LAKELAND – Healthcare was a main topic on the agenda during Wednesday’s meeting in Lac La Biche of mayors, reeves, and Indigenous leaders from across northeastern Alberta. The assembly of municipal leaders was hosted at McArthur Place.
Leaders represented municipalities that belong to the Northeastern Alberta Alliance for Growth and Opportunity (NAAGO). According to information from the group, the mission of NAAGO is to foster growth, opportunity, and the well-being of more than 145,000 residents who live in northeastern Alberta .
The shared interests of the municipal leaders included improvements to Highway 28 and Highway 881, along with the establishment of a dedicated Northeast Alberta Health Zone focused on addressing the needs of the region’s diverse population.
A health zone would prioritize recruitment and retention of health professionals, enhance EMS response, ensure 24/7 emergency care, and reduce wait times.
More docs for Lac La Biche
At the same time as the meeting, Lac La Biche Mayor Paul Reutov was announcing some good local news in healthcare as two more physicians have been secured for the community. The mayor says by the end of the year, the community will have nine and a half physician positions filled. The number is less than the target of 13, but much better than where the numbers were.
“This is a huge improvement from where we were even one year ago, when we only had three and a half physician FTEs filled,” the mayor said in a recent statement.
He hopes the increase in doctors will reduce the amount of recent service disruptions at the local hospital.
“When our next two doctors start, Alberta Health Services hopes to eliminate emergency room closures at the William J. Cadzow Hospital, which has unfortunately been a common occurrence of late,” he noted.
The mayor says the municipality and the local Rural Attraction and Retention Society (RARS), in collaboration with AHS, are also focusing efforts on attracting nurse practitioners and staff to run the lab and diagnostics units.
“This will help our community provide robust and diverse healthcare services,” he said.
Breaking barriers
Other concerns raised at the regional mayors’ and leaders’ meeting, including mental health and addiction services, improving transportation, and empowering local healthcare teams.
According to information provided, NAAGO acknowledged the “historical and systemic barriers” that have contributed to inequalities regarding accessing healthcare, including Indigenous populations.
The NAAGO meetings are held quarterly in member communities across northern Alberta.
Highway 28 talks with the minister
Days prior to the meeting, NAAGO representatives also met virtually with Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen.
During the meeting, the minister was “assuring” municipal leaders that “we will hopefully see some money in the capital budget in 2025 for Highway 28,” said Town of Bonnyville Mayor Elisa Brosseau during the April 9 council meeting, offering an update on the meeting.
“We should see some dirt turning in 2025 and then some tendering to go out in 2026,” said Brosseau. “We’ll wait and see, but that was his messaging to us.”
Town of St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller was also part of the virtual meeting and during her April 9 report to Town of St. Paul council, was optimistic about the meeting.
“I would say it was a win,” said Miller, speaking about the meeting.
Miller feels the minister has committed to work that would involve passing lanes from Smoky Lake to Bonnyville, and the possible twinning of Highway 28 from Bonnvyille to Cold Lake.
“There’s a lot of complexity to that,” she acknowledged, speaking specifically about the twinning of the highway.
“We stood together,” said Miller, noting she felt Minister Dreeshen seemed happy to see municipalities working together.
*With files from Janice Huser
