It is not too often that Citizen writer Randall Denley and I see eye-to-eye on the municipal scene but today we are in agreement – Council’s decision hurts local democracy, Ottawa citizen, April 17, 2011. By voting to eliminate detailed written records of council debates the new city council is making it more and more difficult for Ottawa citizens to investigate and understand their decisions.
Audio recordings just do not hack it and put many members of the public in a disadvantageous position. Not everyone has the benefit of broadband internet and as Denley comments “…it means the public will have to listen to hours of audio if they want to track an issue” and what about the plight of individuals with a hearing handicap?
It was also very surprising and disturbing to see that some new council member whom one might expect to respect the democratic process (in particular Councillor Chernushenko) voted in support of this motion; less surprising perhaps that pro-developer members including Councillor Hume and Mayor Watson supported it.
The pretense that economic savings are at the root of this change is false. Perhaps the next step will be to hold all council deliberation in camera!
Democracy is in the air right now at all levels of government in Canada as well as internationally. As some counties in the middle-east struggle to embrace the democratic process, Canada seems to be proceeding rapidly in the opposite direction.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Anything to restrict availability to information
Re: City wants more audiocasts, fewer printed minutes of meetings, John Willing, Ottawa Sun, April 5, 2011
Not surprising that Councillor Peter Hume should be the person to propose the reduction (elimination) of printed minutes at city hall, thus making investigation of council deliberations more difficult. Steps to limit public access to this information will make it increasingly difficult for members of the public to interpret and respond to council decisions.
Any savings that might result from this action appear minimal, so justifying such a decision on finances is just not on. A decision to eliminate detailed minutes would remove yet another plank from the democratic process at city hall. It is already difficult to get council to listen to the community, now they are considering limiting how much they need to tell us.
Not surprising that Councillor Peter Hume should be the person to propose the reduction (elimination) of printed minutes at city hall, thus making investigation of council deliberations more difficult. Steps to limit public access to this information will make it increasingly difficult for members of the public to interpret and respond to council decisions.
Any savings that might result from this action appear minimal, so justifying such a decision on finances is just not on. A decision to eliminate detailed minutes would remove yet another plank from the democratic process at city hall. It is already difficult to get council to listen to the community, now they are considering limiting how much they need to tell us.
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