Jyoti Gondek officially Calgary's mayor, didn't swear in Sean Chu
Jyoti Gondek is officially Calgary's first female mayor; she was sworn in at city hall on Monday.
Gondek served one term as the councillor for Ward 3 before running for mayor, beating rival and former Calgary councillor Jeromy Farkas.
Though she took part in the swearing in of 13 of the 14 Calgary councillors, she stepped aside when Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu stepped up and let Associate Chief Justice John D. Rooke swear him in instead.
"I didn't want to swear him in, it did not seem right to me," Gondek told journalists Monday.
"The justice was willing to do it, and I felt that was more appropriate."
Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu is sworn in on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.
Gondek had previously said she would not participate in Chu's swearing-in ceremony amid his recent admission of having a sexual encounter with a teenage girl when he was a 34-year-old police officer in 1997.
"We have reached a line in the sand moment when it comes to councillor Chu and many, many members of council, myself included, have called upon him to do the right thing," said Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra, who was re-elected to serve in Ward 9.
Chu refused to speak to media on Monday.
There are many new faces at city hall including nine new council members and two councillors — Richard Pootmans in Ward 6 and Andre Chabot in Ward 10 — who are returning after not running to represent their respective wards in 2017.
"This is indeed a very odd swearing-in ceremony because of COVID, but I'm pleased so many people could join us online," Gondek said.
"This council will get along. There's many big things Calgarians are expecting from us and we have all had a very frank conversation with each other about how we need to work together."
After being sworn in, the new council voted on a motion to appoint returning Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong as deputy mayor, which was carried unanimously.
Correction
The original version of this story indicated Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott was the first Black person elected to Calgary city council. Virnetta Anderson was elected to council in 1974.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.