Your council is still meeting in private
Good morning, Edmonton. Darren Fedoruk here, trying to locate my coffee in this existential fog.
City Council, on May 6, 2026, voted 12 to 0 to meet in private. This move, as per the official motion text, was "pursuant to sections 20 (disclosure harmful to personal privacy), 26 (disclosure harmful to intergovernmental relations) and 29 (advice from officials) of the *Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act*." The vote included all councillors present: A. Knack, A. Paquette, A. Salvador, A. Stevenson, E. Rutherford, J. Wright, K. Principe, K. Tang, M. Janz, R. Clarke, T. Parmar, M. Elliott, and J. Morgan. Honestly though, these private sessions are becoming a bit of a pattern. It makes you wonder what exactly constitutes "intergovernmental relations" that needs to be so consistently shielded from public view, especially when discussing verbal reports, as they did for item OCM03407.
* **May 6, 2026:** Council voted 12-0 to meet privately. * **Reasons cited:** Personal privacy, intergovernmental relations, and official advice. * **Specific Act:** *Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act* sections 20, 26, and 29. * **Impact:** A significant portion of council's work is not transparent.
While the *Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act* provides the legal framework, the frequency of these private sessions can leave residents feeling somewhat disconnected from the decision-making process. The city's 311 data, for example, shows over 160,000 requests for "General Information" — it seems people want to know what’s going on. We will, as always, keep an eye on what eventually emerges from these closed-door deliberations.
Darren Fedoruk, MiTL Sports Desk, Edmonton.
You can catch up with the crew for more on this and other early morning musings over at mornings.live. Edmonton doesn't need your approval. Never did.