WESTLOCK – The Westlock woman behind the failed petition to stop the Rainbow crosswalk, says it’s “unacceptable” the document never ended up in front of Town of Westlock councillors and called it an “alarming disrespect for democracy and a concerning disregard for the voice of the people.”
In a July 7 e-mail, petition author Benita Pedersen contends that the “public was given very little notice” about the Rainbow crosswalk and “due to that short notice and a shortage of available volunteers, the 124 petition signatures collected represent just a sample” of it supporters. R.F. Staples School’s gay-straight alliance (GSA), the Thunder Alliance, received approval from town councillors back in May to paint the crosswalk, which runs on 106th Street between the town office and Westlock Legion Hall, while at their regular meeting June 12, councillors unanimously reaffirmed their support following presentations from both sides and the crosswalk was painted June 27.
Town CAO Simone Wiley previously confirmed in the July 4 Westlock News that she did receive the petition June 26, but said it was rejected as there was “far less signatures than had been portrayed there would be” and “significantly less” than an online one in favour, along with the fact councillors had dealt with the issue twice and that the Municipal Government Act (MGA) doesn’t contemplate petitions for things like the painting of a crosswalk. Pedersen was contacted by the Westlock News June 29 for comment but said July 7 that an “e-mail glitch” led to her late response.
Pedersen contends that residents “clearly expressed disapproval” in an assortment of ways including presentations at the town council meeting, rallies outside council chambers and on the steps of town office, signage, handouts and “hundreds (possibly thousands) of messages sent to members of town council and the CAO.”
She goes on to state that the petition was composed and featured at a local business in town and included the statement: “Public places must remain neutral spaces.”
“It isn’t often that the people of Westlock organize and express opposition to a town project or policy. On the rare occasion that pushback like this occurs, a reasonable response would be that our elected representatives take the time to hear the voices of the people and genuinely give sufficient consideration to their concerns,” writes Pedersen, who claims the number opposed to the crosswalk “exceeds 2,600 people.”
“Elected representatives have a responsibility to hear the voice of the people. For all of the aforementioned efforts, including the petition to be completely disregarded instead of given careful consideration, is unacceptable. For a petition to be rejected before it is presented is unacceptable. It is also unacceptable that CAO Simone Wiley failed in her responsibility to provide adequate information to council so that they could make a sound decision on this matter. What we have witnessed is an alarming disrespect for democracy and a concerning disregard for the voice of the people. Going forward, when it is apparent that the town is dealing with a contentious issue, put the matter to plebiscite and let the people decide.”
In the July 4 story, Wiley said that, “The delegations had happened, council made their decision and then reaffirmed their decision and when the person dropping it off says, ‘People don’t want this’ and then the petition ‘for’ it has three times the number of signatures, it’s a clear case of a vocal few who are not in favour.”
Wiley also made it clear that petition wasn’t valid under the MGA for a host of reasons and that “council had no obligation to do anything with it.” A Municipal Affairs document from 2016 on petitions explains that Section 232(1) of the MGA states that electors may petition council for a new bylaw or to amend or repeal an existing bylaw or resolution on any matter within the jurisdiction of the council under the MGA or any other enactment, subject to some limitations. Councils may also be petitioned to hold a public meeting (s. 229), for a public vote on an advertised bylaw or resolution (s. 231), or for local improvements (s. 393).
Beyond, for a standard petition to be valid, at least 10 per cent of population of the municipality needs to sign it, while for others the bar is set at 30 per cent — the town currently has a population of 4,802.
“The MGA does not contemplate this type of a petition that would force council to do anything about the decision that they made. They’re elected to make decisions and they made one. There were some residents who were unhappy with that decision and wanted to be heard and they were heard,” said Wiley previously. “And just because council didn’t agree with them doesn’t mean the democratic process wasn’t followed correctly.”
