At the February 25 Cold Lake council meeting, the city revisited a request from Cold Shot Bus Service for municipal funding to support rural transportation in northern Alberta.
The request, first raised in December 2023, led to ongoing discussions, including a meeting between Mayor Craig Copeland and Cold Shot president Sunny Balwaria. Instead of direct funding, council focused on pushing for provincial support for rural bus services.
CAO Kevin Nagoya noted that the Corporate Priorities Committee recommended sending a letter to other communities to see if they were interested in a joint effort. “The recommendation that was made by the committee was to do a letter to other municipalities to seek feedback, engage interest in supporting the Rural Transportation Service efforts,” he said.
Council reviewed a list of municipalities served by Cold Shot, which included, Bonnyville, St. Paul, Athabasca and Peace River. Mayor Copeland suggested reviewing the list to focus on Alberta communities with similar interest, excluding larger citied like Edmonton and Fort McMurray.
“We might want to review that list again and maybe knock off a few… I would just stick with Alberta and like-minded communities,” Copeland said.
Council passed a motion asking administration to send letters to neighboring municipalities, seeking support for a effort to secure provincial funding for rural transportation.
