City of Powell River’s updated draft procedure bylaw, which outlines how city council conducts business, will be discussed at the December 19 regular council meeting for first two readings.
At the December 10 special council meeting, councillors were given a recommendation that the draft procedure bylaw, amended to include legal recommendations, be referred to the December 19 regular council for three readings. The recommendation also stipulated that in accordance with the Community Charter, staff be directed to give notice of council’s intention to consider adoption of the procedure bylaw.
Councillor Jim Palm made a motion to defer discussion on the procedure bylaw until December 19.
Palm said he had been contacted by mayor Ron Woznow, who was absent with leave. Palm said Woznow had contacted him by email to ask for deferral of this item until he could be in council chambers to take part.
“This is something that council should entertain, for a number of reasons,” said Palm. “This is the most important bylaw that we have. It relates to how we do business, it relates to public engagement, and a whole host of important items that council needs to consider when we are conducting business.”
Isakson said she did not agree with Palm’s motion and proposed that when the procedure bylaw next comes before council, that it be given two readings so there is further time for amendments.
Councillor and acting mayor George Doubt said this was not a surprise bylaw that nobody has ever seen before.
“It didn’t just come out of the sky,” said Doubt.
He said the procedure bylaw review came before councillors on December 5, 2023, which came out of strategic planning in the spring of 2023. He added that the review was at a public meeting, and council has held workshops, some of which were closed and some of which were public.
“Toward the end of July, we finally had something that looked close to a final document and we brought that forward to council,” said Doubt. “We’ve had several deferrals and have gone back to workshops. In July, we passed quite a number of amendment motions to the draft procedure bylaw, and one of them was to get legal advice to make sure we were not contravening the charter of rights and freedoms of Canada, by limiting people’s speech.
“We’ve got that back now, five days more than a year after the first time it was in the public. The public has had lots of opportunities to comment on it, and now we have a document, which I think is worth talking about.”
Doubt said the procedure bylaw would not be finalized at the December 10 meeting, or on December 19. He said at the December 19 meeting, the bylaw will be given one or two readings, then it will come back to a future council meeting for more input.
“There’s lots of opportunity for the public to chime in,” said Doubt.
Palm’s motion was defeated, with councillors Doubt, Earl Almeida, Rob Southcott, Cindy Elliott and Trina Isakson opposed.
Councillors then began a lengthy discussion about changes they would like to make or suggestions that they had for the draft procedure bylaw.
Doubt brought up a section in the draft bylaw called public clarification. He said under the procedure bylaw, the public would have three opportunities to communicate with council, with delegations, with public clarification, which used to be the question period, and then there is the public input section of the agenda.
Isakson then keyed on the public input period. Under the draft bylaw, it states that the presiding member will permit up to three members of the public to make oral comments at a council or committee of the whole meeting. Isakson asked how the members of the public are chosen or could sign up.
Deputy corporate office Jessica Walls indicated there will be a procedure for selecting speakers. She said the draft is a work in progress.
Council moved that the draft procedure bylaw, amended to include legal recommendations, be referred to the December 19 regular council meeting for first two readings. The motion carried unanimously.
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