Panelists from Medicine Hat, Redcliff and Cypress County answer questions at Chinook Village on Wednesday during the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce Leadership Breakfast.--NEWS PHOTO ZOE MASON
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The annual Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce Leadership Breakfast was held at Chinook Village on Wednesday morning. Senior leadership from the City of Medicine Hat, the Town of Redcliff, Cypress County and a variety of local business leaders attended the event.
Premier Danielle Smith, MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, and Linnsie Clark, who was officially announced as mayor-elect on Wednesday morning, were not in attendance.
The Leadership Breakfast is an event that evolved from the chamber’s annual Mayor’s Breakfast. However, at the time of this year’s event, no mayor had been officially named. Polls closed at 8 p.m. Monday.
The three-hour event included breakfast followed by a panel discussion and a question and answer period.
The panel consisted of Al Hoggan, chief administrative officer of Cypress County; Shannon Simon, municipal manager of Redcliff; and three City of Medicine Hat officials.
The representatives from the city were Rochelle Pancoast, managing director of energy, land and environment; Joseph Hutter, managing director of public services; and Pat Bohan, managing director of development and infrastructure.
Topics of discussion included regional collaboration on development and infrastructure and the transition to a new council.
Pancoast says a council made up of mostly new faces is sure to usher in a change in the strategic direction of the city. At time of publication, no incumbents were re-elected to council, although the News declared former mayor Ted Clugston on Tuesday.
Pancoast says the strategic planning of the city is laid out to ensure some continuity, with the current strategic plan set to continue through 2026. The new council will release its own strategic plan in the first quarter of 2026.
Changes to the strategic plan will influence the future of major projects discussed at Wednesday’s event, including new recreational developments, changes to the city’s energy market and regional business initiatives.
Panelists briefly commented on the changes made to municipal elections in response to a question about Bill 50.
The Local Authorities Election Act passed under Bill 50 last year requires municipalities to count ballots by hand. The Municipal Government Act, also included under Bill 50, abolished codes of conduct for councillors.
While panelists acknowledged the policy changes presented challenges for their municipalities during the election, they did not provide details. Hutter told the group he didn’t want to engage with any of the controversy attached to the bill.
Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright had departed the event before concerns about the legislation were raised.
