STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC July 1, 2020
When the COVID-19 pandemic became the new reality several months ago, municipalities had to adapt when it came to the process of . . .
council meetings. While municipalities already frequently uploaded meeting notes on their websites, the audio recording of municipal meetings is widely a new phenomenon.
For example, MRC Pontiac has been hosting its council meetings via the video conference software Zoom and complete audio recordings have been posted on their website for the public to listen to, as MRCs are now required to do so by the provincial government.
Travis Ladoceur, MRC clerk, said that the MRC is considering continuing the recording and uploading of meetings even once normalcy returns to the meetings.
The meetings have experienced a range in levels of engagement. According to data collected by Colleen Jones, MRC communications advisor, the May 20 meeting had eight public questions submitted as well as 34 listeners online. Conversely, the recent June 17 meeting had one public question and only three online listeners.
The MRC was not the first body to post the recordings online, as L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet has been doing so since the very beginning of the pandemic.
Martin Bertrand is a councillor for the municipality, and he said their decision to record has been a beneficial tool in sharing information with residents.
“We were the first ones to start posting our meetings, which was a recommendation from the government as opposed to doing closed meetings,” Bertrand said. “So we started posting that on our website and at the same time on our Facebook page.”
On top of sharing audio, Bertrand said that they found using Google Forum useful for allowing for residents to submit questions online. The first meeting they used it for saw 11 questions be submitted.
“I think it’s been really appreciated,” Bertrand said when asked about how things are compared to prior the pandemic. “It’s important to be transparent, that’s the most important thing.”
While there are these examples of meetings being put online for the public to easily listen to, it is still far from being the norm.
Mayor Winston Sunstrum of L’Isle-aux-Allumettes said that the municipality has continued to update the meeting minutes online, although the teleconference-held meetings are closed to the public.
Sunstrum touted their website and Facebook page as great resources for updates for residents, and he said that people should feel free to email or call the offices with their questions.
The mayor also mentioned the possibility for meeting changes soon, as they could move from teleconference to in-person meetings for July.
In Shawville, there are now open meetings being held in-person at the townhall. Director General Crystal Webb said that the minutes have been posted on the website as usual, but that there is no audio recordings available on the website.
“They are recorded too, just audio here at the town hall,” Webb explained. “So if they came in and wanted to listen to it that is fine.”
Webb says that the council has had the odd resident sit in since they resumed in-person meetings. She also says the residents are more than welcome to submit their relevant questions to the Shawville Municipality via call or email.
