FEATURED COMMENT – Pre-registration for public inquiries has already failed

Pre-registration last term backfired almost right away when the fake name “Al Koeholic” slipped onto the council agenda. When “Al” didn’t show up to ask a question, council and admin realized they’d been had. Council passed a motion to cancel public inquiry for the rest of the term, punishing the majority for one person’s practical joke.

If pre-registration is now used to limit the number of people allowed to ask questions, what’s to prevent some wag or mean-spirited person from registering a list of fake names in order to stack the list and prevent real people from engaging in the process?

If there are a lot of people with questions, hopefully, for transparency’s sake, council will take the time to listen to each, since requiring questions to directly relate to an agenda item prevents the public from raising the issue at a following meeting.

Further, someone may have a question or wish to raise a point of concern after an agenda item has been discussed by council. This is another reason why pre-registration should not be required and why there should be two inquiry opportunities per meeting, as there were traditionally.

BRONWEN SCOTT