At a time when most of the world has dropped wokeism and DEI from business practices, replacing them with common sense, the City of Calgary is going down the DEI rabbit hole again with the release of its GamePLAN document, which has the primary goal of being “to increase access to and participation in public recreation so more people can experience the benefits these opportunities provide,” so the document reads. But most of GamePLAN’s language reads much like the Calgary Plan, released last fall as the ‘guide’ to growth and development in the city in the next 25 years. Within the 156-page Calgary Plan is this: “As one of Canada’s fastest growing and most diverse cities, Calgary’s population is a rich blend of social, cultural and economic identities.” “By embracing this growth and actively supporting anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion and a strong sense of belonging for all individuals in the city's communities, Calgary strengthens its social, environmental and economic resilience, especially during times of rapid change.” I have always been of the mind the city’s job was to get more housing built to solve a crisis, build roads and clean snow off of them, fix potholes, make sure there’s water in our taps; you know, that daily stuff we pay taxes to get done. Not much mention of those things in the Calgary Plan, which was put on hold because as Mayor Jyoti Gondek said recently, and I paraphrase, because the city’s administrative staff was overworked and exhausted. You’d think things couldn’t get more woke, until the release of the GamePLAN, that suggests the recreational facilities Calgarians will need over the next 25 years and what they could cost. How is the city going to do it, you may ask and the answer is in the document. It reads: “A: Provide all staff with foundational training in equity, diversity, inclusion, cultural sensitivity and anti-racism, reconciliation and trauma informed practices;” “B: Revise booking allocation framework to advance fairness in accessing spaces (for example, bookings/registrations reserved for equity-denied groups, reviewing and amending booking guidelines including historical right, etc.;” “C: As stewards of the public recreation system and in consultation with senior partners, The City will incorporate EDIB (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging) considerations into operational practices, program design and processes for accessing programs and spaces.” The irony of this language is obviously lost on the city’s administrative staff, perhaps. as Gondek says, because the staff is exhausted. By singling out special privileges for one group, or two groups, or three groups, while not mentioning privileges for another group, that being the one that includes the majority of Calgarians, those pesky white people, GamePLAN is a discriminatory document. One poster on X made his thoughts and likely the thoughts of many Calgarians clear, writing on X: “(The) City of Calgary is doubling down on wokeism and racism against white people. After years of mismanagement and trying to close down recreational facilities, they now (all) of a sudden decided to try and get people to use them.” “What (do) they seem to think the problem is? That the system was too geared for white people and not other people. The solution? DEI training for all staff, DEI based operations and program design and allocation bookings priorities based on skin colour. What an absolute clown show.” Another poster wrote: “What sanctimonious arrogance gets to decide who deserves equity and who doesn't? Why do Canadians have to put up with this ideological imposition? She is using the money provided by the hard work of many people to enact racist policies to discriminate against the taxpayer.” Someone close to administration's thinking is Ward 13 Cllr. Dan McLean, who says DEI is in everything done at city hall. In an interview with Western Standard, McLean said “It’s embedded into all city planning. I heard from some people from city hall and they say ‘we have to start off every morning with lectures about colonialism and DEI and white privilege. It's not a really good way to start your day. It’s killing morale,” said McLean. “And while other businesses are running away from DEI, because it’s divisive, offensive, and it costs a lot of money. (The City of Calgary) is a business (and) I’d like to know the dollars that have been spent to date on putting together this document.” “It’s just the far left policies that have inserted themselves and control the narrative for too long.” Maybe the Calgary Plan was postponed because of staff exhaustion or maybe it was because of the backlash council received for its wokeness. Regardless, the city’s GamePLAN should shift to more business and common sense and less, much less, DEI. GamePLAN is being debated by the Community Development Committee at city hall on Thursday to determine a path forward and the costs. We’ll have an update on those discussions later.
