The Calgary Herald reports, “One of the last Alberta city councils clinging to the alderman moniker is being asked to dump it. A coalition of Lethbridge residents is appearing before their city council today, urging elected members to call themselves councillor rather than alderman. The gender-neutral name swap would bring the southern Alberta city of more than 83,000 in line with other councils across Canada in recent decades. …The name change is in line with the Municipal Government Act, which uses the term ‘councillor’ in relation to elected officials.”
“Members include residents as well representatives from the Council of Canadians Lethbridge Chapter, OUTreach Southern Alberta Society, Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group, Department of Women and Gender studies and Womanspace Resource Centre.”
“Lethbridge Mayor Rajko Dodic said he appreciates the issue is important to some, but the name change to councillor sounds an awful lot like a lawyer or children’s camp staffer.”
“This evening (at 5 pm MT), Dodic and six of the city’s eight aldermen will be in attendance to vote.”
