Opinion: Camp rule another transparency test failed in Cornwall

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June 25 marked the second time in less than a year that Cornwall city council approved a new bylaw in a way that complies with the letter of the law but fails any test of improving transparency and accountability.

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You probably missed it. Perhaps even some aldermen did, as they voted to approve a new bylaw governing encampments on municipal land, which was a late addition to that regular meeting’s agenda.

Well, that may be harsh. Councilors will certainly remember the discussion and direction they provided behind closed doors. But it’s possible — given recent admissions some don’t read all the reports or were unable to access hard copies of the items added to the agenda after the initial release — many of them voted to approve the night’s three regulations without knowing it was included the camp regulation or its exact text.

The statute was added to the agenda one or two business days before the meeting. Before it appeared there, there were no reports or discussions in open session. Staff members confirmed last week that the guts of the regulation had been brought to the board in reports and closed-session discussions, most recently during the closed-door portion of the June 11 meeting.

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This is not a criticism of the board discussing some of the issues involved in creating a new bylaw governing gated camps. Like you and me, and any other corporation, the board has a right to consider the opinions and advice of its lawyers in private. He also has the right to discuss anything that might affect the security of his property behind closed doors.

A campground regulation touches on both legal advice and the state of public lands quite a bit. There is nothing herein that contravenes the rules of the Ontario Municipal Act regarding closed meetings or the rules for the presentation and approval of a by-law.

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Yet this council, which met privately for what the mayor continues to call the best strategic planning session ever held, at least did a better job of transparency and accountability than its predecessors. As does Cornwall’s new CAO, who came into the role with a dozen years of experience as an Ottawa city councillor, albeit in terms where that council has repeatedly taken it on the chin for everything it’s part of the first phase of Ottawa’s light rail project. done behind closed doors.

Not to mention an administration that claims its communications practices are improving under a $107,000 sole-source contract that was tight-lipped about the regulation until questions about it were sent last week.

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Staff members and advisors should support a greater commitment to transparency than is legally required. I made this point after council approved an interim control bylaw banning new emergency shelters housing more than 20 people on the vast majority of properties in the City of Cornwall in October.

Now, as then, information considered by the board in private could have been summarized and published in a report for a public meeting of the board and placed on the same agenda as the regulation in question. It was not.

Now, as then, statutes were late additions to the agenda. Added without any notice or accompanying report highlighting the process. Added to that, the vast majority of people who have an interest in housing and homelessness in Cornwall have not had a chance to have their say.

This is a poor way for the taxpayers of Cornwall to watch what this council and administration are doing on the camp / housing / homelessness front.

This board can and should do better, preferably before the next privately drafted regulation makes a late and largely unannounced appearance for approval.

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