Cold Lake to Join Inner-City Forum Group

The City of Cold Lake will be sending a representative to participate in the Inner-City Forum for Social Policies (ICFSP) group. ICFSP is a made up of representative from various Alberta cities and discusses a multitude of issues that inner-cities are faced with; including homelessness, addiction, and the sex trade. Mayor of Cold Lake, Craig Copeland says although issues that effect larger cities may not be prevalent in Cold Lake, it’s important to exchange ideas and learn from cities where these issues may be more visible.

We’re 16,000 people and we’re growing – Craig Copeland Mayor of Cold Lake

Councillor Kelvin Plain will be attending the meeting, when his schedule permits, says the Mayor, “it’s big urbans coming together to talk about big city issues; whether it’s homelessness or social housing. It’s an organization made up of Councillors and city administration, talking about what you do in your community.” Some of the urbans included in the information-sharing group include, Calgary. Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, and now Cold Lake.

Although on a smaller scale, Cold Lake is faced with the same issues the bigger urbans deal with, says Mayor Copeland, “homelessness is an issue in Cold Lake, but on a tinier scale. We’ll be a small fish in the room, but we might learn a few things.”

It’s a really dynamic group and they really tackle some interesting issues – Craig Copeland Mayor of Cold Lake