MARSDEN: Growing tired of Gondek’s lack of energy for Calgary

David Marsden is a Calgary writer and editor.What is it with Mayor Jyoti Gondek? Is she detached from reality, or does she think every action she takes is virtuous? That she can do no wrong?It reminds one of an old joke: A mother watches her son march in a parade. “It’s a shame everyone is out of step, except Johnny,” the proud mom proclaims.Gondek and her council minions have always been out of step with Calgary since their election in 2021.One of council’s first actions was to declare a climate emergency. Every Calgarian cares about the environment. Canada is blessed with tremendous natural treasures that deserve to be preserved and protected. But a climate emergency? Really?One can imagine the city resources thrown at the project that came up with a plan to spend $87 billion over the better part of three decades, or $3.1 billion annually. What a waste of public time and money — something city hall excels at.It’s interesting to note that only Coun. Sean Chu and Dan McLean were on the side of common sense and opposed the motion. The rest of council lemmings jumped off the proverbial environmental cliff, rather than keeping their feet on solid ground, and passed the silly motion.Council should have always focused on its mandate, which entails unexciting tasks such as roads, sewers, water and policing. If they weren’t interested in such mundane matters, they should have sought office at the federal level, or courted a position with the United Nations.Perhaps Gondek should become mayor of a city in China or India, where the government shows little regard for environmental concerns. That actually might make a difference. Wagging her finger at Calgarians about the environment was foolish — especially since an earlier acknowledgment about the city’s aging water infrastructure would have proven prescient.Now, she and the rest of council are saddled with the reputation of being the ones who let Calgary’s water system go to hell in a leaky hand basket, even though the disaster was the result of years of neglect.But it doesn’t end there. After cheering on the trashing of Calgary’s slogan, “Be part of the energy,” Gondek has become the new vice-president of the World Energy Cities Partnership.It’s ridiculous. Our mayor assists in ushering in a new slogan, all the while insisting Calgary is about much more than energy; then seeks a position with a global group of cities focused on energy.And after spending $4.8 million for the change of slogans, the sign erected at the entrance to the south of the city, still reads, “Be part of the energy.” There was money for consultants and consultations, but a flaccid effort in showing commitment to the cause.Perhaps the sign should read: “Be part of the water shortage.”To secure her position with the World Energy Cities Partnership, Gondek flew to Norway. No mention of a climate emergency or the greenhouse gases emitted by the trip. Apparently, some people have never heard of Zoom.Esteemed member cities of her new group include Luanda, Angola. Never heard of this bastion of human rights and dignity?“Angolan state security forces were implicated in serious human rights abuses, including more than a dozen extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, and arbitrary detentions,” says Human Rights Watch of Angola.Then there’s Dammam, Saudi Arabia, another member of the group Gondek is vice-president of.“Killings by Saudi Arabian forces of at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers at the Yemen-Saudi border may amount to crimes against humanity,” says Human Rights Watch.“Saudi Arabian authorities conducted arrests of peaceful dissidents, public intellectuals, and human rights activists and sentenced people to decades-long prison terms or death sentences for social media posts.”The goal of the group Gondek has aligned herself with is to foster sustainable energy production for the benefit of global communities, but one suspects there’s a lot of window dressing going on here — Pollyanna blather with little result.Can you imagine cities — and the countries themselves — giving up oil production in Columbia and China?The dodgy folks who run these places are no doubt happy to see Gondek and Canada lend its legitimacy to purported commitments to new sources of energy even though they, like ourselves, are heavily dependent on fossil fuels.Canada’s traditional energy industry is the nation’s economic engine and the country’s largest exporter. Central Canada’s automotive sector, despite subsidies from Canadians across the country, is fairly modest in comparison.In the first year she came into office, Gondek supported using city tax dollars to fund a challenge of Quebec’s Bill 21 — legislation that prevents teachers and other public employees from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs, kippahs and turbans on the job.Now, she’s in the company of foreign leaders who offend Canadians’ ideals and principles, while peddling oil. During a so-called climate emergency.The battle for reasonable city property taxes was lost long ago. Next year, Calgarians should elect a city council focused on potholes and a reliable supply of water, not national and international politics.David Marsden is a Calgary writer and editor.