You're not going to believe what your council is doing

Good morning, Edmonton. Darren Fedoruk here, trying to make sense of the latest from City Hall, which, let's be honest, sometimes feels like trying to read tea leaves during a whiteout.

The City Manager and City Auditor Performance Evaluation Committee met on May 19, 2026. This committee, for those who spend their mornings doing things more sensible than tracking municipal governance (like, say, watching the Oilers), handles the annual check-ins for our top administrators. They voted, 3 to 0, on several motions, including approving the City Auditor Annual Performance Review Process. What’s noteworthy here is the back-and-forth about public versus private meetings. Councillor K. Principe initially moved for the committee to meet in public, but then Councillor T. Parmar countered, moving for a private session citing "disclosure harmful to personal privacy" and "advice from officials" under the *Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act*. Both motions passed 3-0. So, they decided to meet in public, then immediately decided to meet in private. It’s like saying you’re going for a skate on the River Valley trails, then immediately deciding to stay inside with a book.

What this Means

What we can glean is that while there's a push for transparency, the default setting often reverts to closed-door discussions when it comes to performance reviews of senior staff. This isn’t new, but it's a recurring theme in how council manages sensitive information. Honestly though, it leaves you wondering how much the public really gets to see of the processes guiding our city's operations. We’ll be watching to see how these performance reviews ultimately impact the city's direction.

Edmonton doesn't need your approval. Never did.

Darren Fedoruk

The folks on the morning show are always unpacking these kinds of puzzles — you can catch them live at mornings.live.