Our Speaker Mayor Naheed Nenshi

 

 

 

 

Club Member Julie Visser introduced His Worship Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of the City of Calgary, who delivered his annual report to the club.

 

The Mayor began his report by reflecting on the First Nations who were the first people to live in the area that has become the City of Calgary. He then reflected on the city's recovery from the catastrophic flooding of 2013, and noted that the past five years have been difficult for many. However, the resiliance of the city, as well as the humanity of its public servants and citizenry, have led the city a long way on the road back from disaster. The Mayor asks how we can take that resiliance and humanity and apply it to the challenges we face in our community every day. His vision is to use our spirit to make progress on additction and mental health, to make progress on true reconciliation with our indigenous neighbours, and to make progress environmental stewardship and economic prosperity.

 

The Mayor spoke of the city's participation in the first Community Hub, which is a major component of the city's anti-poverty strategy.  He also acknowledged that this is a critical time in the history of the city, as we are recovering from one of the most protracted and painful downturns we have ever seen. The city is hard at work on its economic development vision, which seeks to create solutions to the world's challenges in health, energy, and other areas. The city's vision and strategy is to be Canada's city of choice for the world's enterpreneurs.

 

The Mayor developed this idea by noting that 43,000 Albertans started new businesses last year, and challenged Rotarians to think of ways they could support the development of these, and other new businesses. He reiterated Calgary's advantages as a place to live and work. These advantages include a highly skilled and educated workforce, access to capital, and a "can-do" attitude that has served us well in the past. In fact, despite the downturn, The Economist magazine still ranks Calgary as one of the top five places to live and work in the world. 

 

The Mayor concluded his presentation by encouraging Rotarians to keep doing what we are doing; namely, to continue talking about the city, what makes it great, and how we can make it better.

 

Following a lively question and answer session, club member Jan Damery thanked the Mayor for his report to the club.