Photo by B. Shakyaver
South Huron’s official plan amendment was presented to Huron County council for approval last Wednesday morning (January 10th 2024).
If you tuned into council’s Zoom meeting at 9am to watch the presentation, only to lose your connection when the power went out around 9:30 (as it did for many in South Huron and Bluewater), you would be left with only the official record of what happened: the plan was presented, and approved.
No record of discussion, any dissenting council members, any contrasting views or opinions, or questions asked to senior planner Craig Metzger.
Despite the fact that county council meetings are recorded, no record of them is made available to the public outside of the “official record” – the meeting minutes, which will not be approved until council’s subsequent meeting on January 24th. Until then, members of the public unable to attend council would have no access even to those limited records.
myFM reached out to the county Clerk in June requesting access to council recordings, and they advised that they do not provide those to anyone, as they don’t meet AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) requirements. Despite communication on ten occasions involving Clerk Susan Cronin, CAO Meighan Wark , and Warden Glen McNeil, no recordings have been provided.
In the County’s 2024 accessibility plan documents, the Municipality of South Huron’s communications accessibility policy reads as follows:
South Huron records and where possible live streams its Council meetings on the municipal website. Watching the meetings online or a recording of a meeting is an effective way that we are reaching our residents who are not able to attend our meetings in person. Source
When myFM reached out to CAO Wark and Warden McNeil for comment as to why those recordings are not presently provided, they referred to Clerk Cronin who stated the following:
While we do currently record the Zoom portion of Council meetings to ensure accurate minutes are recorded, our current policy and procedure is for video recordings to be transitional records that are deleted once the official meeting minutes are complete.
She continued and noted that they were working to provide those recordings in the near future, but that they were not provided at this time.
Locally, many municipalities including South Huron, Bluewater and Lambton Shores make their meeting recordings accessible to the public, no questions asked.
Municipalities, towns, and townships in Huron County that currently provide meeting recordings:
- Town of Goderich
- Municipality of South Huron
- Municipality of Bluewater (on request)
- Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
- Township of North Huron
- Municipality of Huron East
Municipalities, towns, and townships in Huron County that currently do not provide meeting recordings:
- Howick doesn’t record their meetings
- Morris-Turnberry doesn’t record their meetings
- Municipality of Central Huron doesn’t provide them – and cites similar processes to the county.
An investment of $4 billion by the province to increase internet access for all Ontarians by 2025 indicates their recognition of internet as being an essential utility, despite this attitude, many in the County of Huron remain in the dark ages, requiring them to physically attend council meetings in order to have knowledge of what is happening in their community – their local government is willfully keeping them in the dark.
Written by: B. Shakyaver