Grande Prairie council has tasked city staff to discuss potentially waiving fees to support the construction of the proposed Maskwa Medical Centre
Maskwa chairperson Ken Drysdale appeared as a delegation during council’s recent meeting to make the request, which is in the ballpark of $275,000 to $300,000 in forgiveness. Drysdale says it is critical that construction starts on time, ideally in the spring.
Officials say construction is still on track to start in the spring, and it is expected that the site will be up and running in summer 2026. Drysdale says this will make it ready for a University of Alberta residency program training family positions.
He adds forgiveness would mean less of an impact on Maskwa officials, who are currently responsible for funding several items out of pocket.
“Our board and others have been funding this project since day one, outside of the help that everyone knows about from the city and the municipalities, but there’s all [those] external costs that come with accountants, lawyers, and everything else that we’ve been funding personally to get it to this point,” he says. “Now that we’re going to construction, that’s quite a large number for us to have to either loan to the project or pay out of pocket.”
“Any funds we’re raising, we want to go directly into the facility or to enhance education and research down the road,” he adds.
Drysdale maintains the August 2026 deadline holds some serious weight for project officials. However, the organization has taken factors like weather and delays into account, but ultimately, Drysdale says he is “confident” the deadline is attainable. He notes they have been in communication with the U of A regarding the project.
