Just over 40 years ago, my wife and I moved to a rural township north of Kingston. Even then, I had been actively involved with local government for a decade, so soon after we had settled in, I went to the township hall to attend a council meeting. I entered a large room with rows of chairs and a raised platform at the front (presumably a stage in some previous use of the building). There was a sturdy rectangular table on this stage and around it sat six people – the five members of council and the clerk.
The meeting was just nicely underway when I took my seat. As soon as the item of business at hand was finished, the reeve looked over and invited me to come up, sit down at the table, and state my issue or concern. When I replied that I had no issues or concerns, the response was a mixture of surprise and puzzlement. Addressing the unspoken question “why, then, are you here?” I explained that I had recently moved to the township and had just come to watch “my municipal government in action.” The looks of surprise were now mixed with those of slight concern (perhaps as to my mental state).
As the meeting progressed, a couple of individuals did come into the hall, took their turns sitting at the council table, raised their particular issues, and departed again. The councillors listened attentively and asked an occasional question, but made no effort to encourage the visitors to linger. For their part, the local residents couldn’t wait to exit the building once their views had been expressed. I remained in my chair, taking in the meeting. Every once in a while, a couple of councillors would look in my direction and have a whispered conversation – which I rather suspect was something along the lines of “that strange man is still out there.”
A Missed Opportunity
Given the easy accessibility in smaller municipalities, at least in earlier times, it is somewhat surprising and disappointing that this opportunity was so under-utilized. Most local residents would doubtless think you unhinged if you suggested that they “make a night of it” and attend a local council meeting. People only went to a meeting if they felt strongly about a particular item on the agenda, especially if it concerned something to which they were opposed. They were not remotely interested in watching a council meeting as an exercise in local democracy; their focus was much narrower. It must also be said that almost no councillors in my experience viewed an influx of attendees at a council meeting as a sign of lively interest in local government. Instead, they usually found such an influx unsettling and potentially problematic and their response was to provide a hearing in the hope that the crowd would then depart – which it almost always did.
I have watched many more municipal council meetings over the years and while the public participation is now much more formal and structured, the prevailing perspectives seem unchanged. Individuals or groups come to a meeting in relation to a particular agenda item and then depart. Councillors hear them out and tacitly welcome their departure. We should attach more value to the fact that this is the only level of government in which citizens can directly observe the process through which decisions are made. We are never privy to the discussions in federal or provincial cabinets. We almost never have access to the information, much less the advice, provided by provincial or federal civil servants. Yet at the municipal level, councils debate and decide in open meetings (yes, with limited exceptions), agendas contain the staff reports relating to the matters to be discussed, and staff are often asked questions and provide additional advice in those public meetings.
A Marketing Opportunity for Televised Meetings?
With the public seemingly addicted to reality TV, I find it even more surprising that they have not discovered the attractions of a municipal council meeting. If they want drama, comedy, a touch of pathos, and a lively mixture of heroes and villains, all of these can be found in most municipal council meetings. [There may even be coarse language at times, although I have yet to read reports of any nudity.] Perhaps we need to package council meetings as a televised contest in which, once a year, observers get a chance to vote one councillor “off the island” (out of the chamber). Legalities would limit this vote to a symbolic gesture but – sad to say - I suspect that such a contest would increase the popularity of municipal council meetings.