City Hall really wants to meet in private, huh?

Edmonton doesn't need your approval. Never did. But if you’re trying to figure out what’s actually happening at City Hall, sometimes you have to sift through the minutiae, the administrative equivalent of watching paint dry. Recently, the Agenda Review Committee held a meeting on April 28, 2026, and what struck me was the immediate pivot to privacy.

It’s one of those things where they say, "Let's meet in public," and then, faster than an Oilers power play, they move to go in camera.

Here's what happened:

* Councillor J. Wright moved that the Agenda Review Committee meet in public. Carried 4 to 0.

* Immediately after, Councillor K. Tang moved that they meet in private "pursuant to section 29 (advice from officials) of the *Access to Information Act* for the discussion of item 2.1." Carried 4 to 0.

Honestly though, it always makes you wonder what item 2.1 might be. What kind of official advice requires the public to be excused so quickly? The whole committee — Knack, Stevenson, Wright, and Tang — voted unanimously on both motions. It's a quick reversal, almost theatrical in its speed.

Another nugget from the recent data: Councillor Anne Stevenson received a gift of $120 from the Edmonton International Airport in November 2025. It’s not a king's ransom, but it’s on the public record, which is precisely where it should be. These small disclosures are part of the larger mosaic of transparency, or at least the attempt at it.

This quick shift to private meetings, even for an agenda review committee, sets a tone. We’ll have to watch if this becomes a pattern or if item 2.1 was truly a unique circumstance requiring that particular veil.

Darren Fedoruk

Honestly, sometimes it feels like City Hall is playing chess in the dark. The MiTL team on the morning show dives into this kind of stuff every day. Catch them live at mornings.live.