Grande Prairie Minute: Social Prescribing, Highway Funding, and the Street Performers Festival

Grande Prairie Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Grande Prairie politics

This Week In Grande Prairie:

• There will be a City Council In Camera Meeting this afternoon at 2:00 pm, followed by a public City Council Meeting at 3:00 pm. During the public portion, Council will discuss Deputy Mayor and Committee appointments for March - October 2025, make appointments to the Grande Prairie Downtown Association Board, and hear from a resident who would like to see the reintroduction of the early tax payment incentive. There will also be a Public Hearing to address a zoning amendment application.
  
  
• On Wednesday, at 1:30 pm, there will be a meeting of the Council Committee of the Whole. The majority of the agenda will be dealt with in-camera (in secret).
  
  
• The City is launching a Social Prescribing Initiative in partnership with the Grande Prairie Primary Care Network to improve social well-being. The program allows healthcare providers to offer "social prescriptions" to a link worker, who connects residents to local recreational and social programs. Residents can access the service by self-referring through the GP PCN website for social work assistance.

Last Week In Grande Prairie:

• Despite the closure of the Grande Prairie International Street Performers Festival, the founder said there is still a possibility for the event to continue if someone is willing to take over its operations. The Festival had previously announced that the 2024 edition would be the final one. Over its 24-year history, the festival has been successful and supported by City Council, never experiencing a deficit, with funding granted to help balance the budget. Anyone interested in managing the festival can contact the organization through its Facebook page.
  
  
• The City announced its annual State of the City event, with a focus on growth, opportunities, and the future of the city and surrounding region. The event will feature two panel discussions and provide updates on key projects such as the Maskwa Medical Centre and the Wonder Valley AI data centre in the Municipal District of Greenview. The event will take place on March 25th from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm. Tickets are available online until March 17th, and the event will be posted on the City's YouTube channel for those unable to attend.
  
  
• The Province announced plans to create an east-west highway connecting Fort McMurray to the Peace region. The proposed Highway 686 will span 218 kilometers and $311 million has been allocated to the project over three years in the 2025 provincial budget. The project is already in the detailed design phase, with improvements planned near Red Earth Creek to accommodate larger traffic volumes. Minister of Transportation Devin Dreeshen noted that the recent wildfires highlighted the need for more emergency routes.