By Staff
October 21st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
At the opening of each Council meeting Mayor Meed Ward reads a statement:
Did Jim Thomson hear the Mayor? She didn’t say anything about T-shirts
“We ask folks not to engage in any behavior that may be considered disruptive, interrupting, shouting, clapping if you agree, booing, if you don’t. We want everyone to feel absolutely comfortable to say what they came to say, and not worry about whether they will be popular or unpopular in expressing those views. So we ask folks to just be respectful. We don’t permit indecent, offensive or insulting language or speaking disrespectfully about anyone or to anyone in council chambers that includes staff or other members of the public and certainly committee members.
Reminds me of another T-shirt I like:
“People Say I’m Condescending.
(That means I talk down to people.)”
Perhaps the mayor can stop treating residents like we aren’t fit for being in public? She said the same thing at every meeting on her budget tour and had a slide about it which she showed at the top and then later brought back with another reminder when questions started. Ridiculous.
What is the point of this article?
That statement makes perfect sense.
There is one thing that I find offensive to delegates. They don’t get to do any of the aforementioned “bad things or utterances”. Neither do members of Council or Staff. Fair enough. But delegates do get to present arguments and opinions. That’s the purpose of delegating. Members of Council have no obligations toward delegates other than to supposedly listen, then possibly question.
What is offensive to many delegates is that Council can makes no response whatsoever to delegates whenever it pleases them. This is the ultimate dismissal of the delegate and the delegate’s presentation. This is open government? This is democracy in action? This is citizen engagement? Silence?
The whole delegation process needs to be overhauled so there are questions and answers and back and forth dialogue between Council and citizens. Otherwise citizens see the research and planning ahead and the deliverance of their delegation at Council in the end as just not worth the time or trouble.