PROCEDURE BYLAW NO. 677, 2007 UPCOMING AMENDMENT FOR ELECTRONIC MEETINGS

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT, in anticipation of Provincial government regulation that will amend the Community Charter and in support of a hybrid Council meeting model, the Committee recommend to Council that: a.) the required amending bylaw to Procedure Bylaw No. 677, 2007 to facilitate electronic regular and committee meetings and public hearings be prepared; and b.) the Advisory Committees continue to meet electronically on the Microsoft Teams Meeting platform until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over in British Columbia when their meetings can once again be held fully in-person.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To advise of an upcoming amendment to Procedure Bylaw No. 677, 2007 that will be proposed to facilitate the continued use of electronic meetings.

To describe the need to continue with electronic Advisory Committee meetings until the pandemic is declared over.

BACKGROUND:

An amendment to View Royal’s Procedure Bylaw was put forward on March 17, 2020 and adopted on April 14, 2020 in anticipation of the impending COVID-19 pandemic. This amendment facilitated the holding of electronic Council meetings in the event of an emergency or special circumstances.

Before that amending bylaw could be adopted, the Province introduced Ministerial Order No. M083 (March 26, 2020) that authorized local governments to, among several powers, conduct electronic meetings in the absence of a pre-existing bylaw to hold such meetings.

While the Town did not need to follow-through and adopt the amending bylaw with Ministerial Order No. M083 in place, a decision was made to proceed so that the provision for holding electronic Council meetings for emergency or special circumstances was available post-pandemic.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, Ministerial Order No. M083 was replaced by Ministerial Order No. M139 (May 1, 2020), adding a provision for electronic public hearings. This Order was then replaced by Ministerial Order No. M192 (June 17, 2020) which included language around ensuring openness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability for meetings – which the Town has been able to uphold throughout the pandemic.

DISCUSSION:

Bill 10 - Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2021

Now as British Columbia moves through its 4-step “BC Restart Plan”, layers of pandemic-related protection are being reviewed and considered for removal by the Province. In preparation for these changes, Bill 10 - Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2021 received Royal Assent on June 17, 2021. This Bill introduced changes to existing legislation that see some beneficial pandemic-related measures retained once the provincial state of emergency, the “Ministerial Orders”, and the COVID-19 Related Measures Act come to an end. Specifically, Bill 10 provides for a continuation of electronic regular and committee meetings and public hearings that occurred during the pandemic.

Procedure Bylaw Amendment Anticipated for Hybrid Meeting Model

Once the changes are embedded by the Province into the Community Charter later this summer by regulation, the Town will then be able to amend its Procedure Bylaw to facilitate the hybrid meeting model – both in-person attendance and live webcasting available – that was described in the June 2021 CAO report. While the Town is unable to implement an amendment at this time, staff wanted to proactively bring this matter forward to the Committee’s attention now so that when the amending bylaw can be advanced to a Council agenda – anticipated for consideration of its first 3 readings at the September 7, 2021 meeting – it will be a familiar topic given the tight timeline. The current provisions of Ministerial Order No. M192 remain in effect until September 28, 2021 – 90 days after the state of emergency has ended.

Advisory Committee Meetings Continue Electronically

Advisory Committees have been meeting electronically through the Microsoft Teams Meetings platform since September 2020. With this platform, the public can phone in and listen to the proceedings while Advisory Committee members can either participate by telephone or join the meeting on a computer with both their image and sound.

As their procedures set out that Advisory Committees meet simultaneously and the size of both groups (fourteen at a full Community Development Advisory Committee meeting and eleven at a full Parks, Recreation, and Environment Advisory Committee meeting – including Council liaisons and staff) exceed available in-person meeting space at Town Hall, staff recommend that the Advisory Committees continue to meet electronically through the Microsoft Teams Meetings platform until such time as the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over in the Province. This approach ensures that attendance of Advisory Committee members, Council liaisons, required staff and members of the public can be adequately facilitated and that the meetings continue to have openness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability.

Staff did consider the other possibilities such as a hybrid model for Advisory Committees with some members attending in-person and others attending from their homes, but the limitations (particularly with the limited space in Meeting Room 1) and complications (for example, who is attending from home to which meeting) from such an arrangement outweighed any perceived benefits.

While the Advisory Committee format can revert to non-electronic, in-person meetings post-pandemic, staff will be recommending a change to the Advisory Committee procedures in the near future to propose meeting in alternating months so the Council Chambers can be used by both groups for these in-person meetings at that time.

ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION:

Should View Royal’s elected officials not wish to proceed with the hybrid meeting model for regular and Committee of the Whole meetings and public hearings – instead reverting to an all in-person meeting format as was the situation pre-pandemic, the following alternative recommendation is in order:

THAT the Committee recommend to Council that the Town of View Royal not proceed with the bylaw amendment to facilitate a hybrid meeting model for its regular and committee meetings and public hearings;

AND THAT the Advisory Committees continue to meet electronically on the Microsoft Teams Meeting platform until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over in British Columbia when their meetings can once again be held fully in-person.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT, in anticipation of Provincial government regulation that will amend the Community Charter and in support of a hybrid Council meeting model, the Committee recommend to Council that: a.) the required amending bylaw to Procedure Bylaw No. 677, 2007 to facilitate electronic regular and committee meetings and public hearings be prepared; and b.) the Advisory Committees continue to meet electronically on the Microsoft Teams Meeting platform until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over in British Columbia when their meetings can once again be held fully in-person.

SUBMITTED BY: S. Jones, Corporate Officer

REVIEWED BY: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer