Successful MCC hearing in Bow Island leads to positive next steps 

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Ryan Dahlman

By Nerissa McNaughton
Southern Alberta Newspapers

August 11 saw the Town of Bow Island complete a highly successful public hearing regrading the creation of a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) in support of the primary care clinic.

At the hearing, the business plan details were explained and reviewed. The plan cites, “Our municipalities can no longer stand by and expect the Province to solve all the local healthcare problems. Addressing housing for new healthcare professionals has been a good first step, but the time has come to take stronger measures in the form of creating an MCC that will be charged with the operation and staffing of a primary care medical clinic.”

 Mayor Gordon Reynolds is pleased with the turnout.

“The hearing was very well attended with about 50 attendees,” he shares. “We went through the rationale of why we were doing this and how it would be structured. We got some good questions and good feedback. There were some retired doctors in attendance who thought this was a good idea. Our MLA was in attendance too; there definitely is a great deal of interest given the situation we are in right now with just one local doctor.

Following the hearing, a motion was made to proceed with the formalization of the MCC. There was no opposition.

“The next step is notifying the Minister of our intentions,” adds Mayor Reynolds.

He notes, “This won’t solve all of our problems, but the MCC is a very important piece of the puzzle to provide business structure and stability. With about 30 communities competing to bring in doctors, the recruitment efforts will take some time.”

Council is dedicated to solutions that see improved healthcare access for residents.

 “Some people have raised ideas about how this will work down the road; we are happy to listen and take feedback under advisement. We are happy to be moving ahead and look to have the MCC in place by the end of October,” Mayor Reynolds concludes.