Essex county council mulls policies on public conduct after cancelled meeting
CBC
Three new policies up for consideration at Essex county council aim to tamp down on "frivolous, vexatious and unreasonable" behaviour by the public, if approved Wednesday night.
Council will consider approving a code of conduct, and visitor and trespassing policies that would apply to members of the public. The policies come after a county council meeting last month was cut short due to capacity issues, with hundreds in attendance.
There were concerns among attendees about the idea of 15-minute cities — an urban planning concept that has become linked to what experts describe as conspiracy theories around government control. The topic was not on the agenda and officials say they aren't considering the policy.
"There were people that wanted to speak that couldn't speak because of the intimidation," said Hilda MacDonald, Essex County Warden."
"There was yelling, there was swearing, There was constant disruption of the speakers."
"My colleagues to my right, they heard the threats, you know, talking about storming the chambers. We can't have that kind of atmosphere when we're wanting to have public discussion."
The draft code of conduct policy prohibits behaviour that is "frivolous," "vexatious" or "unreasonable" but specifies that the intention is to limit very specific behaviour. And that it will not be used to limit people who might be deemed difficult.
The visitor policy would require visitors to county buildings to go through security screening and sign-in. It also prohibits bringing weapons, and air horns or megaphones.
The trespass policy would give the county the ability to issue a trespassing notice to people who don't follow county policies. It could also be used to prevent aggression, intimidating behaviour, bullying, harassment, coarse language and criminal behaviour.
The policies include descriptions of behaviour that could apply in each case, and a process for reporting the behaviour, notifying the person involved, potential restrictions — from limiting contact to legal action — and a reviews and appeals process.
Amherstburg resident Tye Chambers said he and his girlfriend attended last month's meeting, where council was looking to gather feedback from the community as part of a review of the county's Official Community Plan.
Chambers said he believes any comments considered threatening were misunderstood, and that attendees were yelling because they wanted to be heard.
"I think it's a little extreme. I understand if there was actually a threat that was going around and they were concerned about their safety, that I understand," Chambers said. "But the fact that it was just misconstrued, I think this is such a huge step to take just for confusion.
"I mean that sounds like a whole lot of extra effort for no real reason ... So I don't think it's really going to do anything, to be perfectly honest, except for slowing things down."
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.