Good morning members of Edmonton City Council. I am Miranda Jimmy and a proud member of Thunderchild First Nation. I have made my home in Edmonton for more than half my life and have lived for more than 40 years in my traditional homeland of Treaty No. 6.
I am here today out of my responsibility to the ancestors who came before me, the unborn yet to come and my relations who aren’t given a voice in this chamber. I am here to share my own personal perspectives and am not representing anyone else.
I am a resident who wants to live in a city that supports neighbourhoods for people from all walks of life. I am here because I believe that everybody deserves safe, stable, and attainable housing. I believe that every person in this city deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. I want our city to not just build neighbourhoods but support the growth of communities – spaces where people are uplifted by one another and are stronger because of the bonds they share.
Most importantly, I want a municipal government that is brave enough to make decisions in the best interests of all peoples and the wellbeing of all our relatives. I want to see support for the good of our communities, and consideration of everyone’s needs rather than the ones privileged enough to directly voice their concerns before you today.
The community of Wedgewood Heights provides many unique opportunities for the inclusion of affordable housing. The site is appealing for so many reasons and I am sure the residents who already make their home there would agree. The location has easy access to Edmonton Transit and quick access to Henday Drive for mobility around the city. The site is a short walk away from a grocery store, coffee shop, restaurants, and other retail amenities. There is access to daycare facilities and schools. The community is surrounded by natural greenspace, with trails through Wedgewood Ravine and connected to the North Saskatchewan River Valley. Building family-oriented affordable housing in such a prime location will be setting these children and families up for success in a stable, well connected community.
As much as I am here to speak about my own views on the city I want to call home, I am also here to focus on the positive impact this development could have for those families. I spent most of my young life without a stable home, moving every few years as rents increased and income changed in my single parent household. I know what cramped quarters feel like and how your sense of stability is non-existent when you live out of boxes, never feeling settled. I also know that those feelings can be reversed when you have a bedroom to call your own, a home where your neighbours are your community, and you have what you need and can provide others with better than you had growing up.
Members of City Council, I want to to think about the kids who will live in these townhomes. The opportunity that stable housing can provide in their most formative years. Think about all of the things you are grateful to have in your neighbourhood and the chance to offer that to others who are struggling in our city. Think about the next generation of civic leaders who can be uplifted from poverty and instability through good public policy and decision making.
You have an immediate and tangible opportunity before you today to use your decision making power to directly respond to our city’s housing crisis. You can demonstrate your commitment in the Letter of Intent with Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta and your ongoing commitment to more Indigenous-led affordable housing options in Edmonton. Most importantly, you can allow for homes for 60 families and upwards of 300 children, adults and Elders. Your decision today will demonstrate to me and other residents your willingness to stand behind your commitments, respond to the needs of our growing city, and uplift the most vulnerable who rarely get the opportunity to stand before you but are impacted by every decision you make.
Before I close, I want to remind you – the elected members of City Council, members of City Administration, and all the members of the public here today – you all have a responsibility to the spirit and intent of the Treaty Relationship. Whether you are a settler whose family has lived here for many generations or a newer arrival from somewhere else, each of us holds a moral, ethical, and legal obligation to this agreement. We are all Treaty People. Treaties paved the way for Edmonton, Alberta, and Canada to exist but many of the promises have not been upheld. Through approval of this Land sale today, in a small but important way you are upholding your Treaty obligations. You are clearly saying First Nations have a right to this Land, we have a right to housing, and we have a right to belong in our homelands.
All my relations.
The preceding speech was shared at a City of Edmonton City Council Meeting on February 18, 2026 in support of Financial and Corporate Services Report FCS03329: Wedgewood Heights Below Market Value Sale, Lease or Other Disposal Approval. A video recording of the proceedings can be found online here.