Have I missed something? Is Salmon Arm no longer part of a democracy?
I was appalled to read that the city council had voted on Sept. 12 to suspend the public question and answer period at council meetings until after the Nov. 19 municipal election.
This means that for more than two months citizens will be denied the right to question and/or inform the council publicly about their concerns. Interestingly, Coun. Ken Jamieson was the only member of council to oppose this measure.
The reason given by Mayor Marty Bootsma for taking such a step was that “It (the question and answer period) tends to become a soapbox for people.”
This could be remedied easily by setting a time limit on presentations – five or 10 minutes would be reasonable. This would allow citizens to express concerns without taking over the meeting.
Coun. Jamieson, thank you for standing up for the voting public.
Mr. Mayor and Councillors, please reconsider this repressive action.
Diane Ambil