Ahead of the upcoming ABMunis fall convention, members of Grande Prairie city council threw their weight behind a number of provincial advocacy issues ranging from affordable housing funding, to the attraction and retention of physicians in rural municipalities.
Councillor Dylan Bressey says they will be going to convention next week to talk about some shared advocacy asks that they hope will head to provincial and senior levels of government.
“I’m hearing from councillors across Alberta, that, just like councillors here in Grande Prairie, they are seeing growing pinches coming from housing needs, social needs, addictions and mental health,” he says.
Bressey says things like affordable housing puts not only huge pressure on residents, but municipal budgets and services. He adds it can create a slippery slope that must be avoided at all costs.
“I talk to residents regularly who are having trouble finding an affordable place to live, and that’s not just a financial issue, it also puts them at risk of either experiencing homelessness, or having to leave our community, neither of which we want to see,” Bressey says.
“Municipalities just don’t have the resources to step into the gaps; so these really are about what specific asks we want to make to other levels of government to start filling needs in our communities,” he says.
The ABMunis Fall Convention runs from September 27th-29th in Edmonton.