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Coun. Jody Mitic is pledging to be “less meathead, less tough guy,” but he’s not backing down from a debate he kicked up by circulating a photo of a dead shark with a caption reading, “I shot it in the face to finish it off.”

Social media was flooded with comments criticizing the councillor for the insensitive wording, while others quickly took to Mitic’s defence.

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Mitic eventually took the photo down, then posted it again with a different caption.

“The wording was a very aggressive way to put it. I acknowledge that, but I don’t apologize for it,” Mitic said.

Mitic said he spent the weekend along the New Jersey shore taking part in a charity tournament for Operation Restored Warrior, which provides help to veterans suffering from PTSD and other combat-related afflictions. Mitic said the third annual shark fishing derby raised around $150,000 for the cause.

Mitic, a Canadian Forces veteran and a former sniper, said despite the prize-winning catch, his proudest moment of the weekend came when he was asked to speak to veterans about the charity’s success stories — Mitic said that since 2011 the charity has helped 700 veterans who once contemplated suicide, and “none have relapsed.”