• Launch a housing-first emergency strategy: city-scale supportive housing combining wraparound mental health, addiction support, and harm reduction.

• Ronald hopes to partner with proven providers like YESS* and national Pathways to Housing** models to offer scatter site apartments and Assertive Community Treatment teams.

• Ronald endorses the following comments from our former mayor:

“People are dying. Creating an emergency will signal to Edmontonians that council understands the magnitude of this problem.”
— Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, CityNews Edmonton citing The Canadian Press, January 15, 2024

* Youth Empowerment & Support Services
** Pathways to Housing is a Housing First initiative in Edmonton run by Radius, offering immediate permanent housing plus wraparound ACT supports to chronically homeless clients—delivering better health outcomes, higher housing retention, and reduced system costs

🗣️ Mayor Amarjeet Sohi — On Systemic Gaps

“We don’t have enough shelters … we don’t have enough detox facilities … we have encampments because of lack of affordable and supportive housing.”

🏛️ 1. Legal Impediments (Obstacles)

1.1 Demolition Approved by City Council

• Edmonton City Council passed a demolition plan aiming to tear down the Coliseum in 2025, citing annual costs (~CAD 1.2 million) and hazardous materials (asbestos, mold, displaced bats).

1.2 Zoning & Land Use Restrictions

• The Coliseum is not zoned for residential use; retrofitting requires rezoning, code compliance, fire safety upgrades, etc.

1.3 Environmental & Heritage Concerns

• Protected bat species and hazardous materials necessitate regulated removal.

1.4 Contractual/Financial Sponsorship Agreements

• Site subject to sponsorship obligations; any reuse must comply with these.

✅ 2. Stronger Legal Arguments Supporting Repurposing

2.1 Charter & Human Rights Obligations

• Governments must not neglect feasible alternatives to homelessness.

2.2 “Shelter Space Available” Precedent

• Courts require actual shelter availability before encampment removals.

2.3 Cost Effectiveness vs Demolition

• Retrofit may serve thousands of people and save millions over the planned alternative of demolition.

2.4 Provincial Oversight & Funding Levers

• Social housing overlaps with provincial jurisdiction, enabling cost-sharing.

🧱 3. Capacity & Space Calculations

• Total estimated usable area: ~110,000 m²

• After deductions and realistic adjustments: 2,500–3,000 units

🛡️ 4. Operational Policies: Staff, Security, Rules

a) Volunteer Kitchen Staff
b) City-paid Professional Security
c) Social Supports & Transition Programs
d) Temporary Duration until long-term housing exists

e) Thorough and careful screening/ monitoring for any drugs and alcohol, with zero tolerance, tough love, policy that if you are caught with either in your possession, you are evicted, assuming weather permits and it is safe to evict.

⚖️ 5. Summary Legal & Moral Case

📝 Final Note

The plan could generate up to 3,000 micro supportive units, in compliance with health, legal, and financial principles—more compassionate and cost-effective than demolition.

✅ 1. Legal & Policy Justification for Prioritizing Seniors

A. Age = protected ground under Charter and Human Rights law
B. Federal/Provincial elder care mandates align with repurposing
C. Existing local precedents support this model

❤️ 2. Humanitarian Case: The Specific Vulnerability of Homeless Seniors

• Complex health needs, higher mortality, eviction, abuse, and isolation are common

• The Coliseum plan would reduce risk and restore dignity for Edmonton’s seniors

🏗️ 3. Design Features to Support Seniors in the Coliseum

🧮 4. Unit Allocation Suggestion (within ~3,000 units)