Thompson’s March 16 city council meeting proceeded despite being closed to the public thanks to the provincial Municipal Relations department agreeing that live-streaming it and recording it was sufficient.
The closed meeting was the result of the City of Thompson deciding earlier Monday to close all city facilities to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though two members of the media were present in council chambers during the meeting.
Mayor Colleen Smook, Coun. Jeff Fountain, Coun. Duncan Wong and city manager Anthony McInnis were physically present at the meeting, while deputy mayor Les Ellsworth and councillors Brian Lundmark, Andre Proulx, Kathy Valentino and Earl Colbourne participated by teleconference.
The meeting will be the only regular council meeting in a nearly two-month stretch after the March 2 meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum and council voted March 16 to cancel the meeting scheduled for March 30.
Under the Municipal Act, which regulates the activities of municipalities and their governments in Manitoba, councils must hold their meetings publicly, with only a few exceptions. Meetings may be closed if the council decides during a meeting to meet as a committee to discuss a matter and records the decision and general nature of the matter in the meeting minutes. Council meetings may also be closed to discuss an employee, including their salary, duties and benefits and any appraisal of their performance. Council meetings can also be closed if councillors are discussing the conduct of existing or anticipated legal proceedings, the conduct of an investigation under an act or bylaw or their enforcement, the security of documents or premises, a report of the ombudsman received by the head of council under clause 36(1)(e) of the Ombudsman Act, or a matter that is in preliminary stages if discussing it in public could prejudice a municipality’s ability to carry out its activities or negotiations.
Making sure the public has access to the meeting was deemed sufficent by the Municipal Relations department under the current circumstances, city manager Anthony McInnis said during debate on a resolution to cancel the March 30 meeting.
“We asked for extra clarification,” said McInnis. “We confirmed with the province. We’re not the only ones taking this initiative. They requested that we do social distancing in our meeting as well.”
To meet this request, Wong and Smook were seated at separate desks in the council chamber, while McInnis and Fountain were seated at opposite ends of a desk that normally accommodates four councillors.
McInnis admitted that the format was not exactly the same as a public council meeting, since there was no way for the public to ask the mayor and councillors questions, but it was the best they could come up with in a short timeframe.
“This is what we were able to develop in under 24 hours,” he said.
Council’s next meeting is scheduled for April 13, though that could change if circumstances dictate. In the event that business requiring the approval of council must be completed before that time, a special meeting of council to discuss and vote on that item of business will be called.
