ROTHENBURGER – Rambling report tries but fails to justify killing public inquiries
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING you want to say to City council, best do it soon. The council is likely to approve the first three readings Tuesday of changes to its procedural bylaw that will axe the existing two public inquiries sections from its regular agendas.
This, of course, results from a move by Coun. Bill Sarai after a recent meeting was interrupted by a bit of porn video that flashed up on the Zoom screen.
Staff has crafted a rambling report trying to justify deletion of the public-inquiry opportunities that have been a successful feature of council meetings for two dozen years. Before this council came along, that is.
The report reads like an editorial in support of the move. “Since the start of the current Council’s term,” it says, “Council interactions have made national news multiple times, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Council proceedings reached a new low at the September 24, 2024, regular Council meeting with the broadcast of disturbing pornographic images by a Zoom participant and ensuing laughter and comments in Council Chambers that minimized what had happened.”
It continues, “The recommendations in this report are intended to safeguard Council meetings and to provide the best chance of returning civil discourse to Council Chambers.”
So, the only civil discourse is no discourse?
In order to flesh out the rationale and response, the report goes far beyond removing public inquiries, and includes removal of the reading and of approval of the agenda, and of the calendar of committee meetings from agendas. As well, it will no longer be necessary for the mayor to sign meeting minutes.
I can’t wait to hear how this and the rest of the hodge podge of actions is going to help civil discourse. The report goes on to say that since the election of the council, it’s made “multiple efforts to maintain civility and efficiency in Council meetings.” Such measures, the report says, include orientation and training for council members on rules of order, limiting public inquiries to five minutes (and setting up a timer in chambers), introducing a civil discourse statement, and posting Community Services Officers in the meeting room to keep an eye on things.
But the list goes way off track with mention of the Braun report, which had nothing to do with the public inquiries issue. On topic, though, the report expresses discontent with the way taxpayers conduct themselves.
“Despite numerous efforts, challenges in Council Chambers continue…. Public inquiries in particular often involve speakers significantly exceeding their five-minute limits, speaking about items unrelated to the agenda, and using the platform to criticize Council members and Administration, rather than to ask a question related to the agenda.”
Heaven forbid anyone should make a comment or offer criticism, “pretending to vote on Council decisions, or expressing their approval or disapproval of various actions taken by Mayor and Council.”
Then the report really stretches for reasons to cut the public inquiries. They are, it claims, inherently inequitable because council meetings are held in the afternoon, which prevents those with daytime jobs from attending to ask questions.
It adds that allowing public inquiries at council meetings isn’t a statutory requirement, and that council uses other means to engage with the public. Furthermore, killing off public inquiries will supposedly help prevent union staff overtime, and ensure a safe environment.
“Eliminating public inquiries allows Council to have greater control over meeting content, provides better safeguards for a respectful environment, and minimize unexpected risks to workplace safety.”
Year, sure. But the report makes no reference to the frequent inappropriate conduct of councillors in meetings, which long ago became known for their own smart-ass remarks and confrontational exchanges. It does make brief mention of other options such as cutting public inquiries sections from two to one, limiting them to less than five minutes per speaker, requiring pre-registration, and allowing written questions only.
But none of those is recommended, only noted as possibilities. I have no doubt the councillors will wholeheartedly endorse the recommended changes and the rationale outlined in the report, and will ultimately adopt it holus-bolus, because it’s designed to fit with what councillors want.
It not-so-skillfully deflects from a problem of their own making. Once again, this council looks for ways to muzzle the public, instead of looking for more and better ways to engage with it.
Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I attended the council meeting when the porn zoom happened. People laughed because they were embarrassed, not because they were minimizing anything. It took the IT person way too long to shut down the zoom porn.
But to use that as a reason to cancel the only regular opportunity that the public has to directly and publicly communicate with council is ridiculous, imo.
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This council must have been the result of having well to do parents because the seem to be used to someone paying for their wishes.. The older people went through the depression and never spent excess money trying to learn how to build things. We would be better with a gen z group who know how expensive things are.
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So much for your hard work years ago, Armchair Mayor! It’s football season so let’s try this analogy.
Is this move like setting up a line of scrimmage; we and them? Does this design philosophy describe “we” as being the councillors and “them” as being the great unwashed masses who, in some part, may have elected them to office?
The DM of the month could be kind of like the quarterback who calls the play but gets directions from the sidelines. The “quarterback sneak” is a more polite term for “the leak of the week”.
The “handoff” is simply a way of forwarding the ball by allowing verbal badgering of the real Mayor by a designated receiver who takes the pigskin in the handoff and lets go with something like, “You are an embarrassment to the community” while looking at His Worship.
Attempts at field goals haven’t been all that successful yet. The field goal, a 3-pointer play, results from teamwork where the pigskin is booted through the uprights. A 3-pointer might include banishment of His Worship from closed meetings, from speaking anywhere on behalf of the community or by moving his office and personal effects to the basement.
Alas, banishing the public from the democratic process (and avoiding any public criticism) is part of the overall plan of making a touchdown. Six whole points if the public can be kept out of things until they are needed to vote folks back into office. The extra point by another kicking of the pigskin through the uprights or the 2-point conversion of a designate carrying the ball into the end zone would be the resignation of His Worship.
It’s a game plan but maybe not one that would make it to the CFL. Is it maybe time for a new bench boss?
So much for your hard work years ago, Armchair Mayor!
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Let’s just say is not really just council. The current administrators have long signalled their distaste for public commentary which almost inevitably converges into various degrees of criticism towards their decisions. It is just that this council being easily argued the worse in recorded history has overly rejoiced said administrators.
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