GUELPH – Wellington County staff have been directed to prepare a report on the feasibility of making council and committee meetings accessible to the public remotely.
A motion approved at the Oct. 28 council meeting also directed that the system should be capable of allowing staff and council members to participate remotely in meetings when necessary.
“We all advocate for openness and transparency in the work we do as county councillors and this motion speaks to that,” said councillor Campbell Cork, who moved the resolution.
Cork stressed the intent was not to “alter the fact that staff and councillors are expected to attend meetings in person.”
However, he noted, “there are circumstances where a council or staff member might be prevented from doing so, such as if they break a leg, or if they’ve got the flu, or if they’ve got a funeral of a family member they have to attend, or if there’s any other legitimate reason for being unable to attend in person but are still capable of participating remotely.”
Cork suggested “it would be up to the warden to grant councillors or staff permission to participate remotely.”
In terms of public access to meetings, Corked noted, “some people in the county simply do not have a car to drive down to Guelph, or the time to sit through a long meeting when they may only wish to hear a small portion.
“Now, I don’t expect many of our ratepayers will find our meetings the sort of excitement they’re looking for to fill in a morning.
“But there are some who take a great interest in all things politically and all things that we do and they deserve the opportunity to listen in to what we are doing, word for word.”
Cork continued, “It takes over an hour to drive from the top of the county, down here to this meeting. Finding parking is difficult and expensive. Frankly, you need a GPS from when you get to the parking, if you find it, in to here.
“The walk from the parking to here includes outdoor ramps and stairways that can be wet, they can be icy, they can be slippery. And I have to say, even when they get in here, that spectator gallery is a broken ankle waiting to happen.”
Cork said he feels remote access can be accomplished at a reasonable cost with a single camera positioned in the public gallery.
“It doesn’t have to be a Hollywood production and it does not have to be expensive. And I know a lot of our municipal councils are already doing it,” he pointed out.
Councillor George Bridge, mayor of the Town of Minto, agreed the idea “has merit.
“One of the things we found from COVID … is the fact we had more participation when people were able to actually Zoom in to our meetings than we get in lots of cases when we have our regular meetings. So, I think there’s some public awareness there that could happen,” said Bridge.
He also noted remote participation could enhance safety during the winter driving season.
“I’ve had some tough weather drives down from the north, at times,” he said.
Councillor Jeff Duncan agreed with having staff provide options on the idea of remote access.
However, he said “the bigger question for us as councillors would be determining what would qualify as a legitimate reason for remote participation by council or staff.
“So would you having a work schedule be something we would consider one of one of the reasons that you wouldn’t have to attend the meeting?”
He added the change “would open up for other people to be able to run for council because they could participate remotely.”
Councillor Doug Breen, who seconded the motion to consider remote public access and remote council/staff participation, told council he seconded the motion “because I do think it’s something we need to talk about.”
However, he added, “I historically have not been supportive of either one of these things.”
Breen continued, “The concern with that is grandstanding. And not that I think anyone in this room would do it any more than we already do, but it is a legitimate concern … I have seen councils that have degraded into absolute chaos as soon as the cameras turned on.
“And if any of you ever been to Queen’s Park, as soon as those cameras come on for Question Period it’s madness. And as soon as they shut them off, they go back to working together.”
Breen said he much prefers in-person meetings to remote or hybrid affairs.
“I think, for once a month, for literally eight months of the year, not 12, that we need to get our cabooses into this room, look each other in the eye and have the kinds of discussions that we’ve had,” he stated.
Councillor Diane Ballantyne pointed out Wellington County’s strategic plan “above all” values personal wellbeing of its residents, its employees and its elected representatives.
“And I think having this conversation and moving this forward, to be able to participate remotely, absolutely supports that transparency for engagement,” she said.
“It also respects the opportunity to be able to join in a post-COVID world. While it’s nice to look each other in the eye, it is not required in order to get business done.”
Ballantyne continued, “We have to acknowledge that there’s enormous amount of privilege to sit around this table and lose a day of work or a day of pay and that prevents an awful lot of people from being able to run for office who would do amazing things in that community leadership role.
“So the idea that somehow if you can’t get your keister in here eight times a year, that you don’t deserve to hold office in Wellington County, I think is quite limited in its privilege and how it’s seeing what the role actually is.”
Warden Kelly Linton said, “I think a lot of you have raised some points that are really important points that will have to come after we identify what the costs are, because I don’t think they’re … as small as what we’re thinking.
“Centre Wellington has gone forward and done significant investments in this technology, and I can tell you right now there’s pros and cons.”
The motion was approved with all councillors present in favour. Councillors David Anderson and Allan Alls both attended the meeting but left prior to the vote.
