Silent delegation
City of Powell River councillors experienced a silent 10-minute delegation during the April 30 committee of the whole meeting.
The delegation was requested by Roger Whittaker, who indicated he wanted to make a presentation on free speech at the committee meeting. After introducing himself, Whittaker stepped away from the lectern in silence.
Partway through the delegation, councillor and committee chair Rob Southcott broke the silence, saying that it appeared Whittaker did not have anything further to say, so he asked if Whittaker was open to questions. Mayor Woznow said that council should not dictate the form of the presentation a delegate makes.
“If this is Mr. Whittaker’s form for his presentation, council should respect that,” said Woznow.
The rest of Whittaker’s 10 minutes were silent. At the end, he thanked councillors for the opportunity.
Addresses governance
Verne Kinley appeared before the committee to address governance and community engagement. Kinley’s said he was appearing because there is a lot of dissension and divisive opinion in the community regarding a potential name change. He asked why Powell River residents could not have a vote regarding a potential name change.
“We are asking for a democratic vote on the issue of a name change,” said Kinley. “We just want the right to vote. We’ve had more than 2,000 people sign a document with 95 per cent saying no to a name change. You need to listen to the electorate and to the people of this city.”
City problems
Problems working with city council was the topic of a delegation from Ted Vizzutti, who said he has spoken with many residents about the dysfunction of city council.
“I thought the last council was horrible,” said Vizzutti, “but this council is beating them right now.”
Vizzutti criticized the joint working group that was formed with Tla’amin Nation regarding a potential name change. He also mentioned non-pecuniary conflicts of interest that have been raised regarding city councillors Trina Isakson and Cindy Elliott.
“These councillors should not be representing or speaking for the City of Powell River or the regional district,” said Vizzutti, “on any issues relating to C3 meetings or name change issues.”
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