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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCLK 01-24 Pl(KERJNG Report to Council Report Number: CLK 01-24 Date: March 25, 2024 From: Paul Bigioni Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor Subject: Amendments to Procedure By-law 8019/23 -File: A-1440 Recommendation: 1. That Report CLK 01-24 regarding amendments to Procedure By-law 8019/23 be received; 2. That the draft By-law, included as Attachment 1 to CLK 01-24, to amend Procedure By-law 8019/23 be approved; and, 3. That the appropriate City of Pickering Officials be authorized to take such actions as are necessary to give effect to the recommendations in this report. Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to recommend amendments to the City’s Procedure By-law to provide flexibility as it pertains to electronic participation, the ability to respond to circumstances that may arise where the imminent safety, or overall well-being of Members, staff, and/or the public are at risk, and to ensure that all meeting attendees feel safe and welcome in the City’s meeting spaces. In addition to these changes, a housekeeping matter is also recommended to remove “Question Period” from Council Meeting agendas. Relationship to the Pickering Strategic Plan: The recommendations in this report respond to the Pickering Strategic Plan Priority of Advocating for an Inclusive, Welcoming, Safe & Healthy Community. Financial Implications: There are no financial implications associated with this report. Discussion: The purpose of this report is to recommend amendments to the City’s Procedure By-law to provide flexibility as it pertains to electronic participation, the ability to respond to circumstances that may arise where the imminent safety, or overall well-being of Members, staff, and/or the public are at risk, and to ensure that all meeting attendees feel safe and welcome in the City’s meeting spaces. In addition to these changes, a housekeeping matter is also recommended to remove “Question Period” from Council Meeting agendas. The proposed changes are being recommended at this time due to the receipt of threatening communications to Members of Council and to address concerns expressed by the public regarding safety, security, and inclusivity when attending meetings in the Council Chambers. CLK 01-24 March 25, 2024 Subject: Amendments to Procedure By-law 8019/23 Page 2 In an ongoing effort to provide for open and transparent decision-making, it is imperative that the City’s meeting spaces are safe and that any individual may attend a Committee or Council meeting without fear of intimidation. The proposed changes to the Procedure By-law will provide the necessary tools to give this effect. The current provisions of the Procedure By-law limit the electronic participation of Members of Council to specific reasons. The By-law also currently states that the Clerk may provide for electronic participation for all Members of Council should the appropriate meeting space with the required technology not be available. The current provisions restrict the ability to respond to safety concerns where it may be necessary to pivot to an electronic meeting format for the safety and well-being of all meeting attendees and so that the business of the City can continue without interruption. In recent weeks, the City has received communications that have been threatening in nature. Given the uncertainty of these messages, and their implications to the safety and well-being of Members of Council, staff and the public, it is recommended that the provisions of the Procedure By-law be amended to provide greater flexibility. Should a safety concern arise, under the proposed new provisions, the City Clerk, in consultation with the Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Security Specialist, and the Mayor will determine if the meeting should be held electronically. If the determination to meet electronically is made prior to the publication of an agenda, the agenda will reflect that it is an electronic meeting so that all Members, staff, the public, and any other interested parties, are aware of where and how the meeting will be held. This will fulfill the City’s meeting notice obligations under the Municipal Act. On the rare occasion where a safety concern arises after the publication of a Committee or Council agenda, and there is a need to move to a fully electronic meeting format, a Service Disruption Notice will be issued to notify the public and all meeting participants. In addition to the proposed changes pertaining to electronic participation, an amendment is proposed to remove the ability for meeting attendees to record or take photographs of any individual, or any portion of a Committee or Council meeting. When the Procedure By-law was amended in June 2023, the restrictions that prohibited meeting attendees from recording any portion of the meeting were removed based on a scan of other municipalities. Since that time, the City has received feedback from meeting attendees that they feel intimidated by individuals recording the meeting due to the uncertainty of how the video footage may be used. The City currently livestreams all Committee and Council meetings, and the videos are posted on the City’s website after the meeting. Given the ability for anyone to access the meeting video, there is no need for an individual to record their own footage of any portion of the meeting. It is recommended that the Procedure By-law be amended to prohibit meeting attendees from recording or taking photos with the exception of City staff who may take photos or video of a presentation or other significant event at a Committee or Council meeting, if required. This change will address and alleviate public concerns so that they may attend a Committee or Council meeting without fear of being publicly recorded or photographed. The last proposed amendment is housekeeping in nature and proposes to remove “Question Period” from Council agendas. Question Period was a new provision that was added to the By-law in June 2023 and provided the ability for a member of the public, who was physically in CLK 01-24 March 25, 2024 Subject: Amendments to Procedure By-law 8019/23 Page 3 attendance at the Council Meeting, to ask the Mayor a question pertaining to an item on the agenda. Since its inclusion in the City of Pickering’s Meeting Procedures, Question Period has not be used. It is therefore recommended that Question Period be removed from the By-law and any individual wishing to speak to a matter on the agenda would have the ability to do so by registering as a delegation. Staff are requesting that the proposed changes to the Procedure By-law be approved to provide more flexibility in the ability to hold electronic Committee/Council meetings, the ability to respond to circumstances where the imminent safety, or overall well-being of Members, staff, and/or the public may be at risk, and to ensure that all meeting attendees feel safe and welcome in the City’s meeting spaces. Attachment: 1. Draft By-law to Amend Procedure By-law 8019/23 Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By: Original Signed By: Original Signed By: Susan Cassel Paul Bigioni City Clerk Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor SC:sc Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Original Signed By: Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer Attachment 1 to Report CLK 01-24 The Corporation of the City of Pickering By-law No. XXXX/24 Being a by-law to amend Procedure By-law 8019/23, being a by-law to govern the proceedings of Council, any of its Committees, the conduct of its Members, and the calling of Meetings Whereas subsection 238(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, (the “Act”), provides that every municipality shall pass a procedure by-law for governing the calling, place and proceedings of meetings; And Whereas Procedure By-law 8019/23 was enacted by Council on June 26, 2023, and amended through By-law 8049/23 on October 23, 2023; Now therefore the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering hereby enacts as follows: 1. That Section 07.09 (c) and (d) of By-law 8019/23 be repealed and replaced with the following: (c) Meeting attendees, with the exception of City staff, are not permitted to record any portion of a Meeting and shall not take photos of any individual at a Meeting or any portion of the Meeting proceedings, unless they have been granted permission by a Two-Thirds majority vote of the Members present. (d) Should a Meeting attendee violate these Procedures, the Chair may ask that the individual be removed from the Meeting. 2. That Section 09.04 of By-law 8019/23 be amended to add the following after “Act”: The Clerk may also provide for electronic participation for all Members of Council should circumstances arise where the imminent safety, or overall well-being of Members, staff, and/or the pubic may be in question. Such a determination shall be made in coordination with the Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Security Specialist, and the Mayor. 3. That Section 11.01 (g) of By-law 8019/23 be repealed and the remaining sections renumbered accordingly. 4. That Section 14 of By-law 8019/23 be repealed in its entirety and the remaining sections renumbered accordingly. ________________________________ ________________________________ By-law No. XXXX/24 Page 2 By-law passed this 25th day of March, 2024. Kevin Ashe, Mayor Susan Cassel, City Clerk