Since the group of councillors currently populating Calgary city council chambers held their first meeting and passed their first bylaw, there have been more than one instance when a majority of the group went against the majority of Calgarians’ wishes, interests and feelings. It started with a climate emergency declaration, followed almost immediately with killing the previously agreed upon new arena deal, leading to a second, and more expensive, arena deal. Then, the failed bag bylaw, followed by the upzoning bylaw, which more than 75% of Calgarians said in a public hearing they didn’t want. But a majority on council basically said, “too bad, you’re getting it anyway” and voted it in. Then came the West Elbow Local Area Plan ‘engagements’ with Calgarians who said it they didn’t like the plan adding the city paid them no mind.This was followed by the dense approval of the density of the redevelopment of the Viscount Bennett school site, which will severely depress the home equity of residents in the immediate area. Also in the 'not listening parade' is Marda Loop, another redevelopment that the city proceeded with despite pushback from Calgarians. There are plenty more. .The sitting council has about four months left on its tenure, with six already saying they won’t be running again in the municipal election on Oct. 20. Coincidently, or not, most of the six voted in favour of all the above, while lecturing Calgarian rather than listening to them. Could it now be council and city administration are attempting to atone for their lack of listening? The city has launched an ‘engagement review’ which it says is “having meaningful conversations between the city and Calgary residents, as well as other groups or communities.” That would be a nice change.It adds, “engagement may include activities like community meetings, surveys and online feedback forms open to everyone.” The city’s engage policy defines engagement as “Purposeful dialogue between the city, impacted or interested Calgarians and other communities or groups to gather information to influence decision-making.” Purposeful dialogue to influence decision-making would also be a nice change at city hall. Literature from the city says independent firm KPMG will be conducting a review of its engagement process to get feedback from Calgarians before making decisions on a project or issue and the feedback “will help us understand what’s working and what could be better.” .“The goal of these discussions is to hear about your experience with engagement,” adds the city. “Your feedback is very important. The experiences you share will help KPMG prepare recommendations to the city on how to improve engagement with Calgarians.” Where have we heard that before?The city is giving you options to share your feedback, including taking a public survey, attending a community engagement discussion in your local area, or expressing your interest in participating in the Engagement Review Working Group (ERWG). "This group,” says the city, “will bring together different perspectives to share advice and feedback on the review and how the city can do a great job of hearing from Calgarians.” To join ERWG, you need to have an interest in good engagement; participate in four or five one-hour working group discussions from July to September 2025, and; share ideas constructively and engage actively. For more information on how to participate, go here. “No special credentials are required,” says the city. “We welcome varied experiences from all Calgarians.” If this has aroused your interest and you can’t wait to participate, the city offers an online survey where you can give your feedback immediately. This writer has taken the survey; it’s easy and takes five to 10 minutes to complete. The survey is not being run by the city, but by KPMG, here. Perhaps something positive will come with this.I hear you laughing.
