 'Freedom of the City' is the highest honour that Port Moody can bestow on an individual and can be awarded to acknowledge their contributions to the community.'Freedom of the City' is the highest honour that Port Moody can bestow on an individual or distinguished unit of the armed forces of Canada or another nation. It is awarded to acknowledge contribution to the community or to those who have brought recognition to the City through their achievements.
The tradition of granting Freedom of the City relates to the medieval term "freeman", meaning someone who was not the property of a feudal lord and who enjoyed privileges such as the right to earn money and own land. These were traders, merchants, and craftsmen, who were identified as "those responsible for managing the City for the Crown". They had the right to set up the local court and the ruling council of the city; only freemen could be elected to the Council, and the electorate was confined to freemen. Over time, the designation has had an interesting variety of rights and duties. Military units have slightly different privileges.
Freedom of the City is now an honorary award, with few rights other than to have one's name appear at the front of the voter’s list, to be able to vote, and to run for office.
Port Moody’s first recipient was Mr. Leonard Arthur Elsdon, who was made a Freeman of the City, as the award was originally known, by Mayor Howe in 1970. His award served as the model for future Freedom awards.
See the "Other Pages About Freedom of the City" box to find out more about the past recipients of this award. |
