The world is filled with good intentions, and sometimes good ideas..It is also victim to bad ideas, or perhaps even crazy or stupid ideas..I heard one of the latter this week..It came from Calgary’s own Calgary Chamber of Commerce boss, Deb Yedlin, and a fancy-dancy report called 'Unlocking our Talent Potential.'.The report is the last in a series intended to help solve the current worker shortage and suggests strongly that the city must do a better job when it comes to diversity and economic diversification. While there is no question, no doubt, that the city could do more to sell itself to the world and attract talented people, the study took a major misstep — a quantum leap in wokeness — when it suggested that we must drop the cowboy hat image. As if we should be ashamed and shamed for having this image (my words, not theirs) and that basically if we don’t get more with it, we won’t attract talented people. For the basic reason we are shunning folks, newcomers to Calgary who may not feel part of that cowboy culture..“This is a really, really important part of how we work to increase the talents to the city to support that ongoing diversification and be able to showcase all the different things that are going on here,” Yedlin told the Calgary Herald..Responding partly to a CBC poll — yes, the Liberals’ mighty news network — that suggested people outside Alberta see us differently than we see ourselves (quelle surprise,) apparently a great number of Canadians would not feel comfortable living here..Plus, imagine this — they perceive that life in the province runs counter to the common goals of Canadians..Well, well, well. If that is true, take a guess whose fault that is. Ours? Are we really that awful, backward and unpatriotic? Let’s be serious … it has to do with a federal government painting us as the petro bad guy, targeting the oil and gas sector for years and now seeking to cut emissions from fertilizer usage by 30 per cent..Responding to the latter, along with federal policies that would shut down coal-fired power generation in 2030 and moves to similarly shut down natural gas, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe responded: “To hell with that!”.Just imagine how that statement goes over in the east! No wonder they don’t like us. Too bad, so sad. I guess it’s verboten to stand up for ourselves. And dear God, why would we care what anybody thinks of us?.Like, how do I explain to an easterner that I will drive 80 kilometres to Longview and back, just to have a coffee in “Unforgiven” country — to just soak it in, and look at the Rockies?.We are different, and I am so glad we are different!.And another thing ….Both my wife and I were newcomers to Calgary. Me from the east, Ontario … my wife from the far west, the Philippines. Not once in our marriage did any such feeling arise, of not feeling liked or wanted here. In fact, my then-wife embraced the cowboy culture as did all her relatives who immigrated and now live here. They think it’s really cool and they look forward to the Stampede. They have no issues with our corporate/cowboy culture. Nada. They love Calgary..Likewise, Calgary embraced them, and they have all done well here as a result. Clearly, there is a bigger picture here and I think Yedlin and the Chamber are out of touch with that reality. This is an ideological woke argument, not a logical one..While Yedlin obviously means well, we cannot ever turn our backs on our western culture. To do so, would be a big mistake, one we will regret..Case in point, no other city in the West — US or Canada — has ever deemed to shed its western/cowboy image. Not one..Look at Texas, for example. Their cowboy culture thrives, as does their successful move away from the oil and gas industry. That state has done very well attracting business investment and talented young people, in a very successful move toward diversification. Calgary seems to be doing exactly just that, attracting new businesses such as the massive new De Havilland complex..Also, how about this: In the second quarter of 2022, net migration into Alberta was 34,883, compared to 1,049 in the same quarter of 2021, an increase of 3,225.4%..Most of those people came from Ontario (Source: Statscan). And, Calgary's city council is projecting close to 90,000 people will move to Calgary between now and 2026..Looks like we're doing OK with what we got, don’t you think?.And by the way, two of my Ontario friends just moved West, both buying properties in Cochrane, and happy to do so. They both cited being fed up with Trudeau and the high cost of living out east..One even said former Premier Jason Kenney’s campaign to recruit eastern talent sealed the deal..Getting back to the Chamber, Yedlin states that Calgary needs to address racism and discrimination — a statement that I agree with, wholeheartedly. Anything that can be done in this regard, is important to our city’s future..“Anything that suggests intolerance or racism or discrimination is definitely something we should all be concerned about,” said Yedlin..“And I think, too, as cities grow and demographic composition changes, some people may feel that they’re not as welcome as others. And that really speaks to the importance of making sure we have an open, inclusive city that is really focused on accepting everybody who comes here.”.She wants an inclusive city. Fine. I’m all for that. Who isn’t?.But in this push for inclusivity — a movement far larger than Calgary that has swept North America in everything from workplaces to advertising — we must be very careful going forward..Inclusivity is a serious matter, not some marketing strategy put forth by an egghead penning a study. It is a challenge we must face in order to create a fairer society..There has also been some backlash to this global push, something the Chamber should be taking into account..The study also uses words like 'narratives' — a word that just turns my stomach. It’s a trendy word that means nothing, says nothing..And where do we draw the line? Do we also halt the chuckwagon races to please the bleeding hearts of the world? Discourage people from dressing Western during Stampede? Stop decorating storefronts with fences and straw bales?.All these things are part of our brand. Should we now shun them?.When I came to Calgary, in 1979, my first job was at Montreal Trust. During Stampede, they closed off the street in front and held square dancing while we took turns cooking up pancake breakfasts, for a small fee..This went on every day, and, from those breakfasts, we raised money for the staff fund, that lasted us the entire year. All I can tell you, is that coming from Ontario, this was the coolest thing ever. I loved helping out on the pancake front, meeting new people, and watching tourists try to learn square dancing..It was a fabulous experience I will never forget..So where is all this nonsense coming from? Is the Chamber grasping at straws, embracing the latest cultural trend as it tries to boost our economy?.Or could they have parsed it just a little bit better, and not stepped on our cowboy boots?.I honestly don’t know, but I will say that if the state of Texas can diversify, so can we..In saying that, there are parts of that study, which are good, and do make sense..But let’s not let trendy, over-the-top wokeness destroy the pride we have in our precious western culture. Let’s just not go there.
The world is filled with good intentions, and sometimes good ideas..It is also victim to bad ideas, or perhaps even crazy or stupid ideas..I heard one of the latter this week..It came from Calgary’s own Calgary Chamber of Commerce boss, Deb Yedlin, and a fancy-dancy report called 'Unlocking our Talent Potential.'.The report is the last in a series intended to help solve the current worker shortage and suggests strongly that the city must do a better job when it comes to diversity and economic diversification. While there is no question, no doubt, that the city could do more to sell itself to the world and attract talented people, the study took a major misstep — a quantum leap in wokeness — when it suggested that we must drop the cowboy hat image. As if we should be ashamed and shamed for having this image (my words, not theirs) and that basically if we don’t get more with it, we won’t attract talented people. For the basic reason we are shunning folks, newcomers to Calgary who may not feel part of that cowboy culture..“This is a really, really important part of how we work to increase the talents to the city to support that ongoing diversification and be able to showcase all the different things that are going on here,” Yedlin told the Calgary Herald..Responding partly to a CBC poll — yes, the Liberals’ mighty news network — that suggested people outside Alberta see us differently than we see ourselves (quelle surprise,) apparently a great number of Canadians would not feel comfortable living here..Plus, imagine this — they perceive that life in the province runs counter to the common goals of Canadians..Well, well, well. If that is true, take a guess whose fault that is. Ours? Are we really that awful, backward and unpatriotic? Let’s be serious … it has to do with a federal government painting us as the petro bad guy, targeting the oil and gas sector for years and now seeking to cut emissions from fertilizer usage by 30 per cent..Responding to the latter, along with federal policies that would shut down coal-fired power generation in 2030 and moves to similarly shut down natural gas, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe responded: “To hell with that!”.Just imagine how that statement goes over in the east! No wonder they don’t like us. Too bad, so sad. I guess it’s verboten to stand up for ourselves. And dear God, why would we care what anybody thinks of us?.Like, how do I explain to an easterner that I will drive 80 kilometres to Longview and back, just to have a coffee in “Unforgiven” country — to just soak it in, and look at the Rockies?.We are different, and I am so glad we are different!.And another thing ….Both my wife and I were newcomers to Calgary. Me from the east, Ontario … my wife from the far west, the Philippines. Not once in our marriage did any such feeling arise, of not feeling liked or wanted here. In fact, my then-wife embraced the cowboy culture as did all her relatives who immigrated and now live here. They think it’s really cool and they look forward to the Stampede. They have no issues with our corporate/cowboy culture. Nada. They love Calgary..Likewise, Calgary embraced them, and they have all done well here as a result. Clearly, there is a bigger picture here and I think Yedlin and the Chamber are out of touch with that reality. This is an ideological woke argument, not a logical one..While Yedlin obviously means well, we cannot ever turn our backs on our western culture. To do so, would be a big mistake, one we will regret..Case in point, no other city in the West — US or Canada — has ever deemed to shed its western/cowboy image. Not one..Look at Texas, for example. Their cowboy culture thrives, as does their successful move away from the oil and gas industry. That state has done very well attracting business investment and talented young people, in a very successful move toward diversification. Calgary seems to be doing exactly just that, attracting new businesses such as the massive new De Havilland complex..Also, how about this: In the second quarter of 2022, net migration into Alberta was 34,883, compared to 1,049 in the same quarter of 2021, an increase of 3,225.4%..Most of those people came from Ontario (Source: Statscan). And, Calgary's city council is projecting close to 90,000 people will move to Calgary between now and 2026..Looks like we're doing OK with what we got, don’t you think?.And by the way, two of my Ontario friends just moved West, both buying properties in Cochrane, and happy to do so. They both cited being fed up with Trudeau and the high cost of living out east..One even said former Premier Jason Kenney’s campaign to recruit eastern talent sealed the deal..Getting back to the Chamber, Yedlin states that Calgary needs to address racism and discrimination — a statement that I agree with, wholeheartedly. Anything that can be done in this regard, is important to our city’s future..“Anything that suggests intolerance or racism or discrimination is definitely something we should all be concerned about,” said Yedlin..“And I think, too, as cities grow and demographic composition changes, some people may feel that they’re not as welcome as others. And that really speaks to the importance of making sure we have an open, inclusive city that is really focused on accepting everybody who comes here.”.She wants an inclusive city. Fine. I’m all for that. Who isn’t?.But in this push for inclusivity — a movement far larger than Calgary that has swept North America in everything from workplaces to advertising — we must be very careful going forward..Inclusivity is a serious matter, not some marketing strategy put forth by an egghead penning a study. It is a challenge we must face in order to create a fairer society..There has also been some backlash to this global push, something the Chamber should be taking into account..The study also uses words like 'narratives' — a word that just turns my stomach. It’s a trendy word that means nothing, says nothing..And where do we draw the line? Do we also halt the chuckwagon races to please the bleeding hearts of the world? Discourage people from dressing Western during Stampede? Stop decorating storefronts with fences and straw bales?.All these things are part of our brand. Should we now shun them?.When I came to Calgary, in 1979, my first job was at Montreal Trust. During Stampede, they closed off the street in front and held square dancing while we took turns cooking up pancake breakfasts, for a small fee..This went on every day, and, from those breakfasts, we raised money for the staff fund, that lasted us the entire year. All I can tell you, is that coming from Ontario, this was the coolest thing ever. I loved helping out on the pancake front, meeting new people, and watching tourists try to learn square dancing..It was a fabulous experience I will never forget..So where is all this nonsense coming from? Is the Chamber grasping at straws, embracing the latest cultural trend as it tries to boost our economy?.Or could they have parsed it just a little bit better, and not stepped on our cowboy boots?.I honestly don’t know, but I will say that if the state of Texas can diversify, so can we..In saying that, there are parts of that study, which are good, and do make sense..But let’s not let trendy, over-the-top wokeness destroy the pride we have in our precious western culture. Let’s just not go there.
