Cornwall Council communicates its revenge with a draft media policy

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When Cornwall council had the opportunity to discuss the matter at town hall, it was almost certain that no one would say “no comment”.

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Several councilors let it fly when they chewed over an HR review agenda item, mainly channeling their anger over Cornwall’s draft Media Relations Policy and Internal Network Policy social.

“When I read this report, it’s probably a good thing I was alone,” said Coun. Dean Hollingsworth launched his epic blast. “Honestly honestly, I can’t believe (this report). . . I will tell anyone who will listen that there is no chance on this planet that I will get approval from the administrator (a city) to tell me what I can and cannot say in public.

“Let’s get this out in the open right now. I will not approve or follow the policy that we technically approve or vote on tonight. It’s just not going to happen.”

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In the end, councilors voted to postpone the two policies, and seven others included in the same item, to a future meeting. When it resumes, expect the report to be markedly different from what most councilors have been cooking up, with Hollingsworth leading the charge. He cited a passage in the report that restricts a city employee’s comments on social media and invoked the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to question its legality.

“I understand what the administration is trying to do, they want to simplify the message, but it just screams 1984 to me,” Hollingsworth said. “I feel like I’m reading George Orwell. . . I don’t want to be bound by this policy. Period. End of discussion.”

cone Denis Sabourin said the document missed the mark so terribly.

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“I hope it’s not (the administration’s) intention to blow our muzzles,” said Coun. Claude McIntosh. “I’m pretty sure it’s not, but it feels like it.”

cone Elaine MacDonald also got hot under the collar during the discussion, revealing how the city’s current communications system works and using the recent heat wave as an example, saying Ottawa’s communications team has been slow to get information on the city’s website, which is considered the primary source of information about the city.

“A broken system is enshrined here in this policy,” MacDonald said, saying the communications team is out of tune with life in Cornwall and that effective information sharing requires immediacy and proximity.

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“There are so many mistakes here (beyond the proposed media policy). . . the premise that this is to promote transparency – good pain. No, let’s be clear: This is (for the administration) to retain absolute control over everything that is said on behalf of the municipality,” MacDonald said. “We should not delay this, we need a complete scrapping. Start over and do it right.”

The adjournment was Con. Carilyne Hébert’s movement. In her presentation, she referenced the previous board delegating the creation of corporate policy to staff members and wants the information to come back for the board to be reminded and perhaps reconsider.

Central to the matter is council resentment that has bubbled up several times: Many at the table don’t like the administration — the unelected bureaucrats — having the perceived power to make policy without council input.

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As MacDonald said Tuesday, and not for the first time, “too often (the administration) just treats us like rubber stamps rather than decision makers. Management and the board should develop strategies together. Pick our brains – we’ve got a few.”

Specifically regarding media relations projects and social media policies, councilors were unhappy with perceived breaches, that some inquiries would require questions to be sent to the communications team and perhaps days of waiting for a response.

In a world of fiber optics and 5G, it feels like a return to the express pony.

“It drives people crazy in the media (when there’s a slow response), it just doesn’t work that way,” former daily journalist McIntosh said.

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McIntosh and CAO Mathieu Fleury had a constructive exchange, including about a sometimes delicate balance, about the city sometimes speaking with one voice, measured against individual opinions. McIntosh admitted to a councilor talking to a reporter that opening a new city park is one thing; The opinion on a process in which the city could be involved is quite another.

It may seem like common sense, but does common sense need to be emphasized in a document that includes potential disciplinary action against those who don’t always possess it?

Fleury said the report the council rejected is a starting point, that the city is “continuing to look at how it engages with the public. . . we rebuild We have a code of conduct for advisers. But at the moment, there is no code of conduct for employees. (Developing one) would probably capture social media politics.

“Currently, we don’t have anything like that.”

Finally, the entire administrative report was returned to sender. The board didn’t even talk about the other seven policies on the agenda item, which related to disconnection from the workplace, accessibility, electronic monitoring, retention of employee records, prevention of harassment and violence, health and safety, and whistleblowers .

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