Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown gave an update as to what was talked about at the latest Mid-Size Cities Mayors Caucus two weeks ago in Leduc.

The caucus represents 24 small cities and larger towns in the province and gives them a chance to advocate for their needs.

Mayor Brown said for him, it was a productive few days as he learned a lot of valuable information.

"We heard from an expert on municipal discourse, and how to manage it if it happens. There was an excellent speaker who talked about some of the challenges that municipalities are facing when it comes to very aggressive citizens. We also heard from other mayors who have been impacted by some pretty challenging situations within their chambers, and also, through social media."

Brown also stated they got an update from the province on how they plan to address the situation of addiction in their communities.

"It was an excellent session and recognizing that they want people to be treated. It was exciting to see that the disease of addiction is being addressed and that's through treatment."

Mayor Brown stated there were some tours of the International Airport with information about their programming that he got to attend.

"They were showing some of the amazing creativeness of the airport and what they're doing there, they've got a lot of offsite programs."

The mayors each got to share what they have been doing in their communities which is a little bit unique and different. Brown stated it's always interesting getting a chance to listen and ask questions.

"Then to cap it off. For an hour, we had a question-and-answer period with the Premier (Danielle Smith). She spoke for about 10 or 12 minutes and allowed everyone to ask a lot of questions."

Brown stated some of the questions that were asked surrounded affordable housing, the affordability of housing through red tape reduction. They talked about the Alberta pension plan briefly, According to Brown, it was an interesting response about how we can help squash some of the concerns that are out there.

Then there were conversations around mid-size mayors and the importance of recognizing how important the group is as they represent over a million Albertans.

"I believe that that message was integrally taken by the Premier and her ministers. We've arranged for a couple of hours with all of the ministers on November 1st in Edmonton, so we're looking forward to that and then sharing again, more of what we do as an organization."

When asked if Premier Smith understands the challenges Airdrie faces when it comes to health care and schools, Brown does believe she does.

"I would say that she was very aware of all of our challenges."

Brown mentioned one of the next meetings will be a summit in January, where all of the Councillors will attend as well.

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