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(Photo Credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)
By Nathaniel Leigh
State of the City

Business retention and new police service discussed at State of the City Address

Mar 27, 2024 | 8:00 AM

Grande Prairie’s Mayor spoke with the leaders of several prominent organizations Tuesday, March 26, to give the public an update on progress made in 2023 as part of the State of the City address.

State of the City 2024 speakers. Photo credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Mayor Jackie Clayton says a major obstacle in 2023 was finding ways to improve community engagement.

“Whether that’s having more engagement sessions, whether it’s releasing more information through media outlets, whether it’s improving communication through our social media channels and our website, I think something that we hear on a regular basis is people still have a hard time figuring out where to get information,” Clayton says.

“Finding a way that suits individual’s needs to be able to receive information is a goal of 2024 and in 2023 we heard on a regular basis that people wanted to know more.”

Mayor Jackie Clayton. Photo credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Clayton says a major highlight of last year was the creation of the Grande Prairie Police Service.

“In 2023 the new Police Chief started, he’s been there about six to eight months, he’s hired six senior leaders,” she says.

“By the end of 2024 you’ll see 30 Grande Prairie Police Service members in uniforms, with a dozen vehicles in our community. They’ll really start to have the first big impact of exposure where you’ll see them in our community.”

GPPS Superintendent John Respet says they are learning time is of the essence when it comes to recruiting new members to the service.

“We experienced lag in time, in terms of getting our recruiting process underway,” Respet says.

“We built the core of our foundation fairly quickly approaching the end of 2023, but we should have jumped on that recruiting strategy much quicker.”

Grande Prairie Police Service Superintendent John Respet. Photo credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

The topic of business retention was also discussed, with the City’s Chief Administrative Officer Shane Burke saying they are working to hire from a broad spectrum.

“We faced some challenges here in specific areas here recently,” Burke says.

“Some of it is training, looking at lifeguards and how we provide more in-house training. But we also focus more on job fairs where we share how great it is to work for the City of Grande Prairie and how many jobs there are.”

City of Grande Prairie CAO Shane Burke. Photo credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Tanya Oliver says they’ve been working to find ways to address labour shortages.

“You can stay tuned in June, we will be launching our new website that will be a tool for employers to enhance what they’re doing already,” Oliver says.

“This will provide kind of a one-stop-shop to really shout from the rooftops and tell people what there is to offer here.”

Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Tanya Oliver. Photo credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh

Northwestern Polytechnic President Dr. Vanessa Sheane says they are working to spread NWP’s brand to entice more students to find a career in Grande Prairie.

“We’ve seen more and sharing the information on what we currently offer and what’s available in the region for learners or for people thinking of coming back,” Sheane says.

“And that’s right from on the credit side; those who want a certificate, diploma or degree, or maybe they’re looking for the upscale or to get their safety tickets for the industry side while continuing their education.”

NWP President Dr. Vanessa Sheane. Photo credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh

Other prominent topics discussed during the State of the City included the launch of the Grande Prairie Police Service and the Alberta Winter Games.

(Photo Credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)
(Photo Credit: EverythingGP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)
by Nathaniel Leigh