Mayor Linnsie Clark makes her keynote address during the annual State of the City luncheon held at the Medicine Hat Lodge on Tuesday. The annual event is hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat, which collaborated with the Medicine Hat Lodge to host the annual city-centred conversation.--NEWS PHOTOS BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
“Let’s use our voices, not to talk past each other, but to tell a clear story about who we are,” said Mayor Linnsie Clark. “A resilient, welcoming, quietly ambitious city at the corner of opportunity and action.”
In front of a full house on Tuesday at the Medicine Hat Lodge, Clark delivered her fifth address to the community at the 39th annual State of the City luncheon, calling for the community and new councillors to work together to take advantage of opportunities and set a new productive tone moving forward into the next decade.
“We are a city with real advantages and real responsibilities,” Clark said while highlighting global issues like labour shortages and economic turmoil. “But we are unusually well-placed to navigate them.”
Clark cited municipally owned utilities and land for future expansion and spoke about growing local industries like agriculture, manufacturing and aviation.
And she spoke about residents’ passion for their home.
“We have a community that still shows up for sports, arts, cultural festivals and for neighbours in need.”
However, Clark did not shy away from several issues the city faces, including a declining birth rate, needing to attract more middle-class families and jobs, downtown retaliation, homelessness and attracting more industry.
“It won’t be easy. City government cannot do or be all things to all people. We cannot alone meet all of our community’s needs and wants,” Clark said. “So I’m asking you to join me and this council in treating the next decade as a shared stewardship project.
“Let’s use our relative affordability not just to make a list in a magazine, but to attract mid-career families. Let’s use our utilities, not just as a revenue source, but as tools to attract industry and lead the energy transition. Let’s use our land, not just to fill in maps, but to grow industry and build neighbourhoods our kids and grandkids want to stay in.”
To attract more businesses and industry, Clark says the city needs to take advantage of the fact it generates its own gas and electricity and use it as a “tool” to provide investors a reliable and competitive rate.
“We have a tool that many communities simply don’t,” she said. “We can align our energy choices with our economic goals, instead of waiting to see what someone else decides.”
Another strength lies in the city’s location, Clark says, as Medicine Hat is located on a major freight and tourism corridor and is one of the most productive agriculture regions in the country.
“Our farmers and agri-food businesses are major contributors to Canada’s land and greenhouse food production. That’s not just a point of pride, it’s an opportunity for value-added food processing, cold storage and logistics.”
Clark says the city has “deep roots and serious potential” in the region’s growing aviation and aerospace industries, and says a stronger ecosystem is needed to attract more investment in the air sectors and attract specialized talent.
“This isn’t just about planes and drones, it’s about building a cluster around testing, training, autonomy and defence-related innovation. It’s about using the protected airspace at Suffield and the capacity at our regional airport as magnets for companies who want to test the future of aviation.”
The city and its regional partners are also focusing on growing more well-paying jobs in sectors including manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, primary production, petrochemicals and the province’s growing film industry.
“Jobs that let families buy homes, raise kids and stay here,” Clark said. “We have a diversified base and real momentum, existing firms want to grow here, they see the advantages of our location and cost structure, but they need partners at the table, the work now is to connect the dots.”
Clark says the city will work closely with Medicine Hat College, local school divisions and regional employers to build workforce pathways into skilled trade and technical careers and stay in Medicine Hat rather than leave for a larger centre.
This year changes are also being made at city hall to make services easier to access for citizens and permits easier to acquire for potential business owners.
“We will make those things easier. This means simpler permeating and licensing, clearing explanations, more streamlined access to city services, real feedback loops, solid customer service and honest communication about what is and isn’t within municipal control.”
Clark concluded her speech describing the city herself and council are working toward.
“It will be the feeling you get when you walk down a lively street, when you see new comers and longtime residents chatting in the stands at a ball game, when you know your local government is not perfect, but is working in good faith and in the open to keep its promises. That is the city I see, that is the city I believe we are becoming.”
