Medicine Hat will face an identity crisis in the coming decade as its oil and gas production fades out. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat faces ‘identity crisis’ amid changing energy profits and net-zero goals, says key staffer

Jul 2, 2024 | 4:43 PM

Declining oil and gas profits and upcoming 2035 net-zero carbon targets are among the identity-shifting challenges the City of Medicine Hat will face in the next decade, according to a key figure guiding council through its year-long budget process.

WATCH: One-on-one interview with Aaron Hoimyr

Aaron Hoimyr, accounting supervisor of budget and systems, said Tuesday the city also faces major environmental remediation costs and must explore new energy sources such as carbon capture.

Among the future potential opportunities could be helium projects, Hoimyr told anchor Dan Reynish in an interview on CHAT News at Noon.

It means a major departure from what has made the city click since its earliest days.

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“We’re facing a lot of things this year and in the next 10 years that we really went to be focused not just on the needs of today but the requirements of tomorrow,” Hoimyr said.

“For the last 100 years, our city has relied on our oil and gas and our energy production and the last couple of years we’ve had a couple of good years,” he added.

Aaron Hoimyr, a supervising accountant leading council through the budget process, speaks at a recent deliberation meeting. File Photo/CHAT News

But, with declining revenues and the next-zero carbon requirements put in place by the federal government, big changes are coming that will demand a transition away from “the Gas City” persona.

READ: Year-long budget process begins at Medicine Hat council, city’s identity at stake

“It’s a bit of an identity crisis for the city right now,” Hoimyr said.

Council is going through the process to create Medicine Hat’s next two-year budget for the 2025-26 cycle, with its third public deliberation meeting of seven scheduled for July 9.

The budget meetings are an important way for residents to understand what decisions have to be made for the budget and how those choices will impact the crucial next decade, Hoimyr explained.

“We want to be able to educate people, to have them be a part of the budget process,” Hoimyr said.

“We’re trying to focus not just on the numbers, but what is the story that the numbers are telling.”

‘Lots of uncertainty ahead of us’

As oil and gas production fizzles out, the city will be left with an increasingly large bill for environmental remediation.

Remediation is a requirement under law to restore the environment to a healthy state after, for example, removing an fossil fuel depot.

Companies in Alberta must set aside funds for remediation, and the City of Medicine Hat’s energy business is no different.

But there are new opportunities to shape the future of Medicine Hat, city staff say.

“One of the options is to invest in renewables or carbon recapture. Either option could cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” Hoimyr said Tuesday.

“The other opportunity is to exit the market, but if we exit the market our city has become so reliant on this for replenishing our facilities and doing all these kinds of things that [it] would have a drastic change to the way that we run our municipality as a whole.”

— with files from Dan Reynish