HomeMy WebLinkAboutCLD-007-20Clarington
Staff Report
If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility
Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131.
Report To: Council
Date of Meeting: March 23, 2020
Submitted By: Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk
Reviewed By: Andrew C. Allison, CAO
File Number:
Report Number: CLD-007-20
By-law Number: 2020-022
Resolution#: C-113-20, C-144-20
Report Subject: Electronic Participation at Council and Committee Meetings
Recommendations:
1. That Report CLD-007-20 be received;
2. That the By-law attached to Report CLD-007-20, as Attachment 1, amending the
Procedural By-law to allow for electronic participation at Council and Committee
Meetings in an Emergency, be approved; and
3. That all interested parties listed in Report CLD-007-20 be advised of Council's
decision.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CLD-007-20
Report Overview
Page 2
On March 19, 2020, the Municipal Emergency Act, 2020 received Royal Assent which
amended the Municipal Act, 2001 to allow electronic participation (i.e. telephone or video
participation) by Members of Council and local boards, in an emergency. This Report
provides information on the steps required to implement electronic participation, should
Council choose.
1. Background
1.1. In January, 2018, as a result of Bill 68, Section 238 of the Municipal Act, 2001 now states
that:
(3.1) The applicable procedure by-law may provide that a member of council, of a
local board or of a committee of either of them, can participate electronically in a
meeting which is open to the public to the extent and in the manner set out in the
by-law provided that any such member shall not be counted in determining whether
or not a quorum of members is present at any point in time.
(3.2) The applicable procedure by-law shall not provide that a member of council, of
a local board or of a committee of either of them, can participate electronically in a
meeting which is closed to the public.
1.2. On March 19, 2020, the Municipal Emergency Act, 2020 was enacted to further amend
Section 238 the Municipal Act, 2001 to add the following:
(3.3) The applicable procedure by-law may provide that, during any period where an
emergency has been declared to exist in all or part of the municipality under section
4 or 7.0.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act,
(a) despite subsection (3.1), a member of a council, of a local board or of a
committee of either of them who is participating electronically in a meeting may be
counted in determining whether or not a quorum of members is present at any point
in time; and
(b) despite subsection (3.2), a member of a council, of a local board or of a
committee of either of them can participate electronically in a meeting that is closed
to the public.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CLD-007-20
Page 3
1.3. For clarity, these changes apply in the event of an emergency being declared by the
Premier, Cabinet or the municipal Head of Council under the Emergency management
and Civil Protection Act. Once the emergency has ended, the regular rules of procedure
would resume.
1.4. Given the current COVID-19 situation and the CDC, WHO and Durham Medical Officer of
Health direction to follow distance protocols, staff recommends that Council take
advantage of this new legislation and amend the Procedural By-law to include the option
to allow for electronic participation, by any or all Members, in Council, Committee and
Local Board meetings during an emergency.
1.5. The Municipal Emergency Act, 2020 did not amend section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act,
2001 which provides for exemptions to the open meeting requirement. An explanation
from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing stated "Meetings held under these [the
new legislation] provisions would still be required to follow existing meeting rules
including providing of notice of meetings to the public, maintaining meeting minutes, and
subject to certain exceptions, the meetings continue to be open to the public.
1.6. Staff will report back at a later time on the option of allowing for electronic participation in
Council, Committee and Local Board meetings outside of any emergency.
2. Technology
By Telephone
2.1. In consultation with the IT Services, staff has confirmed that, with the use of a
teleconference phone device, electronic participation by members could be
accommodated in the Council Chambers as well as the Ante room. The teleconference
phone device would be placed beside the Recording Secretary near a microphone. In
this way, the Member(s) can also be included on the audio recording of the meeting.
2.2. While allowing members to call into the meeting is rather simple, there are, of course,
some limitations; the most obvious being that it would be more challenging to manage the
member speaking list, recording of votes, and members ability to follow the agenda.
2.3. Livestreaming and video archiving would still remain possible for members of the public
to observe.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CLD-007-20
3. Logistics
Logistics - Council
Page 4
3.1. The following process will be followed for electronic participation for Council / Committee
members, with the understanding that our emergency situation is rapidly changing and
therefore the procedures may also need to evolve:
3.1.1. IT Staff shall be available at least 30 minutes before, and 30 minutes after the
start of the meeting to provide the Member participating in a meeting by
electronic means with establishing the electronic connection.
3.1.2. The Member wishing to participate electronically, shall notify the Clerk and
copying the Deputy Clerk by email soon as possible after the meeting Agenda
has been published to allow the Clerk sufficient time to plan and prepare for the
meeting.
3.1.3. The electronic agenda will be posted on the website as per the standard
protocol. Livestreaming will continue and archived videos of meetings will
continue to be available on the website. Note, livestreaming has a delay of
approximately 45 seconds.
3.1.4. At this time, electronic participation will be limited to teleconference
participation. The Municipal Clerk will notify the Council Member as to the
number they will call to participate.
3.1.5. Prior to the meeting, the Municipal Clerk shall ensure that any members who
are participating electronically will receive an electronic version of any
presentations or slide shows such that they may follow along during said
presentation.
3.1.6. The Member participating in a meeting by electronic means shall mute their
electronic device when they are not speaking.
3.1.7. The Member will be noted in the minutes as "present via electronic means".
3.1.8. The Chair will canvass the Member participating in a meeting by electronic
means about their intention to speak to a matter on the floor and will notify the
Member when it is their turn to speak.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CLD-007-20
Page 5
3.1.9. After putting a motion to a vote, the Member participating in a meeting by
electronic means shall identify verbally how they wish to vote. Where there is
more than one member participating by electronic means, they shall state their
name before their vote. Eg. "Councillor X — yes"
3.1.10. A Member participating in a meeting by electronic means shall inform the Chair
about their intentions to leave the meeting either on a temporary or permanent
basis.
3.1.11. A Member participating in a meeting by electronic means shall be deemed to
have left the meeting when they are no longer electronically connected to the
meeting.
3.1.12. In the case of a loss of connection, or any connection issue which impedes the
ability of a Member to participate in the meeting in real time, the meeting will
continue without attempt by either Staff or the Member to reconnect.
Logistics — Staff
3.1.13. It should be noted, that while there is not requirement under the Procedural By-
law to require staff to attend, it is the standing practice that Department Heads,
or their delegates, attend. Please be advised that during an emergency, staff
may participate electronically. Further to this, it is recommended that the
Procedural By-law amendments detailed below include that the option for
electronic participation include the Municipal Clerk as deemed necessary.
Logistics — Members of the Public
3.1.14. Members of the public will still be able to attend meetings, subject to any
limitations on gathering size limits set. Should there be any gathering size
limits, that size shall also include any members of Council and staff who are
attending in person. At the present time Order in Council 520/2020 is in effect
which limits public gatherings to no more than 50 persons. For the duration of
time that this Order is in force, it supersedes the open meeting requirement of
the Municipal Act.
3.1.15. To prevent the spread of infection, and to maintain any necessary social
distancing, entry to the Municipal Administrative Centre shall be limited to the
north entrance door. Staff shall be assigned to greet members of the public at
the north entrance and shall administer screening tests.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CLD-007-20
Page 6
3.1.16. During this particular COVID-19 pandemic, every effort shall be made to post
the meeting Agendas one week earlier than normal, thus permitting the public a
week longer to review the agenda and to get their comments submitted via
email or through the regular Canada Post mail (as per our standard process).
3.1.17. At this time, Council has passed a resolution to discontinue any delegations.
Should a technical option become available to allow for electronic, staff will
bring this option to Council's attention and action as appropriate.
4. Procedural By-law
Definition of "Electronic Participation"
4.1. The Procedural By-law does not currently allow for electronic participation. In order to
outline the circumstances that a Member may participate electronically, it is
recommended that the following be added:
2.4 Electronic Participation — During a Declared Emergency
2.4.1 "Electronic Participation" means that a Member may attend the Council or
Committee meeting, off -site, under emergency circumstances, by electronic
means. The electronic means must enable the Member to hear and to be heard
by the other meeting participants. Acceptable formats may include
teleconference, videoconference or webinar, or other interactive
communications.
2.4.2 Where a member is participating electronically, they shall be considered
as "present".
2.4.2 During any period where an emergency has been declared to exist, in all
or part of the municipality, under section 4 or 7.0.1 of the Emergency
Management and Civil Protection Act, a member of a council, of a local board or
of a committee of either of them is permitted to participate electronically in a
meeting and may be counted in determining whether or not a quorum of
members is present at any point in time.
2.4.3 For clarity, a Member of Council, of a local board, or of a committee of
either of them, can participate electronically in a meeting that is closed to the
public.
2.4.4 During any period where an emergency has been declared to exist, in all
or part of the municipality, under section 4 or 7.0.1 of the Emergency
Management and Civil Protection Act, the Municipal Clerk is permitted to
participate electronically in a meeting.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CLD-007-20
Page 7
2.4.4 The protocol for participating electronically during an emergency, shall be
set out by the Municipal Clerk and may be amended from time to time.
2.4.5 If a Member persists in any such disobedience after having been called to
order by the Chair, the Chair shall forthwith order him to vacate the meeting, or
end the electronic participation.
5. Concurrence
This report has been reviewed by the Municipal Solicitor who concurs with the
recommendations.
6. Conclusion
It is respectfully recommended that, should Council wish to proceed with implementing
electronic participation by Members of Council at Committee and Council meetings,
during an emergency, staff are recommending that the draft amendment to Clarington's
Procedural By-law (Attachment 1), reflecting the above changes, be approved.
Staff Contact: C. Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk, 905-623-3379 ext. 2102 or
agreentree@clarington.net.
Attachments: Attachment(s):
Attachment 1 - By-law to amend the Procedural By-law to allow electronic participation.
Attachment 1 to Report CLD-007-20
If this information is required in an alternate format, please contact the Accessibility
Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131.
The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
By-law 2020-022
Being a by-law to amend the Procedural By-law, 2015-029.
Whereas on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, the Premier of Ontario declared a Provincial
Emergency in accordance with the Provisions of the Emergency Management and Civil
Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9;
Whereas subsequent to the declaration, the Legislature of the Province of Ontario
introduced Bill 187, an Act to amend the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, being
the Municipal Emergency Act, 2020 which received Royal Assent on March 19, 2020;
And Whereas in order to be able to implement these provisions, the Council must
amend Procedure By-law 2015-029;
Now therefore be it enacted that By-law 2015-029, Clarington's Procedural By-law, be
amended as follows:
That the following new section be added:
2.4 Electronic Participation — During a Declared
Emergency
2.4.1 "Electronic Participation" means that a Member may attend the
Council or Committee meeting, off -site, under emergency circumstances,
by electronic means. The electronic means must enable the Member to
hear and to be heard by the other meeting participants. Acceptable
formats may include teleconference, videoconference or webinar, or
other interactive communications.
2.4.2 Where a member is participating electronically, they shall be
considered as "present".
Attachment 1 to Report CLD-007-20
2.4.2 During any period where an emergency has been declared to
exist, in all or part of the municipality, under section 4 or 7.0.1 of the
Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, a member of a council,
of a local board or of a committee of either of them is permitted to
participate electronically in a meeting and may be counted in determining
whether or not a quorum of members is present at any point in time.
2.4.3 For clarity, a Member of Council, of a local board, or of a
committee of either of them, can participate electronically in a meeting
that is closed to the public.
2.4.4 During any period where an emergency has been declared to
exist, in all or part of the Municipality, under section 4 or 7.0.1 of the
Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, the Municipal Clerk is
permitted to participate electronically in a meeting.
2.4.4 The protocol for participating electronically during an emergency,
shall be set out by the Municipal Clerk and may be amended from time
to time.
2.4.5 If a Member persists in any such disobedience after having been
called to order by the Chair, the Chair shall forthwith order him to vacate
the meeting, or end the electronic participation.
2. That this by-law shall take effect on the date of passing.
Passed in Open Council this 23 day of March, 2020.
Adrian Foster, Mayor
C. Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk