'No worship needed': Gondek asks to be referred to simply as mayor
Calgary's mayor is asking members of the public, administration and her fellow councillors to no longer refer to her as 'your worship.'
Mayor Jyoti Gondek made the request at the start of Tuesday morning's council session.
"It has traditionally been practised to refer to the mayor as 'your worship, his worship, her worship,'" said Gondek during her opening remarks. "I find that to be clunky and colonial, quite frankly, and so in my efforts to practise some personal responsibility when it comes to reconciliation, I would greatly appreciate if members of council, members of administration and members of the public if, for me, you were just comfortable using Mayor Gondek.
"The worship title, at this point, is not something that I need from any of you. If it a formality that needs to be used, I understand that. It is a practise that has been brought down by the federal government. It's something that we've traditionally used. I'm not breaking any customs or traditions by asking that we not use it."
Gondek acknowledged Mayor Sandra Masters of Regina, Sask., who made a similar request to end the use of 'your worship' back in 2020 during one of her first council meetings.
"Call me Mayor Gondek. No worship needed. I know there's going to be a little bit of a time to get past that but thank you very much."
Gondek was elected as mayor in October 2021, replacing Naheed Nenshi who did not seek a fourth term as mayor. She previously served as Ward 3 councillor.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
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.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.