Another meeting, another questionable agenda item. The November 4 council agenda included one from the mayor about reporting out from closed meetings. His request was that council yield its authority to the CAO to decide which closed meeting topics are legally able to be made public.
Reporting out from meetings is a council function – defined by section 117 of the Community Charter. Odd that three years into the term the mayor is still unfamiliar with this simple rule.
His motion was defeated.
Over and above the rookie request, if there was ever proof Berry is part of the ongoing, divisive misinformation campaign on social media, this item is it. Within a day his Facebook group continued their narrative with a nonsensical poll on the topic (we all want council to follow best practices – question is, does this small group know what best practice really is?).
It is yet another instance of Berry and Broughton being allowed to use council agendas and meetings to provide grist to their ongoing rhetoric mill.
Again the question is: How did the item make it onto the agenda at all?
In Lions Bay council typically reports out from closed meetings when they move back into an open session. The decision to report out or not and what to say requires a majority vote. This is also subject to restrictions laid out in the Community Charter and other legislation.
In his agenda item the mayor referenced the BC Ombudsman’s 2012 guide to open meetings, now being updated. The 2025 best practice guide to Open Meetings is still in draft form pending consideration of recent public input. Although the essential principles remain the same additional information and clarifications have been added.
Fiction: The public has the right to know details of everything discussed by council.
Fact: There are many confidential matters that cannot be made public for legal or other reasons.
SIDE NOTE: The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is responsible for agendas as outlined in the Council Procedures Bylaw: “Prior to each Council Meeting, the Corporate Officer must prepare an agenda setting out all the items for consideration at that Council Meeting, noting the options and
recommendations, if any, for each item on the agenda.”
