An address to the Cobourg Council committee of the whole December 3rd 2012

Preamble to the remarks

As I stand here as a delegation I did not expect to be the only one and as a result solicited the opinions of others. This a compilation and consensus of many of my friends and neighbours. Do not consider this delegation to be a one man band!

My name is Ben Burd and live on Ontario St and am a forty year resident, and have sat in your positions - three different ones for three terms - all the time holding down a full time job. I know how the system works and also how important it is to have the citizenry access local government. I am hear to suggest tonight that you not change the meeting times of Council.

Firstly I cannot pass without commenting on the efficiency of the public consultation phase of this proposal - it has failed. A major portion of the citizenry is unaware of this proposal; I know that because most of the people I have spoken to are ignorant of it. Contrast this effort to the promise within the current Strategic Plan that calls for improved public communications. This has not proven out - not in this case.

Certainly, there are arguments regarding efficiency, cost-savings and convenience supporting the proposal. And, those are hard to combat. But, there is a deeper principle at work. The first is public service, a commitment made by each of you when you took an oath of office. And, of those who became civil servants to serve the publics needs. Those staff, who in the main attend the meetings on their own time. Second, and most important, is the commitment of local government to democracy. There is a responsibility to maintain access for all people, all the time. Even if no one ever shows up, it matters.

We have heard for years the phrases The status quo is not working or That was then and this is now and nobody considers that some things should never change, even if the buggy whip maker doesnt exist any more. There is only one reason why the time of Cobourg Council meetings have never changed from the days of the earliest meetings in the 1840s - seven pm is the earliest that politicians, in the day that working people sat on the Council, could get away from family and business responsibilities. Is this still not a reason that justifies maintaining 7pm as a start time, one which enables Citizens with 9-5 jobs to attend Council, monitor Council and perhaps encourage them to run for Council. Just because we now have a Council composed of members, of whom only two actually work regular daytime hours. Just because the Staff may consider it an imposition to attend evening meetings on their own time you as a group must consider the other part of the equation - the people you represent - the Citizens.

As candidates in the last election all of you pledged to listen to the voters. I put it to you by placing barriers to that listening process you have failed to live up to your pledges. Municipal politics, unlike any other level of government, is the most accessible form of democracy

because it is local. While you are our councillors, you are also our neighbours. By passing this motion, you are turning your back on your neighbours. And, that is not good. Municipal politics is the most basic level of democratic representation that we have and as such it has to be the most accessible, for two reasons. One is that the issues you deal with are local issues and the other is that democracy has to be, transparent; you as a result have to demonstrate that transparency. The real way of demonstrating that is to eliminate all barriers to access.

Now to the point of my appearance here - the proposal to move the start time of Council meetings from seven pm. Many people believe that this prevents those in the normal workforce or who work in the home from coming to see you at their convenience. Convenience works both ways. One cannot argue for your convenience if it inconveniences the Citizens that you represent. What should be used here is the question that all of you as representatives should ask - Are we helping or hindering the democratic process?

I dont have the luxury of making these remarks after the Deputy Mayor has given his report but one thing is obvious to me, as an observer - this appears to be a done deal and the question now is: how will you measure the results over the next three months in the trial period?

You have no way of knowing what issue is going to galvanise the citizenry and therefore demand access to Council, be it at 4pm or 7pm in the next three months. Those of you who vote to change the time will accept the result of no deputations as a situation where everybody is happy and the others who did not want to change will still be convinced that the early time is a barrier to access. So what are the benchmarks?

The deputy mayor may be able to present his very cold and logical arguments, but I hope councillors will use their conscience to make this decision and their hearts to hold to principles that are very dear to all of us. Men and women died for the kind of democracy we have and there are Canadians in the past and today, who give their lives to defend it. We cannot take this lightly and we must not ignore it.

You have no choice but to remain meeting at 7pm and dispel all doubts about democracy, access and transparency.

Rebuttal to the DM and to be spoken if time allows it.

You may feel that not many citizens attend meetings in the "public gallery" and therefore you are not disenfranchising many people. In actuality a large number of people watch councils meetings on Cogeco Cable. A large proportion of these views are employed, so in fact they would not be able to watch meetings in the afternoon, well before they got home from work. Or perhaps you don't care who in Cobourg is aware of council debates and decision making. You may feel that meetings are reported in the press, but in fact the press only reports a small proportion of the interactions and comments at council, and then up to two weeks later. I believe that democracy is important, even at the local level. This can only be achieved if citizens are able to participate or watch meetings.

Another minor issue is the Deputy Mayor is quoted as not wishing to make town staff drive home in the snow and dark. This is a noble sentiment, but in reality in the winter it will always be dark at the end of a meeting that starts at 4pm. And of course snow in Canada can equally well fall before 4pm. When the council discusses issues that concern many citizens you have probably noticed that the public gallery can be overflowing and often includes many citizens in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Clearly they do not believe evening meetings impede their ability to participate.