I started this newsletter off in the spring by talking about my favourite word: fecund. Boy, does it sure apply this week, simply teeming because Alberta leadership has been flooding the zone. And the rest of us are left to clean up the mess.

The forced reversal on the zoning bylaw and the referendum conversations are essentially the same but at different scale.

We are at a crossroads on who we are becoming; a welcoming city and province or one that pulls up the drawbridge and only allows Alberta-approved residents in the province and now on our blocks.

There have been detours on the road to the zoning bylaw that we now have, with builds no longer allowed that were allowed just over a year ago. Rules are tightening around rooming houses. The city is asking the province for the ability to crack down on problem builders. Just this week, beautiful standardized infill designs were released to streamline and elevate the quality of builds. $15 million a year more in property taxes has been generated and over 5,000 homes have been built. All of that real, tangible work is in jeopardy.

A recurring thought comes to me about the prevalence of land acknowledgements, the amount of Indigenous people living and dying on our streets and wealthy folk saying there is no room for you here on our land. Reconciliation is about more than vibes. Improving the life expectancy of Indigenous neighbours requires actual homes and not just nice words.

As the climate crisis continues, we know that weather disasters will force people from their homes, crops will fail and wars will be fought over scarcity. Uninhabitable land will become reality. Even within Edmonton this summer, the unprecedented rain had thousands of people thinking about whether they too should move houses. Whether we are prepared to welcome those forced from their homes or not, depends on the houses we start building now.

The provincial government called and hundreds of thousands came but we hadn't prepared schools and hospitals and the newcomers became the scapegoat. Future migrants are a certainty. Our planning and building now will shape our response. I personally want to remain a welcoming country, province and city.

As it happens, there actually is a 3-story 8-plex being built directly to the south of our house. I had signed up to speak in favour of infill to council, wrote letters and ultimately ran to be a city councillor on the issue. Do we have a beautiful yard and garden that I am concerned about? Yes. Am I also aware of the much bigger picture, of climate refugees, homeless camps, losing farms, trees and wet lands to sprawl, increased emissions from longer commutes, decreased emissions from shared walls and city budgets stretched as thin as the city? Also, yes. I am in control of my reaction and so am choosing to laugh and lean into my values. While looking forward to meeting new, great neighbours some day.

Loving where we live,

Jennifer Porritt

contact@jenniferporritt.ca