Last week,over 10% of our hospital beds had COVID patients in them. That number is presumably climbing. Hospital doctors are sounding the alarm.

We have had surgeries cancelled. Patients sent to other hospitals. And yesterday, there was potentially a time where no ambulances were available in our community.

This should be incredibly worrying to us all.

We also have thousands of kids ineligible to get vaccinated returning to school this week. I’ve heard from many very worried parents.

In hopes of better supporting a push for action, I haven’t been too public over the last week. I always try to speak and listen at Council first before I go public with something significant. But today a Council Committee had its first conversation about recent COVID changes. So now, my take:

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At the end of June, Council will be debating a recommendation to purchase the Stonebridge Inn and change it to a Coordinated Care Campus. No decision has been made yet: public engagement is happening before any recommendations are brought to Council for debate. And quite rightly, a lot of people are engaged in the conversation.

Following is more information about the process being used, and my take on Supportive Housing initiatives.

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Something unique about Grande Prairie: our Protective and Social Services are integrated. All these departments report to the same Director. That allows for a good coordination of response when Bylaw, RCMP, or Fire respond to calls involving vulnerable people or folks dealing with mental health or addictions challenges.

This week, our Protective & Social Services departments delivered an update on their activities throughout the first quarter of 2021. You can read or watch their full reports here.

Below are some highlights that popped out to me.

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The City is heading into a record breaking construction year. In 2021, more money will be spent on fixing our roads than in any other year. And investment had already been increasing over the last few years!

This is good for the sake of caring for our infrastructure. It will also create jobs in a year where our economy is hurting.

Here's more information about what is being done for our roads. They aren't just receiving more funding. Effort has also gone into ensuring that funding gets the best results possible.

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