Steve Rant - Procedural Fairness & WL Council

Natural Justice, which also includes the notion of procedural fairness is partially described as:

(from Wikipedia)

"Proceedings should be conducted so they are fair to all the parties - expressed in the Latin maxim 'audi alteram partem': 'let the other side be heard'."

The City of Williams Lake Council is beginning to acquire a number of examples where this principle has not been applied

Such examples include:

1) Failure to notify the public of WL Council's intention to adopt Bylaws #2093 (Traffic Control Bylaw, relative to prohibition of placing of material and vehicles on boulevard's in the City) and Bylaw #2102 (Animal Control Bylaw)

2) Failure to give reasonable notice to the public of either an In-Camera or Special Meeting of Council including the calling of Special or Regular meetings of the Central Cariboo Joint Committee (including this Friday's Joint Committee meeting, with regard to the Arts and Culture Function - next steps) and next Tuesday's public meeting with regard to the 2010 Budget - Reminder, that this meeting is on Tuesday, December 8th @ 7:00pm in Council Chambers

This Council must learn and understand that their actions must be seen to be fair to all. It is not enough to say: we've always done it this way, so what's the problem..?

On the subject of next week's public consultation meeting for the City's 2010 Budget, for Mayor Cook to say - well, I told members of the WL & District Chamber of Commerce of this meeting and announced it at the recent "Imagine Our Future" community workshop and call it "notice" is at the height of arrogance. The general public at large doesn't get to attend either of these meetings.

If the standard for notifying the public for a Public Hearing on a Land Use Bylaw is 9 days, then I would think that it should be the rule that notice of a meeting of Council, whether Regular or Special on any subject should be at least 7 days before the meeting takes place. This rule should also be enforced for any Committee of Council including the Central Cariboo Joint Committee

Failure to consider this means that WL Council is not meeting the "public interest" test which requires that Council's actions must be viewed as being fair to all sides