Lethbridge Minute: Physician Training, Airport Funding, and Police Data Presented

Lethbridge Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Lethbridge politics

This Week In Lethbridge:

• There will be a City Council meeting on Tuesday at 12:30 pm. The Consent Agenda (the stuff they don’t debate) has numerous items on it, but the rest of the agenda is pretty slim. There will be a Public Hearing to discuss a Land Use Bylaw Amendment at 1730 10 Avenue South before Council has a private discussion about a Non-Profit Affordable Housing Tax Rebate Grant Program.
  
  
• There will be a meeting of the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force at 7:30 am on Thursday. The Task Force will receive an overview of Downtown Clean and Safe Initiatives as well as a submission from Chairperson Hunter Heggie regarding an update to the Safety and Social Standing Policy Committee.
  
  
• Also on Thursday, at 12:30 pm, the Economic Standing Policy Committee will meet. The Committee will receive presentations on the 2027-2030 Capital & Operating Budget, the Water Conservation Plan and Strategy, and the Tourism Lethbridge Spring Update. The Lethbridge Public Library will also make a submission regarding a Value for Service Report related to the Chinook Arch Regional Library System.

Last Week In Lethbridge:

• The Alberta government announced a $224.8 million investment to train more physicians in rural areas, which includes a new rural medical education program center at the University of Lethbridge. The funding announcement includes $43.2 million for capital funding to establish the program in Lethbridge, $55.6 million for operating expenses in both Lethbridge and Grande Prairie, and an additional $126 million for the overall expansion of physician training across Alberta. This initiative aims to certify over 100 new doctors annually. The program, set to start in the 2025-26 academic year, will operate from the former Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience and is expected to graduate its first class in 2030. 
  
  
• The provincial government announced funding for some of Alberta’s regional airports to study potential service expansion. The Lethbridge Airport will receive $150,000 for a Hangar Development Feasibility Study and Business Case, starting immediately and slated for completion by September 2024. There are already ongoing efforts to improve the Lethbridge Airport, which has seen over $25 million invested in upgrades and renovations in recent years.
  
  
• The Lethbridge Police Service released 2023 data regarding use of force. LPS stated that out of nearly 38,000 calls, 99.5% were peacefully resolved. Only 0.5% of cases required the use of force, involving 217 individuals. Among these cases, 173 individuals sustained no injuries, 20 had minor injuries not needing treatment, and 23 required treatment. No hospitalizations were necessary, though 12 officers sustained injuries. Notably, LPS reported no firearm discharges in 2023.

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