They say the house always wins in Las Vegas. Walking into local politics in Lanark Highlands can feel much the same way, except instead of a casino floor, you’re up against a procedural by-law, with rules seemingly built to make sure you, the citizen, always walk away empty-handed.
Local government is supposed to be the level of democracy closest to the people. But dealing with our township often feels less like taking part in your community and more like trying to break into a fortress.
Here’s the problem in simple terms:
If you want to raise an issue with Council – a new issue, one that you think is important, but which hasn’t appeared on the Agenda – you have to submit a written request (Schedule “F” form) to the Clerk stating the purpose of your ‘delegation’ at least ten (10) days before the meeting (Section 6.4.1.1). The by-law never says whether that’s ten calendar days or ten working days – a basic detail residents shouldn’t have to guess at.
On the other hand, suppose you see an existing item on the Agenda for an upcoming meeting, and you would like to speak to that item. That gets even more complicated: you’ll have to submit a written request (Schedule ‘F’ form) to the Clerk by 12 noon on the day before the meeting (Section 6.4.1.2).
The Agenda is usually posted on the Thursday before Tuesday’s Council meeting – so if you read the Agenda the minute it’s posted online, you’ll have about 2 working days to get your request to the Clerk. And even if you make the deadline: the By-law goes on to say that your delegation ‘MAY be heard by [the Committee (of the Whole)] as an addition to the agenda by a majority Vote.’ Want to bring up an uncomfortable topic? Council can vote to shut you down before a word is spoken!
Miss either deadline, and your only choice left is to sit in the gallery and watch the decision get made without you.
Council’s usual excuse is that open public comment would drag meetings on forever and stall local government. That’s a weak excuse for shutting people out. If time is the real concern, the fix isn’t to lock the doors – the fix is simple guardrails, like a strict five-minute limit per speaker, paired with good order.
At the end of the day, a council’s main job isn’t to sprint through an agenda so everyone can be home before the ten o’clock news. Democracy is sometimes messy, and the point of holding public meetings isn’t speed – it’s getting the decision(s) right. When the rules are stacked this heavily against ordinary citizens, people end up feeling voiceless in their own township. It stops feeling like public participation and starts feeling like a rigged game, one where the house stacked the deck from the start.
It’s time to rewrite the playbook, and make it easier, not harder, for people to be heard.
It’s Time For Change.