Victoria County restoring some accountability by reinstating public Q&As: councillor

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 11:22 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Victoria County assembly is restoring nationalist question-and-answer sessions aft assembly meetings.

In January, councillors decided to bash distant with them. They besides stopped allowing comments connected the region Facebook leafage and ended the livestreaming of committee meetings, which Coun. Fraser Patterson said makes the region little transparent and little accountable to the public.

At Monday's assembly gathering successful Baddeck, Patterson tried to person each 3 decisions reversed, but was lone palmy connected the Q&A sessions.

"We've had this for 20-some years," said the longtime councillor. "We person ne'er truly had large incidents. Sometimes the treatment tin get a small heated, but that's portion of the process. That's portion of democracy."

Patterson said he's heard from immoderate unhappy residents and of the 3 assembly decisions, the quality for residents to question councillors is astir apt the astir important one.

Councillors voted unanimously to rescind their determination connected that, but couldn't hold connected what signifier the sessions should take.

Several suggested questions should lone beryllium permitted connected topics that came up astatine that day's assembly gathering and that clip limits should beryllium enforced.

Coun. Donna Matheson-LeFort said nary 1 was trying to stifle escaped speech, but the format needed to beryllium reasonable.

Warden Jackie Organ said it made consciousness to bring backmost the Q&As.

"If that's what the radical each privation and they've said it large and clear, we'll bring it backmost [in] immoderate benignant of fashion," she said.

"Not definite what that's going to look like, but we'll beryllium talking astir that successful the future."

Organ said the taxable volition travel backmost to the committee of the full for further discussion.

Meanwhile, Patterson besides made motions to reverse the decisions connected Facebook comments and livestreaming committee meetings, but nary different councillor would 2nd those motions, truthful they did not get debated.

Patterson said some options would let much residents to enactment successful region decisions.

He said with a large, sprawling county, it's important to springiness young radical who usage the net for galore activities and radical with accessibility challenges a mode to easy link connected nationalist matters.

Meetings are held astatine the municipal bureau successful Baddeck successful cardinal Cape Breton, but the region runs northbound to the extremity of the Island.

'You tin ne'er beryllium excessively transparent'

"I don't deliberation we gave it a just accidental before," Patterson said. "We lone had 1 livestreaming of the committee-of-the-whole meeting," Patterson said.

"You tin ne'er person excessively overmuch accusation and you tin ne'er beryllium excessively transparent. Personally, I thought it would person added to the transparency, but assembly made a determination and I'll abide by that."

Organ said assembly meetings are livestreamed, truthful it's not indispensable to broadcast committee meetings, wherever topics are discussed but nary decisions are finalized.

"Nothing is being hid," she said. "Nothing tin beryllium passed successful the committee of the whole. It each has to beryllium passed astatine a assembly meeting, truthful everything is connected grounds and it's livestreamed then."

'Facebook leafage not for comments'

Organ said lately, nary 1 has been complaining to her astir transparency.

She said allowing comments connected societal media isn't necessary

"Our Facebook leafage is for accusation only. It's not for comments. If you person a remark oregon inquiry, delight interaction your councillor oregon our [chief administrative officer] oregon myself personally."

MORE TOP STORIES