(Please scroll down for the English text and summary)
À ceux qui se préoccupent de démocratie municipale, je propose la lecture de deux récents articles qui donnent espoir qu’en matière de transparence les choses évoluent. Vous pouvez trouver le premier, publié dans La Tribune, ici : https://www.latribune.ca/actualites/40-elus-veulent-la-fin-de-la-culture-des-huis-clos-dans-les-municipalites-1f4d0bef9a3e36afd04b5ac3650904c7, et le deuxième, publié dans Le Nouvelliste, ici : https://www.lenouvelliste.ca/opinions/carrefour-des-lecteurs/pour-des-villes-plus-transparentes-aa96754327cc6ba90ad17138cd19350e
Vu que les articles sont uniquement en français, je me suis permis de faire un résumé de leur contenu en anglais pour nos lecteurs anglophones. Ce résumé suit l’introduction en la matière en anglais.
__________
For those of you who are interested in municipal democracy, and especially if you are concerned by transparency issues, I recommend two recent articles. The first, published in La Tribune can be found here: https://www.latribune.ca/actualites/40-elus-veulent-la-fin-de-la-culture-des-huis-clos-dans-les-municipalites-1f4d0bef9a3e36afd04b5ac3650904c7
and the second, published in Le Nouvelliste, here: https://www.lenouvelliste.ca/opinions/carrefour-des-lecteurs/pour-des-villes-plus-transparentes-aa96754327cc6ba90ad17138cd19350e
These articles attack the current policy of many municipalities in Quebec of holding important council meetings behind closed doors. Given that the articles are written in French, I have put together a summary, which follows below, of the content of the articles for our English speaking readers.
Summary:
These articles recount how past and present council members from different Québec villages and municipalities are lobbying to have the province pass a law which would require all full council meetings, including working meetings, to be open to the public. They are lobbying for closed door meetings to be the exception to the rule and allowed only in accordance with strict guidelines.
Close to forty elected officials, led by Sherbrooke Councillor Évelyne Beaudin and Rimouski Councillor Virginie Proulx, have signed a letter addressed to the Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs asking that council meetings held behind closed doors be the exception rather than the rule and that a law be passed providing a framework for the holding of in camera sessions. They argue that in municipalities across Québec important issues of interest to the population are debated behind closed doors during working meetings of council and important decisions are made without the presence of the citizens which the councillors represent. Often such decisions can take on a political flavour but concerned citizens do not have the opportunity to voice their opinions or concerns before such decisions are made.
Furthermore, argue Councillors Beaudin and Proulx, citizens have no way of knowing what positions are being taken by individual councillors that represent them, nor what considerations may have led to a particular decision being taken by Council. Furthermore, often municipal employees attend Council meetings and present important information relevant to the questions and files being discussed at the meetings. Such information should be available to the public.
The fact that important decisions are being taken during in camera sessions of Municipal Councils can lead to situations of exclusion and intimidation in situations where council members wish to express views that are contrary to those of the majority. Virginie Proulx refers to the Charbonneau Commission Report and in particular to Recommendation No. 51 which recommends that the government adopt legislation, inspired by sections 239 and 239.1 of the 2001 Ontario Law, limiting the exceptions to the rule that deliberations by elected municipal officials be public.
According to Évelyne Beaudin, these legislative provisions provide for only nine subject matters that constitute exceptions to the rule and that can therefore be examined by elected officials in a confidential manner. Recourse to these exceptions must be justified publicly. There is nothing which justifies the rules governing Ontario municipal politics being different than the rules governing Quebec municipal politics.
The article in the Nouvelliste also talks about how the role of municipalities in provincial politics has evolved over the years – Municipalities now have a role to play in economic development, quality of life and preservation of the natural environment. This also justifies the importance of re-evaluating the democratic process so that decisions that have an important impact on citizens are explained and debated in a manner that is as open as possible.
The point is further made that if the government doesn’t act to install clear rules, qualified persons might not present themselves as candidates in the next municipal elections. As a result, people will become more and more disinterested in municipal politics and public cynicism in the process will increase.
Councillor Beaudin concludes by saying that each councillor signing the letter to the Minister will attempt to have a resolution passed by Council adopting Recommendation 51 of the Charbonneau Commission Report. She believes that the City of Sherbrooke could discuss the subject at one of it’s Council meetings to be held this fall.
– Jane Meagher