A large range of topics was discussed at this week’s city council meeting, including the delegation on the transient situation in Grande Prairie, additional funding for the Grande Prairie Curling Centre, and the process for 2 new Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta judicial positions in the city.
Mayor Jackie Clayton says she feels the discussion was positive regarding the transient situation and council was very much open to feedback after Sarahrose Darch’s delegation to city council.
“I think that tonight’s delegation did a great job of giving us firsthand experience and advice into ways that we can improve. They brought forward not only their concerns but solutions as well. Today I was really happy to see the lived experience of the two people that attended the council meeting. They not only talked about the need for a better-integrated health care model but they also talked about what we can do with some of our own departments and our own devices that the city uses to support the homeless population. I just felt it was a very good conversation and council was very receptive,” she says.
Clayton added that they will reach out and see that the conversation doesn’t stop after tonight’s meeting. “We want to ensure that we can support all different sectors of the population.”
After yesterday’s huge news of Beaverlodge, Alberta native Geoff Walker and Team Gushue securing their spot in the upcoming Beijing Olympics, Clayton and city council was very glad to announce $10,000 in additional funding to the Grande Prairie Curling Centre for the Best of Alberta 2022 Alberta Boston Pizza Cup Men’s and the Sentinel Storage Women’s Tournament of Hearts Provincial Curling Championships.
“Grande Prairie and the region has always been very supportive of curling and we’re very excited to hose these events. We’ve hosted the Scotties in the past and various other Curling events. We believe this event will be just as great as many other events,” Clayton says. “Having sport tourism in our community is something that we continue to excel at and we’re always welcome to looking at opportunities in how we can support these organizations to execute great events and great tournaments. We feel events like this really show everyone across the country, and sometimes internationally, what a great facility we have and how great our volunteers are at executing these events.”
After receiving a letter from The Minister of Justice and Solicitor General detailing that two new Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta justices are in the process of being appointed to Grande Prairie, Clayton says she’s happy to see this moving in the right direction.
“The legislation says that Grande Prairie should have one of those judicial positions at a minimum. It’s great news that the province is recommending two. We will continue to advocate for that need, work with our local MP Chris Warkentin to be in front of the right organizations so that we can get those positions filled,” she says.
The full highlights from the council meeting are available here.