Toronto set to make hybrid council meetings permanent
Toronto city councillors are set to make hybrid public meetings permanent.
The decision will be made at a city council meeting later this week.
Councillors have been participating in virtual council meetings—in one form or another—since April 2020 as the pandemic was ramping up across the country.
Officials say that 665 meetings between April 2020 and March 2022 were held entirely online, with 3,193 members of the public registered to speak.
As city buildings reopened after lockdown restrictions lifted, officials adopted a hybrid meeting model “to ensure that meeting participants have an equitable experience regardless of their method of participation.”
“The public has expressed that having the option to participate remotely allows for improved access and limits issues around childcare, time off work and other factors that may have previously limited their ability to attend a meeting in person,” officials said in a report being heard at this week’s council meeting.
“The hybrid meeting model allows the public to choose how they wish to address Committee, encouraging participation and increasing accessibility.”
Officials also noted that 27 decision bodies have requested they remain virtual only.
Council may amend the motion to provide restrictions on electronic participation, including limiting it to certain purposes such as medical reasons, parental leave or while travelling on city business. They may also require chairs to participate in person or mandate that members should either remote-in or participate in person for the full duration of the meeting.
The report says that regardless of council’s decisions, they should allow electronic participation to occur during a declared emergency.
The motion being considered would allow members meeting electronically to be counted in quorum. It also changes the time required to achieve quorum from 15 to 30 minutes.
If adopted, the same rules would apply to members of the public who want to participate in a hybrid meeting.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.