Healthcare, economic development and social issues are all focuses of Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen going into 2023. With a provincial election coming up, Hyggen said he is ready to work with whoever is leading the province on these issues.
“We have got a provincial budget that’s going to be tabled here in the spring and so what that looks like — I tell you what, I don’t have a crystal ball but whoever is leaving our province, we want to make sure that our council is working together with [them],” Hyggen said. “We wear no stripes in Lethbridge — this is non-partisan, unlike federal and provincial politics. We want to make sure that we can work with our provincial and federal colleagues, no matter who they represent. ”
The budget will have an effect on water and wastewater in the city — Hyggen said he is hoping to see some funding to expand infrastructure in Lethbridge.
“Economic development is huge — what we do to bring industry into Lethbridge. We are looking at our water and wastewater. It’s at capacity right now.” he said. “So working with our provincial government and we are doing that right now, to expand that so we can attract more businesses to our community — especially those industries that use a lot of water and wastewater.”
Hyggen wants to work to both attract and retain doctors in the city in the new year, in addition to advocating for a new catheterization lab. “Heart disease in southern Alberta is probably some of the worst that it is in all of Alberta,” he said.
READ MORE: Council approves $15,000 for physician recruitment campaign
The establishment of a health roundtable late in 2022 will see collaboration between the Blood Tribe, Lethbridge and the province on healthcare in the region into the new year. Hyggen said having decision makers sitting at the same table is important to efficient solutions.
READ MORE: Partnership between Blood Tribe, Lethbridge and the province looks for healthcare solutions
Hyggen said he is excited about the opening of the Exhibition Park Agrifood Hub in the spring, as well as the start of the project to twin Highway 3 border to border.
READ MORE: Twinning of Taber-Burdett stretch of Highway 3 could begin in Spring 2023