EDITORIAL – The City’s business belongs to the public, not to councillors

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

KAMLOOPS CITY COUNCIL continues to be confused about its job. At Tuesday’s (May 6, 2025) meeting, councillors approved by a count of 7-2 gutting the “Public inquiries” section of its agendas for regular meetings and replacing it with a “Public Input” section.

The new moniker comes with new rules that set up so many roadblocks to public participation that only the most determined citizens are likely to partake.

In the good old days, which lasted until several weeks ago, anybody could feel comfortable walking into City Hall and taking part in the democratic process. When Public Inquiries came up in two places on the agenda, you could stand and ask questions about items on the agenda or — until banned a couple of years ago — express opinions about any matter of interest, on the agenda or not.

But that changed as the current council became worried about the behaviour of some of the speakers, and decided a crackdown was needed. For a time, it seemed likely councillors would ban public inquiries from agendas altogether, but then hit on the idea of imposing restrictions instead.

When public inquiries, or “input,” return to council meeting agendas, anyone wishing to speak to the people they elected will have to go through a number of hoops. They must register in advance. They will be allowed only two minutes to speak. A maximum of five people will be allowed at the microphone. Only “approved speakers” will be allowed. They are informed that they shouldn’t expect a response from council to their remarks.

The best that can be said about these new guard rails is that they’re better than nothing, but not much. Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, who would like the old way of doing things to remain, mused that councillors might feel differently about wanting the changes if it was election time. Would anybody really run on a platform of making it harder for the public to speak to council members, he asked?

“I don’t think I’ve heard anybody get out of hand here in a long, long time,” he observed.

Coun. Katie Neustaeter voted against the changes along with Hamer-Jackson but didn’t talk about why.

An oft-repeated excuse for the new restrictions is that council must be free to do its business unencumbered by interruptions from the public. Here’s what councillors need to understand: they don’t own the business of civic government, the taxpayers do.

Council is there are at the behest of voters to carry out the wishes of the citizenry, to do the business of the citizenry. Councillors don’t operate, or shouldn’t, in a self-imposed vacuum.

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.