Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said he wants to take responsibility after videos surfaced last week allegedly showing him engaging in racist stereotypes and mocking Indigenous people.
At the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting of council, McLean agreed to sit with a circle of Indigenous elders and offered to step away from his role on seven council committees to demonstrate that he “must make amends.”
“I do want to take responsibility and demonstrate that I’m willing to learn, grow, change and be better. That does start with the circle of elders,” McLean told council. “I want to thank my council mates and the Indigenous community for allowing me this great opportunity.”
“Once I sit with elders, I will have a more informed way of demonstrating my commitment to truth and reconciliation and anti-racism,” he added.
Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek said she spoke with First Nations and Metis leaders and experts at the city’s Indigenous relations office to get advice on next steps after “the surfacing of a video last week that was racist and included a member of our city council.”
Gondek said she was told that if it was a situation that arose in the Indigenous community, there would be a gathering of council and the community, there would be an indication of what happened, followed by a statement “from the person in question,” and a decision on next steps.
“It was enlightening for me to understand Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous ways of justice,” Gondek said. “I was also advised that it is not the mayor’s place to speak for the Indigenous community, but it is my responsibility to call out racism and it is a responsibility of our council as well.”
Gondek said McLean has been asked to sit with a circle of Indigenous elders assembled by Rose and Reg Crowshoe to “hear their truths and their experiences.”
The mayor said McLean will be required to report back to city council “with a path forward on restitution” informed and endorsed by the Indigenous elders.
According to Michelle Robinson, a Sahtu Dene Indigenous activist, meeting with McLean is a sign of forgiveness and generosity from the elders.
However, Robinson questions whether the move is deserved.
“It’s just incredibly lucky that he has elders even willing to meet with him because, frankly, he’s not worth their time after what we’ve seen from him now in two videos,” Robinson told Global News.
Although McLean can’t be seen in either video, a photo posted by an anonymous Twitter account appears to show McLean sitting at a table with former justice minister Jonathan Denis and political strategist Craig Chandler. Denis’ law firm told Global News it had evidence the videos were doctored while Chandler has not responded to Global News’ request for comment.
Global News has been unable to verify the authenticity of the pictures or the videos, or when they were taken.
After the videos surfaced, McLean said he had “zero recollection” of the event.
The next day, McLean posted a video to his social media accounts standing with Alice Marchand, who said she is a member of the Okanagan First Nation.
McLean didn’t acknowledge the video he was being criticized for or confirm that it was him in the video, but said in the post that he sincerely apologizes for past mistakes.
“I’m grateful to Coun. McLean for showing leadership in this area, stepping up to understand he has work to do,” said Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner, who was the first of McLean’s colleagues to raise concerns about the online videos. “I think this is a start of a benefit for all of council to be thinking about this work.”
McLean declined to take questions on the matter on Tuesday.
According to Gondek, McLean’s removal from his board and committee roles will last for a year.
The mayor said city council has “an incredibly limited ability” to hold one of their own accountable.
“We cannot remove people from council meetings because it’s legislated that they participate. We cannot dock pay because that’s not the way it works. When we remove people from committee, it’s generally not linked to any kind of stipend,” Gondek told reporters. “It is really difficult for us to do anything. We need a better partnership with our provincial government so we can hold people accountable in more meaningful ways.”
City council held an unofficial but unanimous vote to recommit to past declarations against racism and to truth and reconciliation.
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