Ensuring transparency
First brought to Council: April 5, 2018
Outcome: Carried Unanimously
City Council is a democratically elected body and it should be accountable to the citizens of Calgary. It is governed by the Municipal Government Act which sets out that Council and Committee meetings are to be held in public. The only exception to this is when the topic discussed could be harmful to third party business interests, personal privacy, individual or public safety, law enforcement, or in general could be detrimental to the effective management of the corporation that the Council was elected to oversee.
It can sometimes be difficult to balance these competing interests, and there has been some criticism that Council is making the wrong decisions. It is imperative that Council err on the side of openness when weighing the public’s right to information with any possible exceptions. A well-run Council is one that is as open and transparent as possible with its decision making process. The public is entitled to that.
The City should be making decisions in full view of the public eye as much as possible. That is why Councillor Peter Demong brought a Notice of Motion asking Council to commission a review of its use of closed meetings.
View the Notice of Motion
Categories: Motions and Initiatives