Editor:
The May 12 Gibsons council meeting attracted a predictably large crowd of passionate onlookers, both for and against the George Hotel proposal.
Perhaps this complex and controversial matter would have been better addressed in committee of the whole, which permits more freewheeling discussion at the council table. However, the mayor chose to address it in the formal setting of a council meeting, relaxing the protocol somewhat to allocate more than the usual time for delegate presentations and public inquiries.
A relaxed meeting protocol is not a licence for the audience to clap, cheer, boo, heckle questioners, or shout at councillors trying to do the job for which we elected them. Such displays are entirely inappropriate, and exceedingly disrespectful to both the council and the process.
Whether we agree with them or not, whether we think they should be moving forward faster or being more cautious, we in the gallery have no right heckling councillors during a meeting. Those folks are up there on display, trying to process and understand complicated information before deciding what to do.
They don’t need the added pressure of rude audience members groaning or booing or scoffing at them if things aren’t moving to conclusion as quickly as some people would like.
Admittedly, The George is a hot-button proposal, with emotions running high on both sides. But audience behaviour at Tuesday’s meeting was deplorable — possibly the worst I’ve seen in my many years attending local government meetings.
The chair is responsible for maintaining meeting decorum. But the chair shouldn’t have to babysit the public gallery. If we citizens expect our councils to be open and transparent, welcoming public participation, then we citizens had better learn how to behave, and give the forum and our elected people the respect they deserve.
Katie Janyk, Gibsons
