Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has high hopes that a new task force will put a dent in the city’s housing and homelessness crisis. Sohi delivered a state of the city address Friday, during which he announced the formation of the community mobilization task force on housing and houselessness.
The 16-member group will try to solve homelessness in Edmonton, Sohi said. It will also try reducing bureaucratic roadblocks so developers can build more non-market, supportive housing, as well as affordable housing.
“This is not about studying the issue. We have studied the issue. We know why houselessness exists,” the mayor said. “This is about implementing solutions and finding creative, innovative ways of unlocking some of those solutions.”
The task force was created as part of a motion city council passed in January, when it declared a housing and houselessness emergency. The group features people from various backgrounds, including current and former city officials, housing agency officials and people from Indigenous communities.
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