Please note: A Public Hearing originally anticipated to take place in February has now been scheduled for January 24, 2023 at 6:00 p.m, in Council Chambers at Cold Lake City Hall.

Cold Lake, AB – Cold Lake City Council voted in favour of commencing the legislated process for creating a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) that will operate a medical clinic in the community.

If successful, the MCC will be registered as “Cold Lake Primary Care Medical Clinic Ltd.”, and will be created with the City of Cold Lake as its sole shareholder.

“Since 2006 our council has worked hard to get more doctors in our community,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “We’ve spent a lot of time and money on physician recruitment and retention, but all of our effort and our taxpayer’s funding has been able to do is maintain the same number of physicians in our community. Since 2006, our population has grown by nearly 36 per cent. We knew that we were underserved then, and the issue has been allowed to grow ever since.”

The City of Cold Lake’s 2022 Census gathered information about residents’ access to family physicians. It showed that about 40 per cent of residents do not have a family doctor, while an additional 8% of residents have a family doctor outside of the community. While about 48 per cent of residents have a family doctor in the community, 46 per cent of them said it would take, on average, three weeks or more to get an appointment.

The proposal is for Cold Lake Primary Care Medical Clinic Ltd. to be run by a board appointed by City Council. It will consist of two elected officials and three members at large. Any profit from the corporation can be reinvested back into the clinic, directed towards other healthcare initiatives in the community, invested in financial instruments, saved as cash for future use, or returned to the company’s shareholder (the City of Cold Lake) as dividends.

“This is an unusual move, but it is one that our council felt we needed to make if we are to make meaningful progress when it comes to access to the healthcare system in our community,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “If established, the clinic will have a seat at the table when it comes to recruitment and, with the City as its only shareholder, it will maintain its focus on our residents’ best interests.”

A Statutory Public Hearing is being held as part of the process to establish the MCC. The hearing will take place on February 28, 2023, at 6:00 pm in Council Chambers. A fact sheet is attached with more information about Municipally Controlled Corporations, the City’s proposal for Cold Lake Primary Care Medical Clinic Ltd., how residents can have their opinions heard, and where to find additional resources.

The business plan is available at www.coldlake.com/plansreportsstudies

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