BONNYVILLE – After six months, residents and delegations wishing to attend the Town of Bonnyville’s council meeting will once again be able join in-person.
On Sept. 14, Town council passed a motion to close council meetings to the public in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which aligned with other Alberta Health measures at the time.
Over the last several months, council meetings continued to be livestreamed for the public to view and delegations were held via Zoom.
At the Town of Bonnyville’s regular council meeting on March 22, council unanimously voted in favour of allowing the public to once again attend meetings in-person.
The motion was brought before council as Alberta reopens and lifts all remaining public health restrictions related to the pandemic.
Public health measures that were lifted as of March 1 include the limits that had been placed on social gatherings, and capacity limits for large venues. Mandatory work-from-home orders and public masking requirements, except for high-risk settings which include AHS facilities and continuing care centres, have also been lifted.
Before council voted on the motion, Coun. Brian McEvoy expressed that the option of reopening meetings to the public and continuing livestreaming were not exclusive to each other.
“The previous council began live streaming activities before COVID as a way of making us more visible and making it easier for our ratepayers to follow our activities. I don't think the two of them are actually combined,” he said.
McEvoy noted he supported reopening to the public but reiterated that livestreaming council meetings were a commitment to openness and transparency for the public and should continue.
In agreeance that council meetings should continue to be livestreamed and archived online, Coun. Kayla Blanchette added that she was glad to see council meetings reopen in-person due to a digital divide.
“By remaining closed for as long as we have, we have really been excluding members of our public that don't have the means to join us virtually. So, for that reason, I would be very in favour of reopening to the public and seeing people here in person.”
The April 12 regular Town council meeting will be the first meeting residents can attend in-person.
Regular Council Meetings will continue to be available for viewing online for a period of two weeks after the council meeting date, according to information provided by the Town of Bonnyville.
The MD of Bonnyville closed their council meeting to the public and began recording regular council meetings that were later published online at the end of March 2020. The MD chambers reopened with limited seating to the public in July of 2021.
