Opinion: Extending downtown CRL comes at too high a cost for Edmonton
In their June 23 op-ed in support of the City of Edmonton extending its Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) for another decade, Annette Trimbee (MacEwan University) and Carolyn Campbell (NorQuest College) extoll what they see as the benefits of the proposed CRL extension for students at their respective campuses.
What they fail to mention, however, is that at the core of the proposal is a backroom deal being foisted upon the city by Premier Danielle Smith. The deal would hand Darryl Katz and the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) $102.8 million from the extended CRL to expand their for-profit real estate and entertainment empire downtown.
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Edmonton city council extends downtown revitalization levy to 2044
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