Hello again everyone, and a belated happy New Year!  I trust that the holidays were a relaxing and peaceful time for you all.  I had the fortune of being in Times Square to witness the ball drop on New Year’s Eve and it was certainly a spectacular event, although I have to say that New York is the most expensive city in the world!  Eating out is ridiculously overpriced.  For example, a fairly mediocre restaurant cost me $85 for 2 appetizers and 3 drinks including tax and tip, and that is US dollars too! This was fairly typical of the prices that we paid, but it certainly didn’t ruin the trip.  New York is busy, noisy and dirty, but there is something magical about it and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been.  Be warned though; make sure you have saved plenty of spending money before you go!

So here we are in a new year, and there are only 7 months until Pride parade.  That sounds like a long time, but that time passes so quickly.  In light of recent events and decisions coming from Toronto, it would be naïve to think that there could be no fallout here.  I am truly appreciative of the relationship that exists with the Calgary Pride board, but I do not want to be seen to be waiting for requests or demands to come from them or from Voices coalition.  That way we are placed in a position where we are forced to act, and then the perception is that we are making those decisions only because we have to.  I can tell you that I have some ideas in mind where we hope to be ahead of the curve, and hopefully this will be seen as a positive move that will be appreciated and accepted by all sides.  I am planning on having further discussions with my board about this prior to speaking with the executive office here at Calgary Police Service, and hope to be in a position to reveal more in the coming months.

Talking of my board I am delighted to welcome some new additions for 2017; one is a man from Peru and another is somebody active within the Voices coalition.  Some of the requests made last year were that we had even more visible diversity on the board, as well as some Voices representation.  I am so pleased to be working with both of these new members, and I hope that these additions will be welcomed by the community and be seen as a step towards my pledge to Voices where I outlined my desire and willingness to work together to find solutions.  I know that this is just a small step, but it is a positive step in the right direction.  Further, a question that arose as part of the discussions last year centered on the visibility of my board and how the community at large would know who they were.  I know that an article I wrote a couple of years back focused on my board members and their bios, and I think that now would be a good time to revisit that.  I will organize some photographs and bios for the board as we currently are and submit that for publication here as soon as I can.  That way you will know who they are, and how they can be that conduit to the service if you prefer to speak with them rather than myself.

All in all I think 2017 is going to be an exciting year with lots of opportunities.  Thank you all for your support over the past year, I could not be effective without the support of the community.  As always, please look out for each other, look after each other, and connect with me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

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Contributor Constable Andy Buck |

Locale Calgary |

Topic Calgary Pride | Community | Voices Coalition |