They were anointed the ‘Hateful 8’ (H8) by the Calgary Sun’s Rick ‘Dinger’ Bell soon after they were elected, for their proclivity to vote as a block in Calgary City Council meetings. They are Cllrs. Kourtney Penner, Courtney Walcott, Giancarlo Carra, Richard Pootmans, Reg Dhaliwal, Evan Spencer, Jennifer Mian and Jennifer Wyness. Anything supporting wokeness, DEI, purported anti-racism or other left-leaning issue was sure to get the thumbs up from H8, and guaranteed to be passed and put into law when Mayor Jyoti Gondek joined their ranks, which she has done on almost every occasion since, making them the ‘H8+1’. From the opening day salvo by the mayor, declaring an $87 billion climate emergency in the city shortly after the new council met for the first time in 2021 to destroying the original event centre deal, the H8+1 have a miserable track record of mishaps and blunders. They voted to cancel the weekly Freedom Marches in downtown Calgary, which supported the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, protesting the COVID-19 mandates and more importantly, the Emergencies (War) Measures Act, imposed on Canadian’s rights and freedoms. On what was then Twitter Carra called the marchers racists. The COVID-19 mandates and measures have since proved to be ineffective and needless. The H8+1 approved the single-use bylaw, outlawing plastic straws (adding a fine for non-compliance) and restricting the use of napkins, paper bags and plastic utilities at drive-through or pick-up restaurants and fast-food outlets. On this one, Calgarians rebelled, demanding the bylaw be repealed, which it was. There were other trips, stumbles and falls from H8+1, but the one that really got Calgarians riled up was the blanket upzoning bylaw, eliminating all areas of the city that were zoned only for single-family homes. During the largest public hearings in council’s history, over three weeks, more than 6,800 Calgarians expressed their opinions about upzoning, with more than 75% saying they were not just opposed, but vehemently opposed. No matter, the H8+1 voted to approve the bylaw, after which surfaced a letter addressed to Mayor Gondek from Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, saying if council did not approve the bylaw, the feds would not forward a promised $228 million from its Housing Accelerator Fund. While a court recently ruled it was within council’s authority to approve the bylaw, an appeal to that decision is being put together. Recently, two documents, The Calgary Plan and GamePLAN were released by city administration and approved by council. Both documents are drenched in DEI doctrine, with The Calgary Plan suddenly and suspiciously put on hold until after the civic election on October 20 this year. Also recently, three of the H8+1 have announced they will not be seeking reelection in the fall. They are Evan Spencer (Ward 12), Jennifer Mian (Ward 3) and just this week, Courtney Walcott (Ward 8). Ward 6 Councillor Richard Pootsman resigned from council in February, citing health concerns. In an op-ed in Livewire Calgary this week, Walcott alluded to being upset he and the other H8+1 aren’t getting their way in council anymore, but he phrased it differently. “Resentment and anger hold a special type of currency at City Hall. It is a reality that is difficult to accept and even harder to change. But change is what I came here to do,” he wrote, in part. “I know I can continue that work beyond the walls of City Hall, in a space where integrity is not a liability and where progress is not sacrificed for the sake of perception.” So, on election day, as it stands today, the H8+1 will be reduced to the H5+1: Cllrs. Carra, Demong, Penner, Dhaliwall and Wyness plus Mayor Gondek (who has confirmed she will run again) and it is widely rumored Cllrs. Carra and Demong will also announce they’re not running. Be that the case, it will be the Hateful3+1. Unseating incumbents in any election is a monumental, and in most cases, an impossible task. With a guarantee of four seats on council open for this year’s election, and the potential of at least two more, Calgarians have a rare opportunity to take back their city by electing candidates who believe in governance by common sense, not wokeism and DEI. Unfortunately, the turnout for Calgary council elections have been dismal, perhaps because Calgarians think their vote doesn’t count, but the opposite is true. The mishaps and blunders perpetrated by the current DEI-laden council are the result of too many Calgarians not voting. The battle for the ballots will soon heat up, so join the fight and take things right.
