In Cold Lake, Alta., Canada’s fighter jets are ready 24-hour a day at the Canadian Forces Base. The oil sands operations of Imperial Oil run around the clock. But the hospital emergency room in the community three hours east of Edmonton doesn’t always have a doctor.
For Mayor Craig Copeland, attracting new physicians has been a challenge for all of his six terms in office. His community has 15,000 people, and rural areas outside town count for another 15,000, meaning 30,000 people rely on the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre.
