Edmonton activates extreme weather response to protect the vulnerable as cold sets in
Edmonton has activated its extreme weather response for the first time this cold weather season as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday to help keep vulnerable members of the population safe.
The threshold for activating the extreme weather response is temperatures of -20 C with wind chill for at least three consecutive nights, and shelter utilization rates over 90 per cent.
The activation includes several components.
Edmonton Transit Service:
- ETS will provide dedicated overnight transportation on three routes between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to transport people to shelters with space.
- ETS buses will also stop at all bus stops, including most express routes, to pick up anyone waiting when the weather is -20 C and below with windchill.
- Maps of the bus routes are available online.
Expanded overnight shelter spaces:
- The Al Rashid Mosque will make 75 extra overnight spaces available to shelter vulnerable people during the extreme weather response.
Day services:
- The Bissell Centre’s Community Space will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Community Space offers supports like laundry, showers, meals, Indigenous cultural supports, mental health, and housing supports.
- Boyle Street Community Services Community Services will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., offering housing supports, Indigenous cultural supports, and showers.
- Boyle Street Community Services will operate its Winter Warming Bus, which provides food, winter clothing, blankets, and transportation to warming centres and shelters.
- The Encampment Response Team will conduct wellness checks and only address high-risk encampments during the activation.
- All Edmonton Public Library locations and recreation facilities will be open to the public for warming purposes during regular operating hours.
What Edmontonians can do:
- Learn to recognize the signs of hypothermia, which include uncontrollable shivering, drowsiness, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss or slurred speech. A person with hypothermia may be unconscious or may not seem to have a pulse or be breathing.
- Call 911 for someone in serious distress.
- Call 211 and press 3 for 24/7 crisis diversion non-emergency support for shelter, intoxication, or mental health.
- Donate money or warm clothes and winter gear to agencies that need them. A full list can be found online.
The city says LRT stations will not be open as part of the extreme weather response as they lack amenities such as heat and adequate washroom facilities.
The extreme weather response is a partnership between the city, Homeward trust, and more than 25 partner agencies.
The extreme weather response will remain activated until Thursday, Dec. 8 at 8 a.m. with the potential to extend it if the weather remains cold.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.