “There is this quiet power on the north side.”

Bondarchuk says he wants to ensure the city does not miss the next boom resource.

“We have this huge opportunity, especially with the rise of the tech sector,” Bondarchuk said.

“Edmonton has already made some great strides in the tech space, especially with BioWare and other success stories, but without strong services… it’s unlikely they will come here.”

For him, that means building Edmonton as a city that is greener, healthier, and more affordable. Some platform commitments include making the Clean Energy Improvement Program permanent, introducing a progressive income tax system, investing more in transit, and better managing infill.

“The city does have a bit of a budget squeeze,” he said. “I very wholeheartedly believe there are ways to alleviate that without taxes going up for everyone.

Ensuring tastawiyiniwak has a smooth transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic is one reason candidate Zain Hafiz decided to run this election.

His digital platform includes improving community safety and empowering small and family-owned businesses.

Hafiz did not respond to requests for interviews.

Karen Principe (Supplied.)

Candidate Karen Principe, a registered dental hygienist who volunteers at Free Dental Days, is running to make a positive change in tastawiyiniwak.

“I’ve been very involved in the community,” Principe said. “I’m just disappointed in the current situation.”

Principe’s priorities included correcting council overspending, addressing densification, supporting law enforcement, and improving community infrastructure.

“Our ward is over-densified,” she added. “We are getting more housing with fewer services. I just felt like I needed to stand up for my community and do something about this.”

The transit network redesign took routes away from tastawiyiniwak, Principe said. She is particularly concerned the on-demand portion of transit is unavailable within the ward but is offered in several communities on the south side of the city.

“Considering the amount of densification coming to the area, this is not a good idea,” she said. “We need to do something about this and the lack of public transit.”

She hopes to keep taxes at the same rate for her term to ensure affordability and find administrative savings.

IANNIE GERONA

Iannie Gerano has not responded to CTV News’ interview requests.

TORONTO — Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she expects a submission from Pfizer in the coming weeks for the use of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in children ages five to 11.

Speaking Tuesday on CTV’s Power Play, Hajdu said government health officials have been in constant contact with Pfizer regarding vaccine data.

“We anticipate that we’ll get a submission, hopefully in the early stages of October,” she said. “As soon as we receive the data from the company, the regulators are well-situated to rapidly review that data.”

The pharmaceutical company stated last week that its vaccine, created in partnership with BioNTech, is effective in children aged five to 11.

Pfizer tested a much lower dose — a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now — in a study involving 2,268 kindergarten and elementary school-aged children. After their second dose, the company said these children developed antibody levels just as high as teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice-president, told The Associated Press.

The kid dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects that teens experience, such as sore arms, fever or achiness, he said.

There are currently no COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in children under 12 years old in Canada.

News of Pfizer’s incoming data may be welcomed by parents of young children who have recently begun the school year with the highly contagious Delta variant spreading in the country.

As of Monday, children five to 11 years old made up approximately 13.5 per cent of the COVID-19 cases reported in Ontario in the last 14 days. In Alberta, children aged five to nine made up about 10 per cent of reported cases in the last week.

Pfizer said Tuesday it has submitted study data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and expects to apply for the emergency authorization of its use for children south of the border in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Moderna is currently studying the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine in elementary school-aged children. Both Pfizer and Moderna are studying even younger children as well, including those who are six months old. Results are expected later in the year.

With files from The Associated Press 

EDMONTON – Alberta reported 1,246 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the fourth wave continues to pressure the province’s health care system with a record high number of hospitalizations.

There are now 1,100 patients in hospital, the highest count of the pandemic. Included in that number are 263 patients in intensive care units, the second highest number to date.

With 197 surge beds in place, 86 per cent of Alberta’s 370 ICU beds are in use.

“The strain being placed on our health-care system remains very serious. Our hospitals are under critical pressure and we’re doing all we can to increase capacity, particularly in intensive care,” Premier Jason Kenney told reporters on Tuesday.

Alberta reported 18 more COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, which increased the province’s death toll to 2,663.

About three in four people who have died of COVID-19 in the last 120 days were not fully vaccinated, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.

“Almost four out of five of all those in hospital for COVID-19 and 91 per cent of those ICU in the last 120 days were also not fully vaccinated,” Hinshaw added. 

“These numbers speak for themselves: Vaccines are critically important.”

Of eligible Albertans, 83.2 per cent have one vaccine dose and 74 per cent have two doses.

The premier announced Alberta is working on a new advertisement campaign to educate unvaccinated Albertans with facts to “debunk common myths.”

“The bottom line is this: We are still in the middle of a crisis. The fourth wave has challenged us more than any wave before.”

EDMONTON – The upper ridge is moving off and cooler air is moving in. After four straight days in the 20s, we’ll be back closer to average today and Wednesday.

In case you’re curious, the average high for late September is 16 C.

Showers (and even a few lightning strikes) moved through the Edmonton region last night.

It’s mainly northeastern Alberta that has the best chance to see some showers this morning and possibly again this afternoon.

That’s not to say there may not be one or two showers that develop further west. But, those won’t cover much ground.

After today, it looks relatively dry in and around the Edmonton area for the rest of the week.

Northwestern Alberta gets some more showers Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Clearing and the cooler air moving in means there may be some Frost Advisories issued for parts of central and north-central Alberta.

Within the city of Edmonton, no frost is anticipated. But, outlying areas may get close to zero Wednesday morning.

Daytime highs will be in the mid to upper teens today and Wednesday.

We’ll get back to the 20-degree range Thursday before slipping to the mid to upper teens again for Friday/Saturday.

The long-range outlook has another upper ridge (bubble of warm air aloft) moving in over the weekend and that could mean more 20-something daytime highs for Sunday/Monday and possibly Tuesday of next week.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton:

Today – Cloudy this morning. Sunny breaks this afternoon.

Slight risk of a scattered shower in the area.

High: 18

Tonight – Clearing.

9pm: 12

Wednesday – Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: 4

Afternoon High: 17

Thursday – Partly cloudy in the morning. Mostly cloudy in the afternoon.

Morning Low: 6

Afternoon High: 20

Friday – Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: 6

Afternoon High: 16

Saturday – Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: 5

Afternoon High: 18

Sunday – Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: 4

Afternoon High: 20  

EDMONTON – STARS Air Ambulance took a woman to hospital on Monday after she hit a moose west of Stony Plain.

According to RCMP, the crash happened around 3:45 p.m. on Highway 627 near Range Road 11.

No one else was in the woman’s vehicle.

She was taken to the University of Alberta Hospital in stable condition, STARS said. There was no other other information about the extent of her injuries.

The moose died.