By Shaun Penner

Intermunicipal Opioid Response

Grande Prairie led opioid response project gets provincial funding

Apr 11, 2019 | 5:32 AM

The City of Grande Prairie is getting provincial government help to continue the fight against the Opioid Crisis.

The city has been awarded $197,500 from the Alberta Community Partnership program, in support of the Intermunicipal Opioid Response project. The project was kick started by Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given earlier this year, where he reached to municipalities across the province to see if they would be on board with collaborating their efforts. The project very quickly gained the support of many major municipalities across the province.

“The intent of the grant is to enable municipalities to coordinate our efforts, and to capture the learnings we are having from different communities,” said Given. “To ensure that we learn from one another, and that as we establish new best practices or innovative ideas, that we have a forum for capturing that knowledge and sharing it to other municipalities, so they can benefit.”

The money is earmarked to create a position that will act as a liaison between the different communities that will collect, gather and research information which will be openly shared between the communities. The position will operate out of the Swan City on a term basis of just under two years.

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“We may choose to hire contract services, or it may be a limited term position,” explained Given. “In the end, this is a project that will benefit not just the residents of Grande Prairie, but will benefit residents of cities all across the province that are all struggling to deal with the outcomes and the impacts of the opioid crisis.”

The project has garnered the support from the cities of Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Leduc and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. A letter was sent earlier this year to the city of Edmonton, but they have not given official word as to whether they will take part in the project. However, with funding for the position now in place, Given expects that many other municipalities will join in on the efforts.

The City has long been a leader in combatting the crisis, creating the Opioid Response Task Force back in 2017, and also producing the film “Critical Condition: the Opioid Crisis in Grande Prairie”, which premiered earlier this year.

There is currently no specific date as to when that position will start.