Does City Council Really Want to Hear From You?
The majority of Winnipeg City Council never hears from the public
Poli Nerd Warning!
I made my first presentation to city council over 25 years ago. It was in Calgary and, while I can’t remember what I first presented about, it was probably about an environmental issue at the time. Most likely speaking about rampant pesticide use or the lack of any kind of recycling in the City of Calgary.
Since that first time, I have presented countless times to city council in various capacities on many topics. As a citizen or a member of an organization, I presented to Calgary City Council on everything from urban sprawl, recycling, pesticide use, urban growth boundaries, arts funding, affordable housing, and many other topics. I also had the pleasure to speaking to council as a colleague for 10 years.
I moved to Winnipeg in the summer of 2019 and within 3 weeks of being here presented to city council. I have also had the opportunity to sit in and observe other city councils. I have watched Edmonton, Ottawa, and Toronto city councils, on top of Calgary and Winnipeg, in action.
Suffice to say, and I have declared this before, I am a local government nerd!
Muni Gov Love
One of the great things about local government is that it is so close to where we live every day. Municipalities make the decisions about how and where we live: such as where our homes are, where jobs and schools are, how we move around the city, where we get to play sports or hang out at the park, where we meet friends for a drink, all of those things are decisions that are made by local government.
Municipal government is also close. There are more opportunities to interact with the decision makers and service providers than any other order of government. Elected officials and decision makers are our neighbours, live and work in the same communities we do. Contacting them is easier and more direct. Ensuring our voices are heard, whether through 311, contacting our councillor, or showing up for a city council meeting, is built into the local government system. It is foundational to how municipalities operate, regardless of where they are in the country.
Deaf Ears
Given all that, why then does the City of Winnipeg make it so hard for residents to be heard, let alone listened to, by their elected representatives? For all the processes in place, for all the meetings where the public can speak to city council: community committees, standing policy committees, executive policy committee, and city council meetings, a total of 12 committees in all, allow public input, the majority of council never hears from the public on any given issue.
Systemic Barriers
There is a fundamental flaw in the system here in Winnipeg that doesn’t exist in other cities. The make up of the various committees, other than the full council meeting itself, never come close to having a significant representation of council members.
The primary forum for the public to be heard is at the Standing Policy committee, of which there are five. It is here the public gets to share their thoughts, and passions, with council members. It is here that reports are brought forward from city administration with recommendations. It is at the standing policy committee that decisions are generally made to be forwarded along to the Executive Policy Committee (EPC) and then on to Council. This is the prime point of contact where the public is encouraged to have their voice heard.
And yet, at this most encouraged and important place for public input, where members of the public will spend all day waiting for their 10 minutes before city council to share their thoughts and opinions, only 25% of City Council will ever hear them.
Should a member of the public also attend EPC to once again express their opinion only 38% of City Council will ever hear them. Finally, at the Council meeting, where finally all of City Council are sitting, here, rather than limiting the number of councillors who can hear from the public, the council rules limit the number of speakers allowed. Where 100% of council can hear from the public, they only allow 4 members of the public to speak; 2 in favour of a motion and 2 opposed.
Budget “Engagement”
Here we are, the week of January 13th, the beginning of the public process for City Council to consider the 2025 budget. Over the next two weeks, the public is invited to share their thoughts on the proposed budget. Arguably, the budget is the most important document of the year, as it sets out the priorities for the city going forward. It is also a chance for the public to have direct input into where their tax dollars are going to be spent. That importance is recognized by the City in that it releases the full meeting schedule ahead of time, so people can be prepared to speak to the budget.
Some members of Council even tout these meetings as meaningful “public engagement”. But, let’s not fool ourselves, allowing the public to speak to an already determined budget, in the compartmentalized slices that are before each committee, with only 25% of council present (if all committee members attend) is NOT public engagement.
Government as Partnership
Municipal government should be a partnership. In order to grow and develop as a community it must be a meaningful partnership between its citizens, elected officials, and the public service. It must have meaningful opportunities to participating in the process of decision making. Sadly, in Winnipeg, the opportunities for public participation, particularly at city council, feels performative at best. It certainly isn’t intended to be a meaningful forum for the public to participate, no matter what councillors try to convince the public of.
Members of the public are investing their time and energy to try to have their voices heard. They are spending the countless hours listening to councillors, to other members of the public. They are often giving up days of work or vacation in order to have their chance to be heard. The public is working hard to be a good partner to government. For the partnership to work, City Council needs to be willing to actually hear from its citizens.
Currently, the processes and systems in place, whether limiting the number of councillors listening, or limiting the number of public speaking, show that our municipal government is not holding up it's side of the partnership. And people are noticing.
It doesn’t have to be this way
City Council has the ability to change the process, to let the public in, in a real way. It recently made a decision to demonstrate they can do that very thing. The Malls and Corridors change, rather than going to a public hearing of the Property & Development committee, being heard by only 4 members, was sent to a full council meeting. The public got a chance to address all of council on this very important issue. That change is a tacit recognition the public is getting left out of the decision making process.
The Winnipeg City Charter is provincial legislation and difficult to change. There are significant changes that can and should be made to the Charter to enable the City of Winnipeg to better respond to citizens and make better decisions. But those will take time and an intentional strategy on behalf of the City of Winnipeg.
But how Council operates is very much within its purview. How council operates is determined by its own Organization Bylaw and Procedure Bylaw. These are the rules put in place by City Council that determine how it will operate and interact with the public in the decision making process.
City council can revise those bylaws to provide meaningful opportunity for the public to participate. They can change the committee structure, change how and when the public can join in meetings. They can ensure that City Council actually get to hear from the public.
Members of the public come to the table, every day, giving up their time and energy for a better community. They need a real partner in City Council.
Winnipeg deserves that. Winnipeg needs that.