Seasons Greetings to our diverse Edgemont Community! Whether you celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah (November 28 to December 6), the Winter Solstice (may I suggest going up on Nose Hill, 10:59 am on December 21), Christmas (December 25), the seven days of Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1), or simply anoint your waffles on National Maple Syrup Day (December 17); we can all take the annual break to pause our usual routines to celebrate the best of the years’ harvest, reconnect with family and friends, and collectively take a bit of a breather before we gird ourselves for the rigors of the incoming New Year of 2022.
A wonderful way to honour this time of reflection and giving is to volunteer to help with the Edgemont Christmas Hampers program. While this program has been well underway since November, financial contributions are always welcome and there is still gift wrapping and delivering ahead! Contact our volunteer coordinator to see where you can fit in at [email protected].
Those who mark the Solstice up on Nose Hill will physically be acknowledging that they are treading on the very epicentre of the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), even as they, too, are part of all the people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta. Mother Earth may be saying, as Yeats wrote, “tread softly because you tread on my dreams”.
Part of December’s annual reflections are some commemorative dates.
Human Rights Day, December 10, after the 1948 United Nations General Assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the most translated document in the world!). In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe December 10 of each year as Human Rights Day.
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada has been observed on December 6 since the 1989 massacre of 14 young women at the Polytechnique Montréal, all of whom tragically lost their lives simply because they were women.
The horrific event at the École Polytechnique touches upon the situation all of us in Ward 4 are required to face regarding the recent revelations of the current Councillor’s history. It can only be hoped that the impasse at City Hall has arrived at something like a reasonable solution by the time this message is in print. It is crucially important, when each of us addresses this matter, that we first honestly and fully consider the experience of the 16-year-old person who was involved and what a profound effect these events have wrought on her youthful as well as her adult life. Decisions about human crises such as these can only truly be relevant when we start with “I believe you.”
Building upon last month’s Remembrance Day message, December 11 commemorates the 1931 Statute of Westminster, whereby the distinct character of Canadian statehood was legislatively formalized, after having been forged in the crucible that was Vimy Ridge in 1917. Canada became a true nation through the granting of legislative equal status for all the self-governing dominions, the very foundation of the unique Commonwealth we share today.
The Board is busily preparing the 2022 Budget for approval at the next Annual General Meeting of the ECA. It is not too early to check your memberships online in preparation for the ‘State of the Association’ reports, election of directors, and a glimpse of future initiatives.
The Building Administration Committee, chaired by Elaine Scobie, has worked all of 2021 to set the stage for the reskinning of the Edgemont Community Centre (ECC) in the warmer weather of 2022. Grants are in place; a Project Manager is facilitating the work, and the starting pistol is primed! COVID-19 has continued to dog our heels, yet the frontline staff and volunteers have managed to squeeze in as many activities and events as humanly possible. It has been the policy of the ECA Board to maintain rigid COVID protocols, even when the Province and the City have been more relaxed. ECA believes that the maximum level of protection is demanded for the safety of our community, our staff, and volunteers.
ECA successfully brought the mobile vaccination van to Edgemont a few times to reach those who have difficulty making their way to a clinic. Sadly, anti-vaccination protesters interrupted one of the sessions, however, other successful events were completed. Good people: vaccinations work to combat COVID-19. In Alberta alone, 6 million doses have amply proven that vaccinations do not cause autism or fertility issues, and the record shows that 0.7% of vaccinated individuals actually contract COVID-19 while 90% of Albertans in ICU’s are unvaccinated! Vaccinations do not contain nano bots that allow the Government to track you – cellphones do that job already! Please get vaccinated!
To enter the New Year of 2022, Barb Elms’ Programs Committee notes we are going to add some extra events to our Skating Party on Saturday, January 29 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. This year, with the Olympics in mind, come out and try our version of cross country and / or do some curling, in addition to skating. And why not bring your toboggan as well? Watch the website for more details as the event draws nearer.
From the privileged position of being the President of an exceptional Board, and on behalf of ECA’s dedicated staff and our many volunteers; we wish all Edgemont residents a safe, restful, and rewarding holiday season!
