Councillors Maurice Brenner, Linda Cook, and Mara Nagy hosted this town hall. The topic of discussion was “Sustainable Pickering,” a bureaucratic label for policies dealing with Climate and Environment.
Introduced by Melanie Edmond, the primary speaker was Jade Schofield representing the committee that works on the City project dealing with climate, the “Community Climate Adaption Project.”
An “in the clouds” presentation
The presentation seemed esoteric rather than substantive, more academic rather than plain language pragmatic.
The areas covered:
- Adaption vs Mitigation
- Climate
- Approach
- Local Plans
- Preliminary survey results
- Discussion
Explanations dealt with ‘climate extremes:’ heavy rainfalls, extreme heat, flooding, lightning storms, and forest fires with residents and councillors describing their experience with climate-related emergencies such as the black the recent past.
The city’s work in this area of concern entails a three-phase plan with the crucial connector being that the marginalized get appropriate and full attention.
Two of the three discussion questions got off the ground but the discussion broadened into real-life concerns as expressed by the nearly two dozen attending residents.
Discussion questions:
1. How did you respond to the extreme weather event?
2. What services would you like to see more/less of during extreme weather events?
The audience members raised questions that cause them concern and worry: about fires in the Rouge Valley national park, assistance for the seniors during emergency events, responses addressing DEI (Disability, Equality and Integration) and the need for improved information dissemination to the public.
The responses to these worries and concerns were generic and as expected. Pickering has an active 3-phase plan in place regarding policies and needed actions regarding climate change. Information is disseminated through the City website and other means such as Councillor Brenner’s newsletter and neighbourhood associations that currently exist.
The meeting closed earlier than other town halls.
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Editorial comment:
In speaking with a number of the attending residents, a tone of exasperation and frustration was evident. These residents were upset about high expenditures and concerns about support for citizens, particularly seniors, during emergencies. The queried responders seem to suggest they viewed the city as speaking in generalities and not presenting enough substance. In one instance, outright anger underlined one responder’s frustration with the response to the drastic need to replenish FOOD Bank shelves.
New website, not a panacea
The criticism that repeats itself, town hall after town hall, is about ‘communication’ with Pickering residents. The City is repeatedly criticized as having inadequate communication paths for the citizens. The response by councillors is touting the pending new website implying it would be the panacea to communication inadequacies. However, this town hall was not the place to delve into this issue more deeply: overbudgeting to the extreme for the design, development and management of the new website at nearly $1 million. Furthermore, as repeatedly pointed out, many citizens are not Internet users though one town hall respondent suggested the library give workshops to help citizens with entry and use of the Internet (The Pickering Public Library has offered numerous excellent workshops dealing with this need.)
Apathy an ongoing problem
Be all that as it may be, the biggest lament, as repeated at every town hall, is that few residents attend these events. The problem may be inadequate communication with the public but more likely as Councillor Brenner emphasizes people cannot be forced to attend and they have other interests. Like voting in elections, apathy is a problem with no easy solutions.
The result of the inadequate communication complaints seems to be verbal wisps of smoke, a promise of a new and significantly better website. But that is an ethereal response. We need a system of constructive strategies to reach more citizens. There are numerous paths the City could develop. More talk discussion by councillors is not one of them.
This may have been a disappointing town hall for some of the attendees.
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A comment about these town halls
Town hall attendance is abysmal. The best attended was one of the earliest ones held at the East Shore Community Centre where nearly 100 people attended. But since then, attendance has declined to where fewer than 40 people is the norm. Last night fewer than 20 attended. Either residents are not hearing about the town halls, or they have other priorities or they have no interest in how their city functions.
Town halls have repeatedly demonstrated that a lot of valuable information is presented. The Councillors hosting past town halls should be commended for selecting timely and useful topics and for providing excellent speakers who presented in a down-to-earth fashion that was engaging as well as informative. Attendees learn valuable information at these events and Councillors like Brenner, Cook and Nagy demonstrated dedication, knowledge and passion for their municipal service. Maybe more importantly, these councillors project an empathy that “they are one of us.”
