Ryan’s Ramblings – Editorial
Council meetings are a priority for rural newspaper reporters to attend. Often, these meetings are the source for essential local news that residents need to know. Citizens want to know why a council is raising rates or amending a bylaw. Information is essential and we live in a digital age where it is freely flowing. Sometimes, the river of information takes some sweeping twists and turns and your boat of understanding ends up capsized before you get to your destination.
The overload of information we can find online can be countered simply by having a trusted voice, our local government, provide that information. Our councillors are voted in and we as residents know and trust that they perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Their words and actions give us leadership as a municipality.
I hear many positive things about our councillors; they are approachable if a resident is concerned with an issue and they do their best to make informed decisions. Trust and accountability are not issues we run across often in small towns where everyone sees everyone at the grocery store.
Our councillors and administrators are helpful when searching for information, although in other parts of Canada this is not always the case. Each year The Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy is jointly given by the Ryerson University’s Centre for Free Expression, the Canadian Association for Journalists (CAJ), News Media Canada and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
This year it was “won” by the Town of Erin, Ont., in the category of municipal government. A press release from the CAJ states, “It has become commonplace for The Town of Erin to refuse to be transparent with the media and therefore local residents on even basic matters of public interest. Local officials regularly avoid interviews with the media, insist that all communications from media must go through a recently hired communications officer, and Chief Administrative Officer and only by email. Even these requests are then dodged or refused. Worse yet, Erin officials have failed to inform the media of meetings at which major decisions will be made.”
In 2018, the Niagara Region municipal government violated a journalist’s freedom to report the news at city council. CAJ stated, “Municipality officials confiscated a reporter’s notes and equipment during an in-camera session of council, and even called the police, after accusations surfaced that the reporter may have recorded an in-camera session. The municipality later returned the materials and apologized for the wildly inappropriate seizure.”
Jim Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University said, “In a democracy, the public has a right to know. It has a right to expect transparency from its public institutions. We have access to information laws to ensure that, but those laws are inadequate.”
The topic of having council meetings streamed live online so residents can “sit-in” is not intended to say our local councillors are not transparent; however, live streaming is a possibility in our digital age and can be openly discussed by the public.
Councillors are elected by residents and it is the residents who benefit from being able to access council meetings. Council meetings are not secretive. Sometimes council will go into an in-camera portion where the public is not allowed in (due to sensitive information being discussed); the council must return after to an open-to-the-public session before a motion can be made based on what they talked about “in-camera”.
If municipalities could put their meetings online, it would be helpful for the residents who want to stay informed but cannot make the meetings. For some reason, many residents do not feel an urge to attend council meetings unless there is a “hot topic” on the agenda. Even then, it is rare to see anyone in the council chambers besides the members of council, a newspaper reporter and (in some municipalities) a few concerned citizens who want to hear information from the source.
When I began working with the Four-Town Journal I was very excited for the opportunity to attend council meetings all over the area; my wife tells me this is “odd”.
It is not due to the councillors that there is a low attendance. Meetings do not fit the traditional mold of “high energy” and thus some may find them disinteresting. If a member of the public attends a meeting it is generally understood that they have a concern or are there to present to council as a delegate.
Although residents want to know what decisions are made on their behalf, time is limited and most want to spend that time at home, relaxing with family or engaging in hobbies before the next day.
If council meetings were broadcast to the public, through a means where the municipality is in control of the live-stream, residents could stay informed by having the council meeting playing at home.
Many parts of the meetings involve “house-keeping” items that are not essential to listen to. Bylaw discussions are the “meat and potatoes” of the meeting. These discussions would be comparative to the three minute warning in CFL football where every action matters to the success of the drive. Sometimes background chatter happens during the first 12 minutes of the quarter, but it is all eyes on the broadcast device for those last three minutes. This may be a similar process with broadcasting council meetings, many may find large parts do not peak their interest but there are multiple parts during every meeting that hold huge importance.
Having council meetings broadcast online through municipal-owned websites did not arise as a topic due to our councillors having transparency issues. If municipalities moved toward broadcasting their meetings online it would simply be because they can, and they want to inform their rate-paying residents as much as possible. It is important to reach out to residents who do not attend meetings but still fund the decisions made there.