City Notebook: City Hall to the rescue?

By Collin Gallant on March 22, 2025.

Economic downturns pack a double whammy for non-profit groups that provide social assistance and gird a community.

When money is tight, the need is greatest, but donations are often the first victim of household belt tightening.

And we’ve all heard the struggles that charities and service clubs have soliciting funds or drumming up new members.

This is the backdrop of discussions at city hall to create a new operating grant program to aid local groups stabilize budgets.

It’s an interesting idea, but one that some council members obviously believe could pack a surprise punch as well.

Laced in the debate at Monday’s council meeting was the longstanding fear that direct financial support to charitable endeavours will lead to long-term dependancy. Or it could make the city the bad guy when requests are rejected or money runs out.

Another is about the role of municipal government supporting causes – picking and choosing winners, so to speak.

“I’m not so sure that citizens of Medicine Hat signed us up for that,” said Coun. Darren Hirsch this week. “How to you make (the amount) large enough that it has a material effect on non-profits, but small enough that it’s not harmful to the taxpayer?”

But there is another landmine rarely stated in debate or polite conversation.

Ten years ago, a $10-million fundraising campaign to complete the Co-op Place fell 95 per cent short, and would have been a complete washout without a large cash deposit from Cypress County.

No doubt, many Hatters thought at the time, “The city’s got enough money, and doesn’t need any more of mine.”

It’s not isolated view of City Hall, which has about $800 million in reserve funds – a figure administrators say is needed for well-abandonment, tax abatement, the energy transition and its own capital needs.

Recently the Medicine Hat Stampede board had stick-handled around council’s question of general community fundraising for grandstand expansion.

They say it’s hard to solicit donations when the city’s support is up in the air.

Perhaps that’s true, but if the city’s going to cover 40 per cent of a $30-million project, a reasonable resident, might ask, why not half?

The event centre is but one case of any number of fundraising campaigns over the last 15 years falling short or falling flat.

This highlights what is an ironic sentiment in the Hat, where most likely believe that government should be doing less, but that the local government should be doing more, at least in direct dollar support.

This and that

– The Silver Buckle was closed on one of the busiest days of the year for a bar due to an apartment fire in the upstairs on the former flour mill, but is planning to have a celebrate “St. Paddy’s Day II” in the near future.

– Will there be more than one local candidate in the looming federal election? Right now incumbent Glen Motz is facing B.C.-based Green Party candidate Andy Shadrach on a short list of announced candidates in Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner.

Alberta director of the Federal Liberal Party Eleanor Olszewski, who grew up in the Hat, is running again in Edmonton-Strathcona.

A look ahead

By most accounts the federal election will be called Sunday, leading toward general voting at the end of April or early May. The Alberta Legislature is still in session, as well.

100 years ago

Woman’s “emancipation from clothes” could be complete in the coming spring season, remarked the News’ women’s page editor in March 1925.

It was noted that a typical outfit promoted on runways of Paris and New York weighed not more than two pounds, with half attributed to the shoes.

It was but a mere fraction of heavy dresses and layered modesty of past fashion.

Debt and a lack of productive land could doom farmers in the region unless the province acted, Medicine Hat MLA William Johnson told the legislature.

In his first address, he called for reform to private lending legislation and changes to the Wild Lands Tax act to promote continued grazing on seized quarters.

Redcliff MLA W.C. Smith unsuccessfully pushed for Liquor Act changes allowing hotels to sell beer in bottles.

Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Georges Vezina was questionable to start the Stanley Cup championship series in Vancouver after contracting a cold on the train to Vancouver. The ironman goaltender had played in 327 consecutive regular season games and another 39 in playoffs.

Collin Gallant covers city politics and a variety of topics for the News. Reach him at 403-528-5664 or via email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com