Speak Your Mind
There are many ways to communicate your views to Council, Standing Committees and staff.
1. Join Concerned Citizens. By joining, you'll have the opportunity to build support for your point of view within our group. You'll also increase Concerned Citizens' credibility and influence.
2. Contribute to our Member's Forum. Start a topic for discussion or add your comment to another Member's topic.
3. Send an email or a letter to your Councillor, the appropriate Committee chairperson or staff person. See Contact us (PEC Council and staff). Keep it short, polite and to the point.
4. Phone or ask for a meeting. If you do, consider following up with an email or letter documenting your discussion; otherwise, there will be no permanent record of your contact.
5. Ask a question or make a comment at a meeting of Council or a Standing Committee. These meetings are open to the public. Prior notice is not required if you are speaking on a topic listed on the agenda.
6. Make a deputation at a meeting of Council or a Standing Committee. See Deputations to Council and Committees. You must give 3 business days' notice to the County Clerk. If you miss the notice deadline, you can ask a Councillor in advance to make a motion to allow you to speak.
You will have 10 minutes to make your point(s). We recommend that you provide copies of your remarks as a handout, because the recorded minutes won't include details of what you said. For a Council meeting, bring at least 22 copies and, optionally, four more for reporters from the local papers.
7. Write a letter to the Editor and send it to all three local papers (or four including the Intelligencer.) If you submit it before the paper's weekly deadline and keep it relatively short (preferably less than 400 words), it's likely that it will be published in its entirety in the current week's edition.
8. Attend a public input meeting hosted by Council or a Standing Committee for the purpose of obtaining input from citizens. You don't have to speak; rather, you can demonstrate your interest just by attending and your approval of a particular speaker by your applause (if permitted).
9. Speak at a public input meeting. It is recognized that, for each person who speaks, there are a hundred more who agree. The more speakers, the greater the impact on Council and staff.