City council meets tonight - let's break down this packed agenda.

So... about those flights

*Feb 2026*

*Nanaimo Airport - Owl News Photo*

Council will be discussing this in Closed, citing “advice from Officials”

WestJet announced it will stop flying out of Medicine Hat after June 2026. They're also pulling out of Lethbridge, which I guess is meant to make us feel better? Misery loves company.

Here's the thing though - WestJet kind of did this to themselves. A few years back, they went from two/three flights a day to just one. Sure, they used a bigger plane, but it carried about the same number of passengers as the smaller ones combined. They scheduled that one flight for leaving in the morning to arrive back after midnight, then they changed both arrival and departure for mid-afternoon. That wasn't great for anyone trying to make a connection or do business in Calgary, it sped up the leakage to other airports. Then they acted surprised when not enough people booked.

(We used to have Air Canada too, but they pulled out during COVID and never came back.)

So now Medicine Hat will have no commercial air service at all unless something changes. Council will probably talk about what comes next, maybe brainstorm how to attract another airline here.

Someone should offer a really good incentive - lifetime Tigers season tickets? Free admission to the Family Leisure Centre? Your face on the Medicine Hat sign? Get creative, folks.

New whistleblower protection

Council will vote on a new whistleblower policy that would let city employees, contractors, and even regular folks report problems anonymously through an outside company.

They're setting aside $100,000 for investigations and promising to protect people who report issues in good faith.

Translation: if you see something sketchy, you can say something without worrying about your boss finding out and making your life miserable.

Energy project or not?

Council must decide whether to spend $460,000 to extend the city's Energy Innovation Challenge.

The program lets clean-tech companies test their gadgets on Medicine Hat's power grid. Five companies have already done tests here. Supporters say it makes us look cool and forward-thinking. Opponents say it costs money and takes up staff time. Both are correct!

Fancy crosswalks? Maybe!

Remember that special crosswalk the city painted last fall to honour veterans? Looked pretty sharp.

Now council has to decide: do we want a policy just for veteran-themed crosswalks, or a bigger policy that would let community groups request other kinds of colourful crosswalks too? The idea is catching on in other places. Out in Sechelt, BC, they've got crosswalks showing off local plants and animals, and the paint held up great through a whole west coast winter.

Medicine Hat could do something similar - imagine crosswalks with prairie roses, mule deer, or our famous gas city history.

Staff need more time to figure this out and want to delay a decision until fall.

Urban hens (yes, again)

The city has looked at allowing backyard chickens before. And before. And before. It's back.

Staff want more time to study what other cities do and get public input. They'd bring a final plan in late spring. Options range from doing nothing (boring) to making you get permission from your neighbours (why?) to letting hens run wild with no rules (chaotic).

Rate committee? Never mind.

Council is expected to kill the idea of a Rate Review Committee that would have helped set utility prices. The idea was part of a bigger plan to create a separate energy company, but that got voted down last summer. Staff say the committee doesn't make sense without it.

"Hey, your sidewalks are tricky"

A disability advocacy group called The Action Group (TAG) will tell council about problems getting around the city. They'll talk about narrow sidewalks, hard-to-see crosswalks, and bus routes that don't work for people with wheelchairs. They also point out that the local bowling alley has no button to open the door. Medicine Hat is hosting the Special Olympics this year; bowling is one of the games.

Specific concerns about transit - The city provides on-demand bus service on evenings and weekends, which sounds great - unless you don't have a cell phone to book a ride. Not everyone does. And the bus stop pads aren't always set up for wheelchair ramps to deploy safely. Small things, but they make a big difference.

Other stuff council will do

Lower the fee for dishonoured payments (bounced payments) from $44 to $10. It's a break for people who hit a rough patch and don't have a financial cushion. Nobody uses cheques much anymore, but electronic payments can bounce too.
Consider letting someone build a shop and house on South Boundary Road (one person's dream, everyone else's agenda item 10.1)
Extend the interim city manager's contract to October
Speaking of which - the city is still looking for a permanent city manager. The last one was fired with cause and has filed a lawsuit against the city.

The current interim guy, Joe Hutter, was actually hired back in October 2024 as the managing director of public services. Then he got bumped up to interim city manager when the person who hired him was shown the door. Council will vote to keep him in that job until at least October while they keep searching for someone to take the gig permanently.

The meeting starts with closed session at 2:30 p.m.

The public part begins at 6:30 p.m in council chambers or you can watch the livestream on the city YouTube channel from the comfort of your own home. Popcorn optional.

City council to decide: Chickens, crosswalks, and who's flying out of here?