A. The Calgary white hat first became this city's favorite symbol in 1948, when hundreds of Stampeder football fans, who'd taken a chartered party train to Toronto to watch their team play in the Grey Cup, presented one of the hats to the Mayor of that city.

Alderman Don McKay, who went on to be elected Mayor in 1950, began distribting the hats as gifts to all visiting dignitaries, and the tradition has been continued ever since.

The Mayor's Office, in partnership with Tourism Calgary, presents the hat to visitors in an official welcoming ceremony.

To arrange a white hat welcome for your guests, visit Tourism Calgary

A. The eligibility requirements are very straight-forward: you must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen, a resident of Calgary, and have resided in Alberta for at least six consecutive months immediately preceeding election day.

A. Think of it this way: if it has to do with something far away, or an issue that would be as important in Halifax as in Calgary, it's probably handled by the federal government.

If it's something that would be as relevant in Edmonton or Fort McMurray as here, or that would impact the communities just beyond our city limits, it's probably a provincial matter.

And if it's something that affects you, your family or your neighbourhood as you go about your life every day, it is most likely a municipal (City) matter.

Here's a quick overview of how it works.

First, the federal government. Ottawa traditionally handles the 'big' things that affect the entire nation.

National security, for example. Our relationships with other countries. Constitutional issues, like language rights and federal-provincial jurisdictions. Immigration. The federal courts. International agreements covering things like cross border travel, trade, the shared environment, and 'spheres of influence', which means deciding who controls areas in dispute, off-shore fishing or the Arctic, for example.

Second, the Province.

The Government of Alberta has responsibility for education; health care; provincial highways; natural resources; provincial courts; social services, like affordable housing; and many environmental standards and governance issues.

Third, the municipalities. Like The City of Calgary.

As a rule of thumb, if the other orders of government don't – or won't - handle it, we do.

Traditionally, we've been responsible for city roads, bridges and traffic management; water and wastewater systems; public transit; utilities; the protective services, police, fire and EMS; local parks and green spaces; recreational facilities and programs; garbage collection and recycling services; and local environmental initiatives.

But we are NOT responsible for hospitals or schools.

The lines have been getting blurred recently, as Ottawa and the Province have passed on more responsibilities to the municipalities. For example The City of Calgary has received new money that will be used to help pay for public transit, for affordable housing, for recreational facilities, for some social services, and for regional environmental initiatives.

A. It's a reflection of the growing importance of international relations, and of Calgary's position as a city of the world. Each city was designated a 'sister' because of mutually beneficial arrangements in areas such as culture, education, business, trade and investment.

Calgary's sister cities are:

• Daejon, Korea (1996) - Paired with Calgary for mutual interests in the areas of science, technology, research and development.
  
• Daqing, China (1985) – Selected for its affiliation with the oil and gas industry.
  
• Jaipur, India (1973) – As a result of twinning with Calgary, Jaipur has been able to put in place economic reforms and deregulation.
  
• Naucalpan, Mexico (1994) – Naucalpan is a strong industrial centre and home to about 60 per cent of Mexico City's industries.
  
• Phoenix, Arizona (1997) – Chosen for the similarity of its economies and communities.
  
• Quebec City (1956) – The oldest sister city relationship of its type in Canada, our connection to Quebec City began because of the similarity between the two international festivals we host, the Calgary Stampede and the Quebec Winter Carnival.
  
• Houston, Texas (2006) – While not an official sister city, Calgary and Houston has a bilateral agreement in place to enhance ties between our two communities. Both cities are global energy leaders, and it is hoped the agreement will lead to potential alliances in other sectors.
  

A. The City is doing a lot. And with your help, we can do a lot more.

The environment is a key factor in every decision we make. No City project or program gets the go-ahead without a close look at how it might affect the environment.

We've set some very ambitious targets. For example, The City's Target Minus 50 climate change action plan calls for us to reduce our corporate greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012.

We're not there yet. But we're doing so well that in 2006, Calgary was chosen to receive the prestigious World Leadership Award in the environment category, recognized particularly for our water stewardship, wetlands protection, and active encouragement of sustainable development.

Here are just a few of the steps we've taken to be better and more responsible guardians of the land, air and water resources we've been blessed with:

• Our water conservation programs have been so effective that we've reduced our per capita water consumption by 40 percent since 1990.
  
• We've replaced our streetlights - about 37,000 of them - with more energy-efficient LED fixtures. They use less power, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce light pollution.
  
• We're a world leader in using green energy to power City facilities and the CTrain system.
  
• We introduced the ENMAX Legacy Fund, which uses dividends from the City-owned electrical utility to buy, preserve and protect parkland both within and outside Calgary's borders.
  
• We were one of the first municipalities in North America to adopt a formal wetlands protection policy.
  
• We're getting ready to introduce city-wide door-to-door collection of recyclables, and already have in place a year 'round electronics recycling program.
  
• We were the first municipality in Canada to adopt the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard of environmental management for all new City buildings. This means incorporating such energy-saving construction methods as solar panels, low water usage fixtures, etc.
  
• We're 'greening' The City's fleet of vehicles, buying hybrid cars and trucks and running them on bio-fuel pilot program.
  

What can you do to help? There are many tips, ideas and common sense suggestions on The City's ecological footprint website, www.calgary.ca/footprint. You might want to get started by reading Reducing the ecological footprint: A Calgary approach.