City Notebook: It just keeps coming

By COLLIN GALLANT on August 20, 2021.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

This column has complained both sides that the final weeks of August are the doldrums of news, or conversely that it’s downright uncivil how much is going on.

Well, as the old Chinese proverb goes, here we go again… or was it something about living in interesting times?

There’s a new dimension to the health crisis that’s gripped the planet for a year and a half, a federal election to match the municipal election, combined with ever-present provincial campaigning and buckets full of news on the local economic front.

I mean, Hatters are now expected to learn the difference between blue and green hydrogen, as detailed in a new economic development strategy this week by Invest Medicine Hat. Most Hatters are probably thinking about blue-green algae at their favourite lake at about this time of year.

This column’s original mandate was to fit in news items that didn’t make the News’s pages, so here goes.

Yes, Minister

Newly appointed Red Tape Reduction Minister Tanya Fir was in town this week for meetings. She, of course, replaces regional MLA Grant Hunter in the role this summer and tells the News her marching orders are to tackle more complex matters, those related to emerging industries where regulations that often span ministries may need updating.

As always, building codes seem to be a hot topic among the development community, she heard on her recent tour.

Similarly, the United Conservative riding association in Cypress-Medicine Hat welcomes a couple of cabinet ministers to its corn roast, meet-and-greet at Kin Coulee on the evening of Aug. 26.

They are Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver and Nate Horner, who was recently named associate minister of the new (and intriguing) Rural Economic Development portfolio.

Speaking provincially

Brian Jean popped back up this week with a series of social media posts calling for a movement in Alberta toward the creation of a sort of “Saskatchewan Party” styled party in Alberta.

Confused? Yeah, well.

The actual Alberta Party got a boost this week when Brooks Mayor Barry Morishita announced he would seek the leadership of the party. Morishita, also the head of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, is good in front of the cameras, but really only a known quantity among those of us who really pay attention to AUMA. That’s almost exclusively reporters, but it might help the party get some ink.

One problem is Albertans have been hearing for at least a decade about how Albertans want an Alberta Party, something other than the PCs, the UCP or the NDP, but isn’t the customer always right?

Aurora Sunrise?

The big greenhouse on the prairie has been popping up in conversation a little too often these days to be a coincidence.

The recent Invest Medicine Hat report discusses in depth the economics behind the city’s $6-million deal to bring the Cannabis producer here.

It’s still vacant, but up for sale or lease at this point, and the company announces fourth-quarter results soon.

The scuttlebutt is cucumber growers could build cheaper than the asking price, but some horticultural endeavour may be in the works. It would be unheard of for Aurora to sell the facility to a competing pot grower. Another alternative would be to fill it full of bitcoin machines.

Stay tuned.

A look ahead

The last full week of August and a week from Monday is the first week of school. In terms of official business, the municipal planning commission meets Wednesday.

100 years ago

Herbert Greenfield was sworn as premier as the United Farmers of Alberta formed government, the News reported this week 100 years ago.

Local irrigation boosters were encouraged that a new administration would reconsider the recently rejected plan to build works for an irrigation district on the Ross and Seven Persons creeks in Medicine Hat.

Power to the city was turned off for the daylight hours of Sunday, Aug. 21 in order to connect a new generator at the power plant.

In Europe the Allied Supreme Council fixed a new border between Poland and Germany. Irish republicans dismissed an offer that Ireland could have status of a dominion, similar to Canada, in order to quell a year of rioting.

Alberta’s new Judicial Act would dived court operations in to a Court of Appeal and Superior Court.

In local police court, Hatter Mary Cahoun was found guilty of driving her team “faster than a walk” across Finlay Bridge and was fined $3.

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