Editor:
All governments use standing committees to do their leg-work before issues are debated by the larger body. In municipalities, the mayor customarily appoints standing committees within days of taking office.
More than two months into his term, Gibsons Mayor Wayne Rowe has still not appointed any standing committees, opting to conduct committee business in weekly committee of the whole meetings.
Mr. Rowe says his experiment is meant to see if things can be moved along more efficiently than is usual under the standing committee system.
Aside from Gibsons' procedure bylaw requirements to have standing committees, and aside from the loss of valuable input by citizen appointees to committees (enabling council to make more informed decisions), the absence of standing committees has seriously compromised the two-way communication between Gibsons citizens and council.
People attended standing committee meetings to hear and learn from in-depth discussion on topics of interest and were often able to contribute to those discussions by voicing concerns and ideas.
Council chambers are well occupied at committee and council meetings. The mayor and some others say this indicates increased public participation and better communication between council and the public. But in many of the seats are those same faces who have always attended: folks who are regarded by some councillors as obstructionist and not representative of the broader electorate.
People can no longer choose which meetings interest them: these are the only meetings that exist. We attend because we worry that important issues might slip by unnoticed in the rush to expedite the work of council. There are inquiry opportunities at these meetings, but no two-way exchange.
People attending meetings and being granted the opportunity for inquiries - which need not be answered - is participation, but let's not confuse it with real communication.
Katie Janyk
Gibsons
