WATERLOO REGION — The days of rushing home from work, fixing dinner, and calling a babysitter so you can go to a municipal council meeting are probably over.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted municipal councils to host public meetings virtually. Councils now meet over Zoom or Cisco Webex and invite the public to join them to speak.
This new format has drastically changed how the public engages with municipal decision-making, and many think the perks of virtual meetings are here to stay.
Retired political science professor Robert Williams thinks virtual meetings made municipal council more convenient for the general public, as long as you have internet access and a device.
“What we’re seeing now is, I suspect, going to be the norm. We will just need to learn to adapt to it,” Williams said.
Yes, phone calls are less frequent, face-to-face interactions are limited and public health protocols will not allow packed council chambers when there is a hot topic on the agenda, but Williams said the absence of these interactions didn’t stop the public from participating in local politics.
In fact, city clerks across Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge have seen public participation in council meetings at levels only slightly lower than what they saw before the pandemic began.
Many think a hybrid model — where municipal councils can meet in person but allow people to delegate virtually — could become a post-pandemic reality.
“A lot of people have told us they really like the virtual meetings,” said Christine Tarling, city clerk for the City of Kitchener.
Tarling also speculates a hybrid model of virtual and in-person meetings could stay after the pandemic ends, as long as provincial legislation allows it.
She thinks a hybrid model can capture the best of both worlds — in-person meetings and virtual delegations — and provide the greatest access for everyone involved.
“It’s definitely a lot more convenient for a lot of people,” she said.
Tarling’s main objective is to make meetings of council as accessible as possible for city staff, council members and the public.
‘What we have tried as much as possible is try to mimic what would have been if we were to meet in council chambers so there was a sense of familiarity for everyone,” Tarling said.
People who want to comment on an agenda item at a council or committee meeting in Kitchener have the option to join the Zoom meeting, call in to the meeting, or submit written comments.
When the pandemic began, Kitchener council held special council meetings and temporarily suspended standing committees. Those committees were reinstated in August.
“By that point we had a better handle of what was happening in the pandemic,” she said. “We needed to get back to council business as much as possible.”
Tarling said she hasn’t received any complaints from the public about the way virtual meetings are held, or about access to meetings or council information.
The great equalizer?
Cambridge council changed its council meeting times during the pandemic from evening meetings to afternoon and morning meetings. It didn’t sit well with everyone.
Cambridge resident Karen Gordon told council in July its decision to hold meetings during the daytime made it difficult for working people like herself to participate. The meeting began at 4 p.m. instead of the pre-pandemic 7 p.m. start time.
Gordon said council had many important planning decisions on its plate in the coming year.
“During this time, city council meetings have been restricted from public attendance and have been scheduled during the day which prohibits participation for many working people who will be impacted by these decisions,” she told them.
She also noted Ward 4 Coun. Jan Liggett couldn’t attend the early meetings either because of her full-time job.
Mayor Kathryn McGarry said she thinks Cambridge’s chosen times, based on the decision of the majority of council, are more accessible to those who work odd hours.
“It has been an equalizer for shift workers,” she said. “As a former shift worker, there were many council meetings I could not attend.”
Instead of waiting for hours sitting in council chambers to wait for your turn to speak, delegates are able to spend shorter amounts of time watching the meeting and can wait to receive a phone call from the city clerk when it’s their turn to speak to council, McGarry explained.
“You get a phone call and boom, you’re in the meeting.”
McGarry acknowledges the city’s new council meeting times have been controversial, and not everyone agrees they are accessible.
Liggett noted in an email that not everyone can take personal calls at work.
While Kitchener has reinstated its standing committees, Cambridge has not. Cambridge council meets every two weeks to discuss every issue at hand which is why some meetings now begin at 10 a.m.
“Some of our meetings have been 11 hours long,” McGarry said. “Are we really at our best making decisions at midnight?”
She said council’s start times are in line with some other area municipalities, like Waterloo, where 2 p.m. council meetings have been the norm since before the pandemic.
Liggett had requested Cambridge council to return to 7 p.m. start times, but her motions were dismissed or voted down last year.
“It weighs heavily on me that I am unable to attend meetings that start at 10 a.m. and go on all day and that I have been placed in a position that I miss the first hour of those that start at 5 p.m.,” she said in an email.
“My voice is not heard in the earlier debates and my vote representing my constituents is not registered.”
Technical difficulties
Loading…
Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…
For Kitchener councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock, being able to participate in council meetings from home has had its perks as well as its stressors.
“It’s been helpful as a parent that I’ve been able to parent while being on council.” Galloway-Sealock said.
On the other hand, trying to connect to a Zoom meeting with three kids learning virtually, and a husband who is also working from home, has been a bit of a nightmare.
“The nerves and stress I have is more about that rather than the content of the actual meetings,” she said.
She recalls one council meeting when she was booted out of the Zoom meeting due to her poor internet connection and couldn’t get back in to register her vote. It hasn’t happened often, but even one technical mishap can be detrimental when you have important decisions to make as a local politician.
Galloway-Sealock said she is grateful to have the ability to participate in council meetings from the safety of her home, but she can’t wait for the return of in-person meetings.
“I think meetings run smoother in person. I also think that relationships and social interactions with others are not happening,” the Kitchener city councillor said.
Over in Waterloo, virtual council meetings run with fewer technical mishaps because city council does not use Zoom video conferencing to host electronic meetings and uses audio only through Cisco Webex.
City councillor Diane Freeman said she prefers it over video conferencing. There are fewer distractions, more clarity and fewer technical problems, she said.
“Video doesn’t add value in my opinion,” Freeman said. City council is able to make decisions and get business done with fewer connection issues for everyone involved.
While Freeman, like other local politicians, said virtual council meetings have worked well this past year, she is eager to get back into council chambers.
The conversations and debate is just not the same, Freeman explained.
“Body language associated with conversation brings value to that conversation,” she said.
Freeman said public access to council is crucial, and virtual meetings have shown that those who wish to speak to council have been able to voice their concerns despite not being able to meet in person.
“I think most people have seen this as a necessary step,” she said.
New voices
Elizabeth Clarke, Region of Waterloo councillor, said the ability to attend a short meeting from home has cut down on commute times and allows her to dedicate time to her other job as well.
She thinks it will also free up time for the public who often show up for a 9 a.m. committee meeting and have to wait until 2 p.m. to speak to regional council.
“It does put people off for people to sit in council chambers for hours,” Clarke said.
Regional council has held many meetings on hot topics this past year: From the Waterloo Regional Police budget to anti-racism town halls and meetings about the region’s child care centres. These virtual meetings drew dozens of people who signed up to speak.
“I think we have seen a bit more from people we hadn’t before,” Clarke said of delegates who have spoken to regional council this past year. “While we’re gaining some new tech-savvy people, we have heard from some who don’t feel as comfortable attending virtually.”
Those people tend to be ones who are intimidated by the virtual format, don’t feel as comfortable using technology or perhaps prefer in-person meetings instead.
He said municipal councils have done remarkably well given the ever-changing public health protocols, technical challenges of virtual meetings, and trying to keep in touch with the public.
“Council has been able to get business done,” Williams said. “People have been able to be heard.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
