Ottawa Police Services Board changing how public delegations work

A gavel is seen on a desk inside Ottawa's city council chamber in this undated file image. (CTV News Ottawa)

The Ottawa Police Services Board has decided not to go ahead with a plan that would move public delegations to a separate, noon-hour meeting ahead of regular board meetings, but has made other changes to how people interact with the board.

Last month, the board discussed a plan that would change how members of the public are able to address the board; including holding delegations to an hour between noon and 1 p.m. and limiting the amount of time people had to speak if more than 12 people wanted to address the board. The delegation meeting would also not be mandatory for board members to attend, but there would need to be at least four.

The proposed changes were a recommendation by the policy and governance committee of the Ottawa Police Services Board, which includes Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Salim Fakirani and Michael Doucet. The changes were widely condemned by public speakers when introduced in January. Coun. Marty Carr, a member of the board, said she was uncomfortable with the changes and planned to bring an amendment before the board during its February meeting.

At that meeting, Carr proposed several changes to the plan, most notably being that public delegations remain within the agenda of normal board meetings. The changes to the procedure bylaw Carr proposed would also require that delegations submit their planned comments in writing ahead of time, to give board members a chance to read them so that they can ask questions after each delegation's presentation.

"I listened very carefully to what the delegations were saying," she said. "It was really important for me mostly to see that window from 12 to 1, that it be part of the regular meeting. We heard loud and clear that people found that to be inconvenient. I certainly want to be accessible."

There was some discussion about changing the starting time of the meeting to make it accessible to as many people as possible. Board members settled on keeping the usual start time of 4 p.m.

One of the common complaints from public delegations has been that board members do not engage with questions and simply move on to the next speaker, but board members have said they're often left without enough time to think of good questions to ask.

Carr said that was also part of her new motion.

"We heard a lot from the delegations that they want us to ask questions. I know it's easier for me to ask a question if I read material ahead of time," she said. "Requesting that people submit material ahead of time was included so that we can have an opportunity to dialogue more with those who are delegating."

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he was supportive of the changes.

"I think we all listened to that feedback carefully," he said of people's opposition to the original plan. "Councillor Carr did a lot of research into what was happening in other jurisdictions to ensure that what we're doing was in line with that."

Carr said she looked at Toronto's police services board and those in other cities to see how they handle public delegations before drafting her amended motion.

The changes would also allow the board chair to give priority to public delegates who have not spoken to the board in the past three months. Delegations would still be limited to five minutes, but the board chair would have the authority to extend it, at her discretion.

Advocacy group Horizon Ottawa condemned the changes in a release Monday night.

"It is clear that the majority of the Board does not think that consulting with the public is important and would even go as far to say they believe that it is detrimental," said Horizon Ottawa board member Sam Hersh, who is a frequent public delegation at Ottawa Police Services Board meetings. "Residents were promised more accountability after the convoy but since then things have continued to get worse. We need a civilian oversight board that works for civilians - not the police."

The Ottawa Police Services Board's next meeting will be held March 27.