My Dear Red Deerians,

I trust this finds you well. I wrote this over the past two weeks and place the dates so you can follow along.

November 6:  Looking out over the City Hall park today, I see the first effects of winter. A snowfall overnight and into the morning reminds us that winter is approaching for a few days but will soon take up residence for a few months. I feel discouraged these past few weeks and a little tired. Often, when I get into these periods, I realize the expectations I set for myself are unrealistic. I get down on myself. I tell myself that things aren’t better, or they should be better than they are. I begin to doubt myself. I pay attention to the negative voices and discount the positives. My optimism is put to the test. “Am I making a difference”, I ask. “Why did I decide to do this? Is all this really worth it? Why am I doing what I am doing? Will tomorrow be different or at least a better day? What’s the point?” Like a pack of snapping wolves, these questions find their way into my consciousness.

November 8:  A recent visit from the President of the Royal Canadian Legion reminds me of the Remembrance Day ceremonies we will mark on November 11. Everyone has, or should have their own appreciation, for the men, women, families and for their sacrifices, for the sorrow, for the grief caused by global conflict. The place names remind us:  Normandy, Passchendaele, Vimy, Dieppe, Inchon, Pearl Harbour, Sicily, Kabul, just to name a few on a very long list where the ultimate sacrifice was made.

When I came to the office in October 2021, I made some changes to the layout. I wanted to create a welcoming space where conversation and the community could be shared, and we have had well over a hundred meetings here. But I did not change the pictures on the wall to the left of my desk. One of those pictures is from a troop ship leaving Halifax and heading to Europe in 1915. Its decks are packed with young men from across the country. Roughly 100 faces look back at the photographer, and by extension, they look at me. I frequently take the time to study their faces, wondering what might they be saying to themselves as that photo was taken.

Greetings my dear Red Deerians. I’m writing this as I hear about the potential for our first snowfall of the new season. Are we ever ready for its inevitability? I hope you are as much as I am! 

There’s a Tom Petty song that goes “The waiting is the hardest part.” I referenced that because I was pondering several different ideas for this month’s blog. I’m glad I waited until now because “waiting” is what this blog is about.

I received an invitation from my dear friend and Minister of Health, Adriana LaGrange, last week. She told me the wait had ended for the community and that finally a cardiac catheterization lab was going to be constructed a full five years ahead of schedule. I am unable to find the words for how I felt upon hearing that. A deep sense of relief, of joy, of bittersweet memory, of accomplishment, of gratitude. All of those and more were pouring over me. Off I drove to the hospital, and I began to reflect on my personal “wait” as well as the “wait” for so many others. For families, for cardiac patients, for the doctors and health care workers and for the community.

A flashback, if you’ll permit me, to October 2016, in fact October 24, 2016 almost exactly eight years ago. The front page headline of the Red Deer Advocate said “Local Doctors Want Life Saving Heart Treatment at the Hospital.”  The story highlighted that mortality rates in Red Deer and the Central Zone were 50 to 75 percent higher than anywhere in the province due to the lack of cardiac catheter therapy. 

Patients suffering a cardiac episode required ambulance or STARS transport to Calgary or Edmonton for the life saving treatment. While “waiting” for that transport, life hung in the balance and the condition of the heart deteriorated. Families and doctors also “waited” for the transport, knowing every minute counted. The “waiting” was indeed the hardest part. Upon reading the article, I thought, “this could be me.” I have family history, hypertension and not an active lifestyle.  I met with then, Mayor Veer, and we soon mobilized Council to joining the effort of getting a cath lab. I soon discovered there were many physicians and other health care providers in that effort. I was happy and honoured to join their ranks.

But the real shock took place one month after that article. My dear wife, Isabelle, suffered a massive heart attack. She was airlifted to Calgary but not before we said our goodbyes at the helicopter pad. She was not expected to survive but she did. She came back by ambulance to Red Deer a week later and was admitted to the ICU. Just over three months later, after giving it everything she had, Isabelle died.

While in the ICU for those 102 days, I began to experience the effects of the waiting on not just me and the kids but on every family that had loved ones in the ICU. The ICU is a place of waiting. Waiting to see improvement or deterioration. Waiting for hope, for encouragement, often, sadly, waiting for the end. And when that waiting is a result of a medical service that didn’t exist here, the waiting is inexcusable, it’s maddening, it’s unbearable.

Back to the present now. I’m a little early for the press conference so I walk the short distance from the meditative garden to the ICU I know so well. I like to visit the staff there especially the nursing staff who remember Isabelle fondly and fought so hard beside her. I thank them once again and once again I see families waiting just as I did.

A sense of deep gratitude fills me as I walk back to the press conference. I am so grateful for the tireless efforts of so many doctors, so many volunteers, so many community voices who spoke out for the service. I am grateful to Time is Life, to Society for Healthcare Equity in Central Alberta (SHECA) and the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation, to the mayors of the surrounding communities, to our local MLAs but most especially to my friend, Minister Adriana LaGrange. She refused to take no for an answer and found a way to get the service done. The wait for the press conference is over now and I step to the microphone. I say: “My friends, this is an extraordinary day because the wait is over.”

Truly, the wait will be over for those of us who will need this service. Lives will be saved. The waiting will be reduced, and hope will instead replace it.  

My dear Red Deerians, in whatever you are waiting for in the hard part of waiting, may you never give up hope. May you persevere with optimism, strength and courage. Let the Cardiac Catheter story be an example of what can happen when the community comes together in a righteous cause. May your wait be rewarded as ours was just a few days ago.

Until next time,
Mayor Ken Johnston

Greetings my most wonderful Red Deerians. My goodness, it’s September! Summer (or at least the months of June, July, August) have flown by. I do hope you had a chance to reconnect with family and friends, do some travelling, gardening, golf, fishing, or any activity that provided rest and renewal. Other than my birthday month (April), September is my favourite. Ironically, I dreaded September as a kid as school was back, but as a parent, I embraced September for the same reasons! Perhaps the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” says it best around the back-to-school theme!  And that’s what I wanted to reflect on in this month’s blog because, all kidding aside, back to school is the most wonderful time of the year.  Of course, I don’t mean it in the context of the relief we felt as parents. Back to school is the annual recognition that the next generation is coming of age.

Back to school means we, as a society, have the modern facilities that are equipped to provide learning. It means we have the technology, the libraries, and athletic facilities our kids need to thrive. We have a functioning transportation system for those that need it. We have cafeterias and food programs that ensure that no child goes without. It means we have after school and in school programming to help our kids develop. It means we strive towards safe environments from violence or bullying. Above all, it means there is a reason to hope and to believe that this generation has the supports it needs to be capable of the demands placed upon it. If you think I’m wearing rose coloured glasses, consider those countries who lack any or all of that infrastructure, and be thankful.

Our highest recognition should go to the teachers who daily give of themselves in the equipping of our children to succeed. Being an educator is a noble purpose for one’s life. Teachers continually give of themselves, their hearts and minds, to the betterment of the kids and families they serve.  Be sure to thank them for their extraordinary contributions.

A few days ago, I was a guest at the Montessori classes for preschool and kindergarten. What a joy to be in the company of 20 three-to five-year-olds. The topic of our discussion was “being a peacemaker and a peacekeeper.” A pretty heavy topic for this age group I thought, but I was eager to participate. After some preliminary dialogue around my resemblance to Santa and whether I preferred cats to dogs (I do!), we began the topic of conversation. A young lady asked “is being a peacekeeper the same as keeping people safe?”  What an excellent question, I thought. I answered that “yes” peacekeeping was very much connected to safety, the way a police officer does, or a teacher or a parent. Then she asked, “how do you keep us safe?” I replied that we have police, emergency, fire and ambulance services, clean water, electricity, safe buildings and rinks, outdoor playgrounds, safe roads and buses, all that sort of thing. I also talked about how we promote a friendly city where all could feel safe. I spent a wonderful hour there.

While driving back to City Hall, the child’s question came back to me, “how do you keep us safe?” I thought, as best as I was able, around the perspective of what safety is to a very young totally dependent child. My dear Red Deerians, as we celebrate the beginning of the school year, I invite you to think about that same question: “How do you keep us safe?”  Ask yourself, as I did:

• How’s my driving around schools and playgrounds?
• Can I afford a donation of money, food, or time to school lunch programs?
• Can I donate excess clothing, toys or books?
• Can I volunteer to be a youth mentor?
• Can I recognize and thank a teacher, or ask where could I help?
• Can I volunteer with Neighborhood Watch or Citizens on Patrol?
• Should I volunteer for local sports, arts, libraries, or wildlife agencies?
• Am I the best parent, the best family member I can be?

All of this to say that in this often dangerous world where peace is so elusive, we can offer hope, purpose and safety to the next generation. It is possible to be peacekeepers and peacemakers. An old hymn starts with the words… “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” What a thought as we begin the new school year.

Until next month,
Mayor Ken Johnston

Greetings once again, my dear Red Deerians! I trust your summer is going well and you’ve had an opportunity to rest. Slowing down or better yet, stopping our busy lives, enables us to reflect, to take stock and evaluate life.

I must say, my dear Red Deerians, I have had cause to reflect these past few days and as you read this, I may be on a short vacation, a time of further reflection. 

Just recently, a few days back, a friend of some 28 years died suddenly. He was younger than me and like me, a retired banker. He was a family man and a successful career person. He was an extraordinary volunteer. He was everything a person, a citizen, a friend should be. And now he is gone in a tragic loss to his family, those who knew him and the community in general.

I have experienced the death of friends and colleagues, my parents, extended family, a younger brother, my first wife. In every situation, including just now, I ask the questions, “Why, why now? Why can’t life be more fair? What’s the point?” We have all asked those questions and many more. We shouted them to the wind, or in the solitude of nature, or in our church, or in our homes. We have whispered them, we have prayed them and we have experienced them with tears. The questions remain, as do we who ask them for a time.

One of my favorite Scripture verses is from Psalm 90 verse 12: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The “heart of wisdom” is formed by the knowledge that our lives are fleeting. “Our lives are better left to chance” as the Garth Brook’s song, ‘The Dance’, goes. Numbering our days gives us the perspective, the reflection, if you will, that life is meant to be lived in relationship. Life is not about me, or you, it is about us. My friend, Elder John Sinclair, often says, “We breathe the same air, drink the same water, share the same sun.” We are meant to be in relationship.

I often hear, “he/she lived a good life.” I think it’s the greatest compliment we could extend as it speaks to a love of life, rich in relationship and grounded by purpose. Is this not how we should measure a life – our own lives? If I have learned anything from the losses I have encountered, the grief I have experienced, it is to embrace the life given to us and cherish the memory of those gone before.

I read Stephen Covey’s ‘The Seven Habits of Successful People’ frequently. One of his habits is “Begin with the end in mind.” It is meant to remind us to begin any project, any task, with how the finished project looks. And it especially applies to life as he opens that particular chapter inviting us to picture our own funeral service. He invites us to begin our life in the present with how others evaluate it at the end. Quite a sobering experience as we ponder what might be said about us. What will we be remembered for? Will our lives reflect a kind heart, a generous spirit, a dedication to family, to community? To further quote from the Garth Brooks song, ‘The Dance’, he reflects on his own life with the words: “I could have missed the pain, but I would have had to miss the dance.” The dance being the memory of a special moment in life. And life is full of special moments if we reject the fear of judgement, loneliness, lack of control, failure, the pain of grief.

I have been blessed by the lives lost that have been lived in relationship. My first wife, Isabelle, very fittingly summed up her life at the end by saying, “I had a good dance.” She never stopped “dancing.”

My dear Red Deerians, let us embrace the time set for us. Let us all “dance like no one is watching,” to quote from another song by Kathy Mattea. Let’s honor those lives gone before us by giving thanks for their contributions, embracing the lives that are with us, and by extension, earn the compliment, “he/she lived a good life.”

Until next time,
Mayor Ken

Hello once again, my dear Red Deerians. I am writing this on the hottest day of the year so far, July 10. I trust your summer is going well and that you’re able to visit family and friends as well as enjoy some time away.

I just concluded my sixth and final “State of the City Address” for 2024. Each year, the Mayor gets an invitation to deliver a high-level review of the year past and what the current and future years might hold. Since my election, I have been privileged to respond to the invitation, three times in 2022, four times in 2023 and now six times in 2024. We are becoming more connected to each other, I believe, and we are far more curious about the great city we call home. I introduced every presentation this year with the words “Whose city is it, anyway?” And isn’t it so obvious that depending on our perspective, our experiences, our age, our stage of life, our occupation, even our neighborhoods, that we encounter the city in different ways, each to our own lens.

My presentation at the Golden Circle Seniors Resource Centre was received and perceived differently than the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, or the RCMP Veterans’ Association and yet they were the very same address! It’s all about perception shaped by our experience, and current situation. We all understand this or certainly have a sense of our own and others realities.

When I ran for public office in 2013, I came to realize that a Councillor is a Councillor for all citizens not just those who voted for me. That realization is even greater now that I am Mayor. All citizens, new or long-term, younger or old, multicultural, multifaith, all expect and deserve the best efforts of their Mayor.

It’s an expectation I embrace from a love of the city that has given so much to my family and I these past 28 years. I am also so energized by the people I encounter: the community builders, the volunteers, the tireless acts of dedication and service, the agencies, the business community, the faith community, those serving our most vulnerable, those providing care for seniors care for the disabled, care for newcomers. People care. People serve. The privilege to serve alongside them, let alone be their Mayor is never lost on me.

Like a family, we have the bond that links us and that is a love of the city we build today, to give to the next generation of Red Deerians.

Just as a family has disputes, disagreements, and divisions from time to time, so do we. I’m often involved in them, which should come as no surprise. In general people say, “Mayor, you need to do something about “this issue” or “Mayor, those people are…” (insert word) greedy, lazy, conspiring, evil, untrustworthy, shallow, hypocritical and so it goes. These disputes, the “us versus them” issues, are a result of not understanding each others perspective or not being willing to listen. They are then magnified by our own sense of what is the right way, the only way, to solve problems.

There’s a wonderful idiom we would do well to remember: Put yourself (or walk a mile) in someone else’s shoes. If we dedicate ourselves to this, our empathy and understanding will increase. We will avoid judgment. Compassion and tolerance will take root in us. We will see our own experiences may not be the same as others, and that’s OK. We’ll become far more open minded, enabling us to look beyond our own bias and perceptions.

“Whose city is it, anyway?” It’s all our city, of course. And think of how much more we could build it up and each other up by being willing to work on ourselves and our issues through a different lens.

Take care, my most dear Red Deerians. Introduce yourself to someone new today. Be kind to yourself and embrace the differences we bring to this most beautiful city.

Until next time,

Mayor Ken Johnston

Greetings my dear Red Deerians, and welcome back to the Mayor’s Blog. I want to talk to you today about our growth prospects, where I believe opportunity presents itself and where, once again, Red Deer’s spirit of collaboration and innovation can set us apart as a chosen destination.

No doubt, you may have heard Premier Smith speak of her vision for Red Deer being Alberta’s next city of a million people. When I first heard this, I began to reflect on what that might look like, what impact it would have, and how we might set out to accomplish the task. Being a former banker, I calculated that at our current population of 110,000 people, at a growth rate of 5 per cent every year, it would take 44 years to get to a million.

Keeping pace with the wants and needs of a growing population will require much planning, much collaboration and much focus for all levels of government and all facets of our community. All our social, health, economic and culture sectors will need to be fully engaged. Growth brings many challenges making many of us uneasy that our quality of life may be reduced. My experience with the growth in Alberta these past 44 years encourages me, as it should you, that success is achievable.

Alternatively, if you consider our trading area of 250,000 people, it would take 28 years for the region to reach one million. Seems like a lot of years but depending on your age, you could certainly be a part of that milestone. After all, when I came to Calgary in 1981, it had a population of 594,000.  Today, it has 1,665,000, an increase of over a million people in 43 years – it can be done!

Just as oil and gas provided the catalyst for the growth of Calgary and all Alberta, Red Deer will need it’s own catalysts to accomplish the same. And the great news is, they are emerging and developing today. I speak firstly of the new Regional Hospital which will be breaking ground, I believe, in 2025. This two-billion-dollar project will bring an immense wave of employment, capital and economic activity to the city and the region. As it builds out, it will attract all levels of health care professionals, developers, post secondary expansions, retailers, food services, social and finance infrastructure, investors and the list goes on. It will transform Capstone and the downtown. It will propel 11A annexation and North of 11A.

Once completed, we will have a world class medical facility, unmatched by any in the province. In combination with the Sheldon Kennedy Centre for Excellence, the Justice Centre and the technology, trades and medical programming at the Red Deer Polytechnic, we are positioned to become a central hub in the province for research, innovation, and training excellence.

I mentioned energy as a catalyst for growth in Alberta. Our traditional energy resources of oil and gas remain vital and are now complimented by advances in wind, solar, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies. Red Deer and the region are very well positioned to become a provincial leader in these technologies.

The future of the Red Deer Regional Airport is bright, which will also be a contributor in the province. Our natural environment will become an even greater attractant for people who want to connect and reconnect with nature. We have a uniqueness in our work/life balance. More people are seeing and wanting to be part of the Red Deer scene. I haven’t even mentioned our sports amenities, our vibrant cultural landscape and our tourism sector, all poised to carry us forward.

The greatest opportunity lies, I believe, in the development of a high-speed rail corridor. The Edmonton/Calgary corridor is one of the fastest growing and wealthiest regions in Canada. A high-speed rail linkage with a stop in Red Deer, as has been proposed, would transform Red Deer’s economic and social future. It would be possible to work in the metro centers and live in Red Deer.  A shorter commute time to work from 150 kilometers, than from 30 kilometers – yes it will happen! The supply chain impact will be monumental for Alberta and Red Deer will be its prime beneficiary.

Growth brings opportunity, it brings collaboration, creativity and enterprise. Managed well, it fosters community and generational success. A million-person city? I believe it can be done and will be done by the Red Deer we are, and yet to be.

Until next time,
Mayor Ken Johnston

My dear Red Deerians.

I wanted to share my vision with you today on what we can become as a recovery community in the years ahead. As you know, Council recently passed a motion asking the Government of Alberta to transition our Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) out of our community. This resolution was reached after an extensive amount of debate, research, discussion, tours of facilities, input from experts on every side of the issue, and, of course, much public input from our citizens from every part of our community.

I understand that some of us may be hurt, angry, confused, or in fear of what this could potentially mean for our city. I also understand that this is a divisive and emotional issue, striking at the heart of our beliefs and our compassion. At the core of this motion is the deep concern for the health and well-being of every Red Deerian but especially those who are afflicted with the disease of addiction.

My dear Red Deerians, Red Deer is not alone in its struggles in this tragic escalation of opioid addiction. Cities throughout Canada and North America, indeed throughout the world, are struggling to combat and overcome this disease in the face of ever-increasing toxic additives, organized crime, and the oppression of those most directly affected. Those directly affected people include our neighbours, our sons and daughters, our fellow employees and coworkers, the homeless, those in poverty, those suffering from mental health issues, those that are desperate.

It’s time for a full-on approach to this disease. It’s time to say as a city there is a better way, a far more compassionate and effective way, to restore the health and dignity of not only our effected citizens but all relationships affected by addiction, and by extension the health of our city and cities. Sadly, but so very tragically, there are only two routes through addiction, death or recovery.

Addiction is brutal, it is all consuming, it annihilates the individuals mind, body and soul and it annihilates relationships. It destroys hope and cripples’ communities. That is why I introduced the Alberta Model of Wellness to our Council in 2022 and asked them to endorse it as a way forward for Red Deer. I have been encouraged these past few years by the operational and capital investments made by the Government of Alberta in striving toward a recovery-oriented system of care.

Our recovery community at the north end of the city is fully operational now, providing treatment beds for over 70 people. The province is planning, in total, 11 recovery centres over the next few years to provide people a way towards restoration in a clinical and structured setting. Opioid agonist therapies are providing the much needed and much required harm reduction therapy. Locally, that clinic is now treating over 200 people and integrating them back into meaningful purpose. Our Dream Centre is operational and providing care for those affected by addictions. Therapeutic living units - the first ever in Alberta - are in operation at the Remand Centre providing recovery opportunity for those incarcerated.

Council’s motion did not simply call for a transition or closure of the OPS by the end of 2025. Far more importantly, and far more urgently, it called for a significant increase in mental health supports, in detox, in the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VOPD), in agonist therapy, supports in housing, and in police enforcement. This is the full measure response that I have communicated both in writing, and in person to the Ministry of Addictions and Mental Health.

Human life, all human life, is precious. We need, and must, come to the aid of our citizens who find themselves trapped. Shortly after Council passed this motion, I wrote a letter to Minister Dan Williams, Mental Health and Addictions with the Government of Alberta. I made it very clear, my dear Red Deerians, that those full measures are needed to effectively and sustainably bring health, safety and restoration to all who suffer from the disease of addiction. All the supports that I have outlined above and more as determined by the Health Ministry will be needed.

I am convinced that if supports are available in full measure and fully accessible to everyone they will be accessed and they will be effective in bringing people into recovery. The Minister and I had an excellent first meeting on March 12, 2024. He will shortly be sharing his preliminary strategies on the way forward with your Council. I was encouraged by his wisdom as he indicated that this will be a thoughtful, time framed, careful, strategic, and fully resourced response to our motion.

But to be truly successful, and to be truly transformational as a city, we will need to involve all our community. And most especially this includes our citizens, who may be fearful or angry, or doubtful that this is the way to approach this most critical issue. For that reason, I will be meeting over the next several months with members of the substance use coalition, with physicians, and other government and non-government agencies. The broader goal of our recovery vision is to be a full community of recovery. This means all our systems of care, our education, legal, correctional, judicial, housing, employment, and social supports, etcetera, will be focused on community wellness. To get this done, to get this restoration, and this renewal, it will require all of us to keep always, the suffering, the desperate, the addicted and oppressed at the heart of our conversations.

I am learning from everyone and am looking for their ideas, for their hearts, and for their energies. I will have more to report on this over the next few months, but for now, my dear Red Deerians I wanted to inform you, invite you, and engage you as we go forward in the journey of recovery.

Hope to see you shortly in this beautiful city we call home.

Mayor Ken Johnston