Delegations, Presentations, and Open Forum

You must submit your request to appear before Council by the completing the Request to Appear as a Delegation form before noon on the Wednesday preceding the Council meeting you would like to appear at.

The request is to be directed to the Clerk at the Township Office and may be delivered in person or emailed. If you are placed on the agenda, you will be provided with a time to appear. If your request is received after the deadline or if there are already two deputations scheduled, your request will be placed on the next regular Council agenda.

• Requested Meeting Date
• Name of Individual(s) Presenting to Council
• Contact Information
• Subject Matter to be Discussed
• Reason for Attending the Meeting
• Background Information, including a brief summary for inclusion in the electronic Council package

If your submission is vague, you will be contacted for clarification. If you do not provide sufficient information or refuse to disclose the reason for your delegation you will not be permitted to appear as a delegation.

The Procedural By-law (2017-100) requires this notice period. Council also needs to know what your reasons for attending are and staff need to be provided with time to generate background information. To meet the requirements for accountability and openness, sufficient notice needs to be provided so that members of the public are aware of what will be discussed at the meeting.

The Council meeting is an open meeting and any members of the public are welcome to attend. You will be making your presentation in front of Council which is composed of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and five Council members. Senior staff members may also be in attendance along with the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Clerk. All comments are to be directed to the Mayor who is the head of Council. The Mayor has control of the meeting and if comments are made which are rude, insulting or grossly inappropriate you will be requested to cease this behaviour. If this behaviour continues, you will be requested to leave the Council Chambers.

Delegations are limited to ten (10) minutes. If you have additional information that cannot be covered in this time, please provide copies of the material which may be provided to Council members and staff. Upon consent of the majority of members present, the ten (10) minute time limit for deputations/delegations may be extended.

Your group can request to attend as a delegation, but only one member is permitted to speak to the issue. The ten (10) minute limit applies to groups as well as individuals.

You are permitted to show a video or provide a slide presentation as long as it does not exceed the ten (10) minute time limit.

If you require equipment or set-up, please advise the Clerk in advance of the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Please provide any Power Point presentations in .ppt format for presentation during the meeting.

Presentations may be emailed or provided on a memory stick prior to the meeting and must be submitted to the Clerk no later than noon on the Wedensday prior to the Council Meeting. No material is to be distributed following the printing of the agenda.

If you are presenting in-person, you will be presenting from the podium directly in front of Council. It is important that Council and the members in attendance can hear your comments so you are asked to speak into the microphone or speak at a volume audible at the back of the Council Chambers.

You do have the option to make a delegation electronically. Please contact 519-923-2110 ext. 230 for more information on arranging this. 

The purpose of the delegation is to provide information to Council. As a delegation, you are there to make a presentation. Council will look into your matter and may ask staff to report on the issue so that they can make an informed decision. You will be informed of Council's decision when it is made.

You cannot come back to Council to speak on the same issue unless a Council member requests a reconsideration of the issue.

You have several options:

• Write a letter to Council and it will appear as correspondence on an upcoming agenda
• Contact Councillors directly via the Council Members page

Open forum allows for comments from the public relating to matters within Council’s jurisdiction.

The first fifteen (15) minutes of any regular Council meeting will be set aside for Open Forum. During this time any individual may address Council to voice concern or provide information on subjects of municipal concern. Members of the public are required to sign a register prior to the beginning of Council which allows them the opportunity to speak and also acknowledges they understand the protocol for Open Forum.

No decision shall be made as a result of comments made during Open Forum. Council may consider comments made during Open Forum when deliberating the issue if/when the item arises on the regular Council agenda.

No motions shall be presented as a result of comments made during Open Forum other than during the Notice of Motion section of the agenda.

Members and staff shall not be engaged in debate or discussion during Open Forum.

The “Open Forum Register” will be made available fifteen (15) minutes prior to the Council meeting for sign up and collected by the Clerk to begin Open Forum. Individuals are required to sign in prior to being permitted to speak. No individuals will be permitted to sign up after the register has been collected. 

No individual shall speak more than once at any meeting, and no individual shall speak for longer than three (3) minutes. The Chair may curtail the time or excuse any individual from speaking if the topic is unduly repetitious. The Chair may adjust the order of the speakers to allow for a broad range of topics during the allotted time.

Any comments made during Open Forum shall not form part of the Council minutes. The general nature of the comments and the number of speakers may be indicated in the minutes. The register shall be placed in the Council agenda file.