CLARIFICATION: In its original form, this article stated that Athabasca County holds committee of the whole meetings.
CLARIFICATION: In its original form, this article stated that Athabasca County holds committee of the whole meetings. It should be noted that Athabasca County's regularly scheduled committee of the whole meetings are open to the public, including public works, budget and finance, ag services and municipal planning commission meetings.
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Town council had decided to once again hold committee of the whole meetings once a month. These meetings are for council and administration and are closed to the media and general public.
The request was brought forward at council's regular meeting last Tuesday by councillor Tim Verhaeghe, who explained the meetings were very beneficial for council when they were held last term.
“It is helpful and informative and good for the growth of this council, ” Verhaeghe said.
It was an opinion that was shared by Mayor Roger Morrill.
“To be quite honest, I found them very beneficial, and I think they would be very beneficial for this council, ” said Morrill.
Morrill later explained in an interview, “There are a lot of questions sometimes we as councillors have, and sometimes we feel slightly intimidated to ask those questions in front of a gallery or possibly the press. ”
Councillor Shelly Gurba also stated she can see a benefit in these meetings.
“It's a good idea for certain instances ... I think it's a positive thing, ” she said, likening the meetings to staff meetings for teachers.
The motion passed with only councillors Tanu Tyszka-Evans and Nichole Adams opposed. The pair argued that having meetings that are closed to the public is a violation of the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
“The public needs to be informed, ” Adams said.
Section 197 (1) of the MGA states that council committees “must conduct their meetings in public. ”
When asked if these meetings were in violation of the MGA, Town of Athabasca chief administrative officer Ryan Maier said, “Municipal Affairs will tell you yes, but the majority of municipalities will tell you no. ”
This was the thinking of Morrill.
“My understanding is the communities around us are doing this ... It is quite common, ” he told council.
Morrill would not comment on the meetings being a violation of the MGA.
“I don't have any comment on that. I just know a lot of communities are doing this, ” he said.
Verhaeghe also pointed out that when the town had a municipal corporate review done by Municipal Affairs in 2013, the committee of the whole meetings taking place at the time were not flagged.
“We had a municipal corporate review with Municipal Affairs, and they had no issues with that, ” he said.
“The corporate review looked at everything. Nothing was hidden from them, ” Morrill said.
Morrill also feels these reviews, which are done only on a complaint or request basis, should be done more often.
Maier suggested that council could get a legal opinion on the matter, but council opted not to.
Morrill explained he thought the reasoning for holding the meetings was sound.
“I think this will give especially new councillors more freedom to ask questions, get more background, and also provide council with more time ... There are limits on what our CAO can impart to us with two meetings a month. This allows us more time to get to know matters of our community, ” he said.
Adams and Tyszka-Evans have since sent a letter to Minister of Municipal Affairs Greg Weadick notifying him of their concerns and council's situation.
As of press time, they had not received a response.
