Niagara, Ontario’s Regional Council Drops Restrictions On Public Delegations

By Doug Draper

Chalk one up for Niagara’s new regional chair Gary Burroughs and his council when it comes to allowing individuals and groups to speak before full meetings of the council.

Pat Scholfield, a citizen health care advocate, barred from speaking at a regional council meeting last fall and pleased to see delegations now welcome back

At its April 15 meeting, the council scrapped a restriction the former council of Peter Partington approved last fall that would have all-but barred members of the public from speaking before the full council unless they received a green light to make a presentation from a majority of councillors. The restriction, included in a “procedural bylaw” passed last fall, directed citizen delegations to take their concerns to “standing committees” of the council that are typically held scheduled during weekday mornings and afternoon, and do not include a full complement of directly elected councillors and local municipal mayors.

The restriction raised strong concerns from a number of individuals and citizen groups across the region that felt it was unfair on at least a few grounds, beginning with the fact that, in many cases, they would have to take time away from work to appear before a standing committee. Many also said they would prefer to take any information and concerns they have to the full council, in front of the same Cable 10 Cogeco cameras the councillors also use to get their messages across to a wider audience.
Last September, at a long council meeting that went well past midnight, Pat Scholfield, a leader of the Peoples’ Health Care Coalition and member of the Yellow Shirt Brigade, a citizens groups representing residents living mostly in the south end of Niagara concerned about reduced hospital services, was told she could not speak before the full council because she had already made a presentation to a standing committee. The ruling angered many residents in the region’s south end, even more so because Debbie Sevenpifer, then CEO for the Niagara Health System responsible for most of the hospital services in the region, was granted the opportunity to speak before the council on the same evening.

“I am very pleased to see that they have rescinded that draconian part of the bylaw,” said Scholfield during an interview this April 15. “There is no reason why people shouldn’t be granted the opportunity to speak before the full council and to speak before the (Cogeco) cameras just as the councillors do.”

The amended procedural bylaw includes the following language; “It is the council’s preference that all delegations be made to the appropriate standing committee. Nevertheless, delegations shall be permitted to appear at council meetings with respect to items on the council agenda provided a written request is made to the clerk by 9 a.m. on Friday, prior to the meeting. Delegations appearing before a standing committee can only appear as a delegation at council to present new information on the matter involved.”

Kevin Bain, Niagara’s region clerk,” told Niagara At large the amended bylaw “takes effect immediately.”

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