March 12, 2024
Civic Service Union (CSU) 52 has provided the City of Edmonton 72-hour notice of strike action. More than 5,000 City of Edmonton employees will go on strike starting Thursday, March 14 at 11 a.m. Although the City is hoping that the situation will be resolved quickly, the City is preparing for a prolonged disruption.
The information below will help residents prepare and plan accordingly for the duration of the strike. Details about these impacts will also be published on www.edmonton.ca/serviceimpacts.
The City is committed to the delivery of services that are important to Edmontonians. The following services will continue with little to no impact:
- Edmonton Fire Rescue Services
- Edmonton Transit Service
- Dedicated Accessible Transit Service (DATS)
- Construction on capital projects
- Snow Clearing
- Waste Collection
- Council and Committee meetings (for items identified as critical for ongoing operations)
All steps are being taken to reduce impacts to Edmontonians; however, program and service disruptions are expected. Edmontonians are asked to prepare for the following disruptions starting on March 14, which will remain in effect for the duration of the labour action:
Recreation, Sport and Leisure Centres
All City of Edmonton recreation, sport and leisure centres will be closed to the general public except:
- Any pre-arranged rentals/bookings, including arena bookings, pool bookings, gymnasium bookings and room bookings, as well as Joint Use Agreements (JUA).
- All registered Learn to Swim and Aquatic and Safety Certification programs, including JUA Learn to Swim and Water Safety services.
- Health and wellness operators; e.g. Physical Therapists, Massage Therapists etc. (as per their desired levels of operations)
- Food service vendors (as per their desired levels of operations)
- Partner leased and licensed spaces (as per their desired levels of operations)
Note that the following services will NOT be available:
City recreation and leisure centres will not be accepting:
- New rentals or bookings
- Payments or processing refunds
- There will be no telephone, email or in-person customer service at any City recreation or leisure centre. Refunds or re-booking will not take place until after the labour disruption is over.
Parks, Attractions, Arts, and Heritage Facilities
All drop-in and registered programs, including school field trips at Edmonton Valley Zoo, Muttart Conservatory, John Janzen Nature Centre, John Walter Museum and City Arts Centre are cancelled during the disruption. The Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre is closed to the public and available for tenant access only in addition to pre-arranged rentals.
All City of Edmonton attractions will be closed to the general public with the exception of:
- Pre-arranged bookings and rentals.
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Cafe Bloom located in Muttart will remain open. For more information visit https://cafebloom.ca/
Business and Economy
- The majority of the City’s permitting and licensing program will be paused.
- There will be no telephone, email or service centre support for inspections.
- The following inspection services will be paused:
- Zoning Bylaw Complaints
- Development permit inspections
- Landscaping inspections
- Lot Grading inspections
City Government
- FOIP requests will not be processed until after the disruption ends.
- Public hearings will continue.
Transit
- In-person sales at Recreation Centres and the Edmonton Tower Service Centre will be unavailable.
- No new Ride Transit Program applications will be accepted.
- The ETS@Work program will not accept new program participants at this time.
Customer Service
- During the labour action, 311 will experience significant disruption. The 311 phone service is limited to urgent public safety and bylaw matters only and some services have been removed from the 311 app.
- The Citizen and New Arrivals Information Centre in City Hall will be closed.
- There will be no new intake for the property tax monthly payment plan, and property assessment service support will be unavailable for property owners.
The City is committed to ensuring that Edmontonians have the information they need about the services they rely on. Edmontonians can visit www.edmonton.ca/serviceimpacts for the most up-to-date information on service impacts throughout the duration of the strike.
