Calgary City Council is considering limiting virtual attendance at meetings

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Calgary city councilors will consider a staff proposal next week that would limit their ability to attend meetings remotely.

At Tuesday's executive committee meeting, the council will discuss amending language to its procedural law and code of conduct, stipulating how often and under what circumstances members can attend meetings virtually.

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The proposal comes after the 13th District. Dan McLean was sanctioned in December following an investigation by the city's integrity commissioner that found he attended a public hearing from the golf course last summer.

The council's rules of procedure have allowed remote participation in meetings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.

Staff are now proposing to change that rule to say that members can participate remotely “occasionally, provided they are in an appropriate and safe location without disturbing the camera and not using the background.”

The revised rule applicable to public and closed meetings encourages councilors to make an effort to attend these discussions in person.

While remote participation is still allowed, it should only be in “exceptional circumstances” where in-person participation is not feasible or feasible, the staff report said. These situations may include being out of town for urgent personal or medical matters, or in town for business purposes.

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Advisers must also record the reasons for attending meetings remotely, which must be disclosed to the Integrity Commissioner upon request.

The city's Office of Integrity and Ethics oversees consultants' compliance, according to a staff report.

10th district. Andre Chabot said that meeting in person has its advantages, such as being able to “read the room.”

Now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, Chabot believes the council should return to the old rules, where council members are not allowed to vote unless they are in their seats.

“It's one thing to listen to people and see their reaction. It's a whole different story when you're trying to make that decision when you're working remotely,” he said.

“There's something about that personal connection — even the small side conversations that occasionally take place in a council meeting can lead to informal resolution of differences of opinion.”

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One councilor said he intended to make an amendment to next week's meeting, given his personal circumstances.

3rd district. Jasmine Mian has been attending meetings regularly since giving birth last summer and said the rules should allow for flexibility in her work.

“It's best to do a role like this in person, and I'll be there as much as I can, but our meetings are more than 12 hours a day,” Mian said. “If you have a newborn like I do, you need the flexibility to work remotely. Otherwise, the baby will have to enter the council chambers and it will disturb everyone.”

Mian also criticized McLean, suggesting his behavior led to the need for a “course correction”.

“I went back to work two weeks after having the baby, so I was upset that I had to amend my request for flexibility as a new mother because the councilor decided to play golf while at work,” she said.

“Let's keep the right amount of flexibility so that work is available to people from all walks of life, but let's have the right fences to prevent the abuse that we've seen.”

McLean said he has one of the best records for in-person attendance among the council, and he has been pushing for rules banning remote attendance for the past two years.

Councilors should always attend meetings in person unless they are sick or conducting business on behalf of their city, McLean said.

If the executive committee approves the staff proposal next week, the council must still approve the changes at an upcoming regular meeting.

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