Dear Mr. Carney,

Prime Minister,

While in Edmonton, we trust you will take the opportunity to visit some examples of the unfortunate downsides of current federal government and CMHC policy.

By responding to housing shortages in Toronto as a national housing ‘crisis,’ the cascading negative effects are profound.

In addition to numerous examples of poorly done infill that give an indication of what is to come, Edmonton is becoming ground zero for squelching of democratic and common law property rights.

Treating the need for affordable housing as a simple problem focused on outputs, rather than complex one focused on outcomes, may be the gravest public policy error of our time.

It may be messy, but there must also be authentic public engagement to co-create a vision and plan for cities that their citizens and communities will accept and enjoy, not blanket lot splitting and forced upzoning from on high.

An old professor at Queens’ used to say Ottawa was 27 square miles surrounded by reality.

Welcome to reality.

We hope you will take the opportunity to visit ‘Brett’s house’ in Crestwood. Mayor Sohi can take you there, as most of City Council has now visited this unintended consequence. It was Brett’s dream for his family to save for this home, only to find it now bounded on both sides by eightplexes. This has seriously damaged the value and their ability to use and enjoy their property.

I have also included a photo of Susanna from Windsor Park. Susanna and her mother are living through the reality of their home being included within ‘a fuzzy boundary’ of an LRT node slated for high density. Finding themselves rapidly surrounded by massive structures and degrading homes on lots purchased and amassed by speculative developers has been devastating.

Everyone affected wish at times the movie ‘UP’ was real, and someone was coming to help them float their home and lives to safety.

In a city where most current residents and those in-migrating want single family homes, federal policy and the CMHC funding, particularly the MLI Select program, rather than being seen as a great win-win, has added fuel to the dumpster fire.

Why is there no requirement for cities to have meaningful public engagement, meaningful program evaluation and a transformational change management plan?

Edmonton has vast tracts, including one being developed by the City itself, that could be the focus of massive densification rather than forcing such rapid, unwanted and poorly designed structures across the entire city.

The good news for all is that spontaneous democracy is happening and City Council is getting their boat rocked in the upcoming election. Trust in representative democracy has been badly shaken.

Citizens are demanding a greater voice in decision-making and to be placed back in the centre of shaping their communities.

We welcome your leadership in making this right.

Welcome to Edmonton!