Red Deer Minute: Surgeries Diverted, Entertainment District, and Mustard Seed Expansion

Red Deer Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Red Deer politics

This Week In Red Deer:

• There is one meeting scheduled at City Hall for this week, a City Council meeting today at 12:30 pm. Council will begin the meeting in-camera for 2 hours but once the meeting reverts to an open one, they are set to discuss a number of items including a proposed Entertainment District and permanent shelter strategies. They will also give second and third reading to a Community Standards Bylaw, and have a public hearing on the Timberlands North Area Structure Plan Amendment 3217/A-2022 and Land Use Bylaw Amendment 3357/G-2022.
  
  
• Council will consider public participation and advocacy options for the permanent homeless shelter in Red Deer at today's meeting. The first recommendation will be for the City to proceed with a government-to-government advocacy strategy, which would leave community consultation to the Province. The second option involves the City engaging with residents and then advocating to the Province based on that feedback. The shelter will be funded by the Province, and the City has very little decision-making authority under a current memorandum of understanding.
  
  
• Council's proposed Entertainment District is set to get second and third reading today. If passed, Red Deer will become one of the first municipalities in the Province to actually implement such a district. The plan aims to turn the Ross Street Patio into an area that would allow public alcohol consumption. The move comes in the wake of the Province’s decision to pass legislation in December amending the Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Act to allow drinking in public areas outside licensed premises while enjoying music or other forms of entertainment.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• After Red Deer Hospital made the news last week with upwards of 14 ambulances seen lined up outside, Alberta’s Minister of Health, Jason Copping, attempted to add perspective. Copping said that of 250 surgeries scheduled, only 7 were diverted out of Red Deer Hospital. He also suggested that the diversions were actually an indication of the strength of the Province’s healthcare system on account of being able to move patients around when the system is under strain.
  
  
• The City of Red Deer awarded funding to 45 projects through the Pandemic Relief and Recovery Funding grant. Totalling $390,000, the funding was provided to community groups that faced operational challenges due to COVID-19. Among the recipients were the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Society, the Red Deer City Soccer Association, and the Tree House Youth Theatre Society.
  
  
• The Mustard Seed has decided to expand its services beyond Calgary and open locations in Red Deer, Edmonton, Kamloops, and Medicine Hat. After offering health and wellness services from its downtown Calgary location for five years, the non-profit organization said its expansion will help to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, and poor health in other cities.

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