CITY HALL – Public inquiries issue sent back to committee for more work

By MEL ROTHENBURGER

A proposal to eliminate public inquiries from City council meetings will go back to a committee for a fresh look.

Council made the decision in a 7-1 vote today (Oct. 22, 2024) after a long debate that followed an equally long public inquiries session. Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was the only dissenting vote.

Coun. Bill Sarai, who had raised the issue at an earlier meeting, said today “I don’t take this recommendation lightly.” But he said public inquiries are consistently being used for “pointing fingers and making accusations to staff, saying we’re lying.”

He said he supports doing away with public inquiries “not because I can’t take the heat” but because staff must be protected.

Coun. Katie Neustaeter said council loves getting public input. “We’re just people who were your friends and neighbours and colleagues before we were elected” but there needs to be a way to keep abusive people from mis-using public inquiries.

She also said council has been subjected to the middle finger and people sticking out their tongues at them.

Hamer-Jackson objected to suggestions the problems with public inquiries were his fault for not doing a better job as chair. “What is it specifically that’s my fault?” he asked Neustaeter, saying he can’t take responsibility for Zoom bombs or regular attendees who repeatedly criticize council.

“It is not my job to run those portions of the meeting,” said Neustaeter. “It’s a self-evaluation report,” but she said training opportunities might help.

“I think there’s an opportunity for us as a group for some training,” said Coun. Kelly Hall. “I do like the idea of public inquiries; I think it’s important for the community,” but “It’s not healthy right now.”

Coun. Margot Middleton and Stephen Karpuk said they couldn’t support the recommendation as written. “I think that there’s room for public inquiries,” said Karpuk.

In the end, council decided to send the matter back to the governance and service excellence committee for further discussion, with a new recommendation coming back to council in a few weeks, possibly by early December.

Hamer-Jackson voted against it because, he said, the issue has basically been resolved with the removal of people’s ability to share the screen during Zoom comments. Only audio is now available, so a repeat of the porn-video incident is unlikely.

Coun. Mike O’Reilly left the meeting before the discussion started, saying he had a family emergency.

The council decision came after a dozen speakers took to the podium to protest the proposal to eliminate the public inquiries, most calling the plan undemocratic. At one point the public gallery spilled into the City Hall lobby.

Here’s a sampling of their comments.

Bronwen Scott: “Using rudeness as an excuse punishes the majority for the action of a few.”

Patrick Snell: There’s clearly a mistrust between council and the public. Doing away with public inquiries would create an “us versus them mentality.”

Paul Davis: “This proposal is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

Dennis Walsh: “In the past there was always the odd person who would lose decorum” but public inquiries are “a valuable opportunity for the public to speak to council.” He pointed out that seven of 13 city councils surveyed by staff provide for public inquiries during their meetings.

Kathrine Wunderlich: “Democracy isn’t easy, it’s not supposed to be. The process can be messy.”

Only one resident, Jasmine Devick, supported removing public inquiries. Speaking via Zoom, she said some behaviour by residents is “absolutely atrocious,” and public inquiries aren’t civil anymore. “Essentially, we are a kindergarten class that wouldn’t listen.”

Disclosure: I (Mel Rothenburger) was one of those who spoke at the meeting in opposition to eliminating public inquiries, saying the answer is to find ways of managing them better, not to eliminate them.