TOWN HALLER or TOWN CRIER?
Ward 1 Councillor Lisa Robinson held a “Town Hall” at the George Ashe Community Centre on Nov. 28.
Councillor Robinson, plagued as ‘Councillor non grata’ for months now, confused ‘Town Hall’ with ‘Town Crier.’
A Town Hall meeting is one attended by all employees, constituents and executive member (elected representative) with the goal that constituents have the opportunity to interact with their elected representative to clarify issues or problems and plan for improvements to the represented area of the constituency.
A Town Crier is a person, often employed by a town council, to make public announcements in the streets or at a public meeting. Usually, they carry a handbell to attract attention and shout the words “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!” before making their announcements. The word “Oyez” means “hear ye!” which calls for silence and attention. The Town Crier ends their announcements by proclaiming, “God Save the King!
This Town Hall was a definite confusion of the definitions of Town Hall and Town Crier. The Ward 1 issues and problems got buried under Robinson’s Town Crier objectives. She kept reinforcing that she was correct in doing and in saying all the things she has said in the last few months for which she has been suspended from Council without pay for a period of 90 days.
The meeting, scheduled for 6 pm and emceed by Gerry Auger, a local financial executive/advisor, began at 6:15. Present, a large crowd of more than 60 attendees. (Only Mayor Ashe has had a greater Town Hall turnout than this one.) Robinson’s team prepared the setting for the meeting with photo-copies of highlighted memos, copies of two local newspapers (Druthers and The Central), and a nod to the holiday season with a ribboned candy cane. Additionally, 3 security guards were on hand for the evening.
The Agenda
The agenda for the meeting included:
- Welcome
- Complaint & Three Motions
- Judicial Reviews and Cost to Taxpayers
- Abuse of Power
- Draconian Measures at City Hall
- Election Tampering Allegations
- Surveys and Public Opinion
Mob misbehaviour
Recording the various aspects of the agenda items was problematic due to the very rowdy behaviour of a number of the attendees who heckled, shouted and laughed out loud at Robinson’s remarks. The behaviour continued for the better part of the next half hour, frustrating Robinson, Emcee Auger, and any attendees who wanted to hear the remarks without distraction.
Robinson continued stalwartly explaining numerous aspects of her planned agenda. The ‘Cost to Taxpayers’ explanation triggered an extremely rowdy reaction from the crowd, especially when Robinson underlined the City spending $200,000 in a legal battle with her.
Draconian Measures at City Hall
This explanation dealt with what Robinson labelled as the ‘Draconian Measures at City Hall:’
- Delegation reduction of speaking time
- Removal of Question and Answer period
- Forbidding Recording or Photography at Council meetings
- Residents voices silenced
- Trespass (at City Hall)
- Integrity Commissioner Reports/Findings
- Nuisance Bylaw “Hurt feelings”
- Advertising Policy
Again, crowd rowdyism made it challenging to record and follow remarks from Robinson. The gist of the remarks here was again her complaints and/or criticisms of City Hall processes. For example, delegation times for addressing Council were reduced from 10 minutes to 5; the question period was removed; digital recording or photographing Council meetings was banned; resident recognition for delegations was narrowed to Pickering residents only; security necessitated with some public being removed; the Integrity Commissioner’s report was labelled as being biased with indefensible commentary and assessments; a nuisance bylaw was passed which Robinson underlined as being aimed unfairly at her and activities on her property; advertising restriction banning councillors from publishing any opinion material in newspapers.
As earlier, Robinson spent an inordinate amount of time underlining how right she has been regarding the various activities that she claims the Council is restricting or confining.
Crowd misbehaviour relentless
The rowdyism of the crowd continued, making it difficult to record information accurately or completely. The frustration of Robinson and Auger in trying to maintain order and continue a productive meeting reached a climactic point at the one-hour point. A 5-minute recess was called, with Robinson inviting those who were seriously displeased with the meeting’s unfolding to leave. Some did.
The next part of the meeting was much more conducive to hearing the remarks and being able to record the stated information.
Robinson continued reinforcing, “She is correct”
At a point here, Robinson declared about the Town Hall, “This is not about me.” Repeatedly, Robinson justified her past action after past action or past statement after past statement vigorously and energetically.
She continued pointing out the City for extravagance and unnecessary expenditures: over $20 million dollars in questionable consultation fees, the questionable designation of $4 million dollars for renovation of the Council Chambers, which she explained as unnecessary for many reasons, the major one being that the central public chambers were seldom used, 1-2 times a month; accessibility to the Council Chambers was the only change needed in her view.
Public participation and information dissemination
Robinson decried and complained about various City shortcomings in relation to public participation and dissemination of municipal information to residents:
- The need for a newspaper (she had touted “The Central” as a local newspaper);
- The poor attendance of city residents at meetings, town halls and planning assemblies;
- The inadequacy of public input for various planning endeavours being considered by the City;
- The need for public input regarding Elexicon (Pickering receives approximately $1 million dollars in dividends).
720 Granite Court
Initially, a 12-story condominium apartment building with 262 units and nearly 400 parking spaces for residents and visitors was planned. After public consultation, the plans have been revised: the number of stories is now reduced to 10, and parking has increased to just over 400 places, among some other minor changes.
Robinson explained that this condominium would seriously increase traffic congestion in the area and have a very serious negative impact in times of emergency. She feels more public input is needed, as well as more time to consider the development.
Upcoming Motions
Upcoming motions Robinson will be presenting at Council:
- Lowering age of seniors
- National Anthem before each council meeting
- Prohibition of Gifts and Benefits
- Flag raising policy
- Change rooms/washrooms designation
- Executive Meetings Schedule
- Cash acceptance at Chestnut Hill Recreation Centre
The next steps
Robinson repeatedly lamented about the poor attendance of Pickering residents at various municipal meetings, where their input was vital. She feels there are steps the city should take to develop and increase public engagement, including:
- More town halls
- Online apps and tools
- Public surveys
- Support to help delegations in their preparations
- Engage in local outreach (municipal representation at local meetings)
- Future topics: open for consideration
At this point, the formal agenda of the meeting was now brought to a close, and the floor opened for a Q&A.
Unfortunately, the questions posed to Robinson were very long and somewhat rambling, making it difficult to record accurately. Therefore, the record comes from the best that can be made from memory:
One questioner criticized lighting along public paths in the City, winter maintenance of walkways, windrow problems for residents’ driveways and refuse/garbage cleanup needed in some public places.
Another question came from the director of DARS, where Robinson felt the developer had failed the DARS property in relation to water availability. The director tried to clear up the information. Robinson remained steadfast in her views.
The meeting continued. This reporter did not.
