Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin admits he was “quite surprised” at how many members of Niagara Regional Council overwhelmingly supported an amendment that allows for signs and banners in council chambers.
“I don't know if it was a threat of a lawsuit or what as to why (Councillor Joyce Morocco) brought that amendment,” Junkin said. “It was right thing to do, and I was quite surprised how many councillors actually supported the amendment and that it got passed.”
There are restrictions, however. Signs and banners are allowed but cannot include defamatory or offensive language or hate speech.
“I've always said that that chamber belongs to the people,” Junkin said. “It doesn't belong to the council. It belongs to the people who put us there.”
The threatened lawsuit Junkin referred to was contained in a letter from Christine Van Geyn, litigation director for the Canadian Constitution Foundation, in Calgary.
At that time, she said the bylaw as it stood prior to the Aug. 29 meeting was “highly vulnerable” to a constitutional challenge.
When reached by PelhamToday, Van Geyn said that despite the rollback on the signs portion of the bylaw, it didn’t necessarily mean that a challenge would not still happen.
“We still are deciding internally what our next steps are going to be,” she said. “So, we haven't made any decisions yet.”
She did say, however, that it was the ban on signs, banners and props that caught the CCF’s attention.
“I don't love the other portions of it, but we weren't, you know, we weren't writing to address those things,” she said.
The Morocco amendment only dealt with signs, banners, and props. Other amendments that had been approved back in July were kept intact. Those provisions include members of the public being barred from applauding, heckling, or making “audible demonstrations of support or opposition,” or engaging in conversation, or displaying any other behaviour that could be disruptive, inconsiderate, disrespectful of, or intimidating to others.
We still are deciding internally what our next steps are going to be
As well, the procedural bylaw says councillors should refrain from “conversing or fraternizing with members of the public or delegates in the gallery while council or committee is in session. This includes leaving the council chamber to engage with members of the public or standing in the gallery while council or committee is in session.”
Junkin, meanwhile, said that while he supported the changes brought forward by Morocco, council could have backed off on some of the other amendments as well, particularly the one dealing with “fraternization” during meetings.
“I think, perhaps, we should have backtracked as far as council members going over and talking to someone in the gallery during a council meeting,” Junkin said. “I really don't know what the harm was.”
Junkin and St. Catharines Regional Coun. Haley Bateman were the only members of Regional council to vote against the previous – and more controversial – version of the bylaw. Pelham’s other Regional Councillor, Diana Huson, supported the restrictions.
In an emailed response to questions from PelhamToday, Huson said the Morocco amendment “strikes a balance between meaningful public engagement and an expectation of decorum and respect. If the revised wording achieves a respectful workplace while avoiding the unnecessary spending of public money on legal costs, then I’m happy to be flexible.”
Huson said that she had voted in favour of the previous version of the bylaw because she wanted chambers to be “a respectful environment” for councillors, staff, and the public.
“I was in favor of the original wording because it was consistent with other governmental bodies, including the Town of Pelham. And I still believe protests belong outside of the chamber.”
Asked whether he was happy to see the issue finally dealt with, Regional Chair Jim Bradley responded by email saying that members of Regional Council were elected to address issues that are within in the Region’s immediate jurisdiction, “and more importantly, our constituents voted for us with an expectation that they will see results on local issues that make a difference in their daily lives. I think that most of my colleagues on council are relieved anytime complex procedural issues are appropriately managed so we can get back to working on our residents’ priorities.”
Bradley supported the original, more restrictive bylaw, with specific reasoning. Asked whether he was disappointed by council’s about-face, he said that councillors had spoken “very clearly on all of these issues of procedure and decorum” over the last eight months and this most recent decision is in line with Regional Council’s desire to focus attention on what is “most important to the majority of Niagara’s residents.”
“I am never disappointed to see us take action that allows us to better align our efforts on producing results for the people and businesses of Niagara.”
Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini, meanwhile, said it was time to “move on” and tend to other business, including upcoming budget discussions.
“I think we had a good debate, and at the end of the day, when Coun. Morocco brought forth that amendment, it was wholly supported by council,” he said. “I think it's a good compromise, and I think that it allows us now to move forward.”
Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional Coun. Andrea Kaiser told the NOTL Local last week that the amendment brought forward by Morocco was “a really good move" and she was able to support it.
“I think it goes a long way to address some of the concerns we did hear” during earlier discussions, she said, noting while it’s important to allow people to have a voice, they must be held to rules that contribute to safe and productive meetings.
The procedural bylaw was not the first decision by the Region to grab the attention of the CCF. The group and Region are headed to court over the Region’s declaration of a state of emergency surrounding the solar eclipse last April. No date has been set for a hearing on that matter.
With files from Kris Dubé.
Updated to include comment from Regional Chair Jim Bradley.
