The 50-Year Community Vision

Together, we can leave good enough behind in the pursuit of better.

The culmination of an engagement with more than a thousand Wetaskiwinites, the 50-Year Community Vision reflects the City’s long-term commitment to engaging the community at large; understanding collective priorities and concerns; actioning community-guided goals; and reporting back to the community on milestones, setbacks, pivots and related news.

The [what if wetaskiwin] portal is the first practical outcome of the Vision. It is a purpose-built platform with 8 different ways for Wetaskiwinites to engage, from taking part in simple polls to playing a larger role as a portal moderator.

From launch day (April 22, 2021) forward, [what if wetaskiwin] will begin to inform the City’s policies and planning initiatives. It will also assist others who have a role to play in building the City that we envision as fellow Wetaskiwinites. This page serves as an orientation of the Vision, and a chronicle of how it came to be.

Based on community input, five pillars need to be in place to support the 50-Year Community Vision. The [what if wetaskiwin] portal categorizes projects and priorities into the following four pillars.

1. Make safety a priority.

Wetaskiwinites rate crime as the most important issue we need to address. Isolated, media-hyped events in recent years have skewed external notions of our city as a dangerous place to visit.

2. Ensure financial stability.

From provincial funding caps and regulatory changes to home-grown issues like low growth and high tax rates, financial challenges abound. We need to be increasingly resourceful in stewarding our fiscal policies while pursuing new opportunities.

3. Support business growth.

The Vision acknowledges that there are abundant opportunities for development, employment, open spaces, cultural attractions, and vibrant streets in the heart of our community. It is also apparent that we have some work to do.

4. Unite the community.

Generational bias and ingrained fear of those who are different continue to create lines of division across the community at large. In order for us to move forward in a meaningful way, we must do so together — and these mindsets must be left behind.

The fifth pillar is intrinsic; it is the City’s ongoing commitment to the 50-Year Vision itself.

5. Commit to the Vision.

With the City’s social issues and lack of growth, the community feels discouraged. It will take time and effort to regain the trust of the community and implement vision-aligned initiatives. An unwavering commitment to the Vision is essential.