ATHABASCA – Everything is politics it seems, and there was a fair amount of it going on in the Athabasca region in 2022 with the premier, future premier, a few ministers and a few more UCP leadership candidates all visiting the region at different times for different reasons.
Infrastructure too was a big part of the conversation for Athabasca-area residents with a couple highways, a bridge and various other improvements for all three municipalities, laying the groundwork for the year that will be.
Here’s the second part of our list of significant stories for 2022, just a few that have come across our radar, but if there was a top story, it may have been the continued “temporary hours” at the Boyle Healthcare Centre.
Boyle hospital
In 2021, the big story at the Boyle Healthcare Centre was the arrival of a new doctor, which would help alleviate the periodic changes in the facility’s hours of operation and services available when physicians were away from the community, but as 2022 got into full gear, the lack of nurses, both LPNs and RNs came into full view for the region.
In-patient services have been halted in Boyle since July as the facility is now operating on 12-hour days because a registered nurse needs to be on-site for the hospital to function. That means emergency services are also unavailable at night, with ambulances driving to hospitals in Athabasca, Lac La Biche, or Smoky Lake.
With the lobbying effort related to Athabasca University residing, the Village of Boyle, Athabasca County and Town of Athabasca are now asking the firm to focus on talking to the right people to make sure the region doesn’t lose one of its two hospitals.
Regional approach
Last year was also a year of cooperation between the three councils of the Town of Athabasca, Athabasca County and Village of Boyle, with the introduction of regular tri-council meetings, healthcare retention committee results, and a three-way lobby effort to keep Athabasca in Athabasca University, having Hand ‘A’ know what Hand ‘B’ is up to, can only lead to good things.
If you ask any of the 21 councillors that sit around our three council tables, they’ll tell you about how great tri-council meetings are to get to know their peers from the other two municipalities, and discuss issues in a stress-free, private environment, over a meal.
More cooperation in the form of the Regional Health Care Attraction and Retention Committee, has already helped bring in one new physician and his family to the community, and another is expected this spring, with Athabasca mayor Rob Balay saying late in 2022 there might even be one more in 2023, thanks to the provincial reside program.
Also, at the end of the year, the Town of Athabasca pulled out of the Tourism and Economic Development (TED) committee, citing a lack of representation on the Athabasca County dominated group. All three municipalities said they expect something new to come out of it that will continue in the spirit of cooperation.
Water intake
Aspen Regional Water Services’ new intake project, which stretches 400 feet into the Athabasca River to provide the town, village and many county residents with fresh treated water, is done, but there are still a few kinks to work out.
It wasn’t actually a kink, but a malfunctioning screen in the newly installed pipe, that was still allowing silt to enter the regional water system, something the long-awaited upgrade to the intake system was supposed to resolve.
Divers were sent into the river and were able to find the malfunction in December, and word on a permanent fix is expected soon.
Political powerhouses
A visit from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, along with Minister of Advanced Education Demetrios Nicolaides and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development Nate Horner to make an announcement regarding Athabasca University in March, was just the beginning of a busy summer in Alberta politics.
With a vote by party members to oust Kenney from the position, several leadership contestants also visited the community with frontrunners Danielle Smith, Travis Toews and Rebecca Schulz speaking to supporters at different times in Athabasca throughout the leadership campaign.
Smith is now premier, while Toews has returned to the Minister of Finance role and Schulz became the new Minister of Municipal Affairs when Smith was elected by party members to become premier.
Infrastructure
Long-awaited work to improve Highway 55 east through Athabasca to Highway 63, more than 30 km, went off relatively smoothly with a new overlay, turning lanes and general improvements being completed throughout the summer.
Drivers are still getting used to a few of the changes, particularly at the turn-off to Cornwall on the east hill. New streetlights were also added in the fall.
Highway 831, another 30 km south through Boyle, got similar treatment, which kept both communities full of workers for much of the year.
One more very large infrastructure announcement in 2022 saw St. Albert’s Alberco Construction win the contract for the $70-milion Athabasca bridge project on Highway 813 to replace the now 73-year-old wood-decked bridge currently in use, and it should open to traffic in 2025.
The project is also expected to support more than 400 jobs during the construction phase.
The new bridge will include two 3.7-metre lanes with an additional 1.8 metres of shoulder space on either side. A 2.5-metre sidewalk will also be included on the south side of the structure. The bridge was built in 1950 and has long been a challenge for modern vehicles, especially when they are forced to pass each other. There will also be a full kilometre of road alignment related to the project.
Power Up North
The Athabasca Regional Multiplex hosted the Power Up North entrepreneurs' conference in September welcoming speakers that covered a range of business expertise.
It was the first large conference in town since the beginning of the pandemic, but over 100 participants gathered to hear inspiring tales of the rural advantage from Hawkey Studios proprietors Jonathan and Dusty Hawkey; to Indigenous story-telling and self-publishing with Brian Cardinal, complete with tipi; to taking control of one’s own business and personal life with business coach Diana Noble; digital marketing with Great West Media’s Willy Grant; and finding inspiration with the likes of motivational speaker Ian Hill and many, many more.
The highlight of the event, organized by Community Futures Tawatinaw and Athabasca’s Tourism and Economic Development committee, was undoubtedly keynote speaker and 2010 Olympic gold medalist Jon Montgomery, who is also the host of Amazing Race Canada.
