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The mayor said the title is clumsy and colonial, and not necessary.
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July 5, 2022 • 9 hours ago • 1 minute reading • 35 comments Mayor Jyoti Gondek speaks at Calgary City Hall on November 8, 2021. Photo by Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia
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Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek began Tuesday’s board meeting with an informal request for a formal title.
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Before starting the question period, Gondek asked councilors and the city administration to stop using the title “your worship” when referring to it.
“I find it clumsy and colonial, frankly,” he said. “And therefore, in my efforts to exercise personal responsibility when it comes to reconciliation, I would be very grateful if board members, board members and the public, if it were up to me, would feel comfortable using the ‘Mayor Gondek’.
He said the federal government has revoked the formal title and it is tradition, but said it is not breaking any rules by asking staff and council not to use it anymore.
Gondek said he consulted with city employees before making his request. He found that there is no policy or regulation that says the title should be used. It’s just tradition.
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“It really has British colonial roots,” he said. “And at a time when we’re struggling to figure out how to act on reconciliation, that’s my little part.”
The mayor acknowledged that this is a procedure, and that it will sometimes have to be used.
Gondek also acknowledged that the habit can be hard to break for some, as demonstrated by community service director general Katie Black, the first member of the administration to address her after the request.
“Oh damn, I was working hard not to say your adoration. And then that’s the first thing I do,” said Black, who then apologized to the mayor and quickly continued.
Gondek credited Mayor Sandra Masters of Regina for leading the way in leaving the title. Like Gondek, Masters was the first mayoress elected to run her city. She called for the title to be withdrawn during her first meeting as mayor in November 2020.
brthomas@postmedia.comTwitter: @brodie_thomas