Medicine Hat Minute: Issue 240

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

📅 This Week In Medicine Hat: 📅

• On Tuesday, at 2:45 pm, there will be a City Council meeting. The agenda begins with a closed session, wherein Council will discuss advocacy, a business matter, a legal update, and an energy business matter. When the meeting opens up to the public, around 6:30 pm, the agenda has only limited new business. The Mayor’s Office will recommend that Council appoint Councillor Young as Acting Mayor from February 3rd, 2026 to March 19th, 2026.
  
  
• Council will hear about several long-standing issues during Monday’s meeting, with staff presenting a full overview of unresolved Council motions, pending capital projects, and major operating expenses. The review follows a recent direction from Council to better understand decisions approved by previous Councils that have not yet been acted on. Information will be organized by Committee to help Councillors determine which items fall within their responsibilities and identify next steps. The goal is to give Council a clearer picture of what has already been approved before moving forward with new decisions. In addition, staff will outline relevant policies and bylaws tied to each Committee’s work.
  
  
• Two committee meetings are scheduled for Thursday. The Energy, Land and Environment Committee meets at 9:30 am, followed by the Development and Infrastructure Committee at 1:30 pm. Agendas are not yet available.
  
  
• The provincial government has provided additional funding to support homelessness services in Medicine Hat, including $250,000 specifically to expand winter capacity at the Mustard Seed shelter. Overall, $4 million has been allocated to local community organizations addressing homelessness, though details on how much goes to each program remain unclear. The Mustard Seed has nearly doubled its 24/7 shelter capacity, while other local organizations, including the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society and Miywasin Friendship Centre, also receive provincial support for housing initiatives, rent supplements, and homelessness programs. Despite these investments, the City continues to fall short of its social and affordable housing targets from the 2019 housing strategy. Rising construction costs and limited funding availability have contributed to the shortfall. The waitlist for social and affordable housing remains around 476 households, far above the 2019 strategy’s goal of an 82% reduction by 2026.
  
  
• Tickets are now available for the Mayor's Annual State of the City Address. The event is intended to reflect on municipal priorities, decisions, and progress while encouraging greater community participation. It follows the most recent municipal election and continues a tradition of opening the year with a public update from the Mayor on City affairs. It will take place on January 27th at the Medicine Hat Lodge, with doors opening at 10:30 am and opening remarks beginning around 11:30 am. Tickets are available through the Kiwanis Club, the Medicine Hat Lodge, or online at Eventbrite.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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