By Spencer Sterritt

Community concerns lead to further changes to Nanaimo Council Question Period

Jan 5, 2018 | 4:19 PM

NANAIMO — After complaints from the public, the City of Nanaimo is again altering Question Period during council meetings.

A release on Friday, Jan. 5 said people will now have to sign up to speak to council and list which agenda item they want to talk about, instead of the previous protocol of submitting the entire question in writing. It will then be up to the chair of the meeting to decide if a question is legitimate and the city clerk will remain at the table to provide advice, the release said.

At an Oct. 16 meeting, councillors and the public were surprised by the announcement of the new policy requiring people to submit their questions in writing for approval before they could be asked.

The change drew strong opposition from commenters on social media, while Dermod Travis, executive director of non-profit political watchdog IntegrityBC, described the approval process as “irregular and inappropriate.”

modified weapon

Sawed-off shotgun seized after Nanaimo RCMP spot well-known offender

10h ago

rainbow eyes

Nanaimo judge hands old growth logging protestor additional jail time

12h ago

Paris Bound

Nanaimo race walker Olivia Lundman qualifies for Paris Olympic Games

14h ago

At the time, the City said the move was intended to improve the efficiency of meetings, as well as limit “statements, debate and inappropriateness” at council meetings.

Chief administrative officer Tracy Samra told NanaimoNewsNOW two people raised concerns about accessibility for people with literacy challenges.

Resident Ken Osbourne previously spoke to council during Question Period about the issue. After learning of the change, he said he was thrilled since it was “counter-productive” to have people write their questions out ahead of time.

“There should be no blocks whatsoever for (residents) to ask questions…because they’re the ones who voted people into power. So they have the right to stand up and ask a question.”

During Osbourne’s appearance before Nanaimo Council, mayor Bill McKay thanked him for bringing awareness to accessibility issues not often considered.

“When we consider access to our democratic process and governance in a community like ours, we constantly think of a person in a wheelchair….there is far more to accessibility for all citizens than just mobility issues.”

In an email to NanaimoNewsNOW, coun. Bill Yoachim said he wasn’t a fan of the original changes but respected “it was a trial process” and he looked forward to the current changes.

In Friday’s release, the City said any further changes to Question Period would take place when Council reviewed their procedure bylaw and residents would be consulted.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit