Red Deer Councillor Lawrence Lee will attend AUMA's in-person convention this week and run for the Board of Directors.

By Alessia Proietti

Councillor Lawrence Lee To Attend

Ambulance dispatch and RCMP contract key focus areas for Red Deer at AUMA convention

Nov 17, 2021 | 9:56 AM

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) will be hosting its annual convention and trade show in-person this year, from Nov. 17-19, at the Edmonton Convention Centre.

Last year’s convention was held virtually.

Officials note over 1,000 AUMA members and 100 exhibitors have registered to physically attend the three-day event, following the Restrictions Exemption Program, while another 200 are expected to attend virtually. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and other provincial ministers will also be present to speak at the event.

Since 1905, the AUMA has worked with elected leaders of urban municipalities across Alberta, including cities, towns, villages, summer villages, and specialized municipalities, comprising 85 per cent of the province’s residents.

Officials say the association and its convention allow leaders to discuss and learn about each other’s’ municipal issues together and advocate resolutions to other orders of government. Consultations include topics of economy, environment, governance, infrastructure, and social impacts, specific to municipalities.

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Red Deer is currently a regular voting member of AUMA and Councillor Lawrence Lee will be attending the convention in person.

“We haven’t gathered for so long and municipalities, the strength in our networks, are actually being able to talk to other councillors across the province to see what impacts them,” said Councillor Lee.

The main concern he will be bringing to the table for Red Deer is the city’s ambulance dispatch issues. In January 2020, Alberta Health Services (AHS) transitioned the city’s 911 emergency ambulance calls to dispatch centres outside Red Deer, increasing delays and disruptions for first responders, claim City officials.

Other concerns more provincially-based, he says, relate to the debated Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) contracts.

This year’s conference is also special for Councillor Lee as he will be running for Director of Cities up to 500,000 on the Board of Directors. Currently, there are no elected officials from Red Deer on the Board.

“For myself, it’s just to reflect and to emphasize the importance that the AUMA has in bridging the divide in service to our local communities. It is absolutely a powerful advocacy body, it has strong partnerships and we use a lot of collective wisdom when we’re in those forums,” he said.

The 2021-2022 AUMA Board of Directors will be announced on Nov. 19, the final day of the convention.