Moving city council meetings to afternoons rather than evenings reduces our community’s access to democracy.
On Tuesday evening, September 3, I was downtown, and knowing council was discussing the upcoming Official Community Plan update, I decided to go to the meeting and maybe ask a question. When I got there, city hall was shuttered. Sometime during the summer, Chilliwack City council passed a bylaw changing their reconvened meeting times from 6:30pm to 4pm. I searched local media and couldn’t find a news story about this. It was quietly and unremarkably done.
Some might say we have our opportunity to elect city council, and we should let them get on with the job. But what if you have something to say about a neighbourhood issue? After all, city council and the school board are supposed to be the most accessible government closest to you. There is supposed to be a process for online comments but it’s at a comfortable remove. The immediacy of the meeting is gone.
Because council meetings started in the afternoons and reconvened in the evenings, regular folks had an opportunity to see government in action. Now, only people who can take time off during the day can attend. We can watch the meetings online but that’s impersonal. It narrows the opportunity for interaction.
An online form is easier to ignore than the face of a concerned citizen. It’s difficult for some seniors and persons with disabilities to use. It puts voters at a comfortable distance.
So how do we access this online form? Is it Engage Chilliwack? Some of the comments are years old. Searching on the city website, which is one of the most difficult to use that I’ve experienced, led to instructions to provide written submissions by mail or email.
What do other cities do? Both the District of Hope and Village of Harrison Hot Springs have their council meeting schedules clearly linked from or on their home pages. Evening council meetings start at 7pm. The District of Kent took a few clicks, but I easily found that meetings start at 7pm. The City of Abbotsford meets in the afternoons, with public hearings, if needed, at 6pm.
If we Chilliwack residents can’t go to evening council meetings, then we need a clear and easy-to-use process for providing input, commenting on public hearings and asking questions. Your move, City of Chilliwack.
Lisa Morry
