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He mentioned that Mayor Naheed Nenshi is about to go on a trade mission to India, and said forgoing opportunities to get outside the city and “tell Calgary’s story” is short-sighted.

“Part of the reason I believe we’re going on a trade mission to India is because we’ve become the laughing stock of this country,” Davison said. “We’re standing here talking about things like this when we should be talking about how we encourage businesses to come here.”

Davison argued conversations prompted by Farkas and Chu’s motion are actually eroding investor confidence in Calgary.

“We’re worried about potentially $20,000 in spending, overall, and we forget that while it’s important to manage the dollars and cents, this is like a $7-billion-a-year operation. What are we doing here?”

FCM is the largest gathering of municipal leaders in the country, which includes four days of workshops, speakers and a trade show every spring. FCM members also vote on advocacy priorities at the conference, and Demong said Calgary risks being left out if only a few councillors are allowed to go.

Last year, nine councillors and Mayor Naheed Nenshi travelled to Quebec City for the FCM conference, spending a little more than $30,000 in total, according to documents obtained by Postmedia through a freedom of information request. It was one of the largest city delegations to the conference in recent years, in part because of a push to advocate for Alberta’s energy sector on the national stage.