Use of recording devices in City of Nanaimo meetings will now be restricted, but city staff will look into a process for media accreditation.
At a meeting Monday, April 7, council adopted amendments to its procedures bylaw and the city's respectful spaces bylaw, which together deal with provisions associated with delegations, inappropriate behaviour, electronic devices and signs in city council and committee meetings.
The bylaws are meant to deal with instances in which images of city staff are recorded and posted on social media along with disparaging and intimidating commentary. The issue was brought back to council this week after being deferred last month, when Coun. Hilary Eastmure questioned if restricting recording devices violated freedom of the press.
During debate at this week's meeting, Coun. Paul Manly made a motion for staff to report on ways to implement an accreditation process to allow media to use recording devices. Parliament, legislature and courts, for example, have processes for media accreditation.
“We’re seeing a lot of changes to the media landscape, but there is a way to tell whether somebody actually does research and provides commentary that’s reasonable and I think it’s important to have a process in place for accrediting media,” Manly said.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said he wouldn't support Manly's motion, preferring to put in place bylaw amendments to deal with the concerns that had been raised by city staff.
“We’ll deal with it if people are unhappy with the way things are happening or someone feels aggrieved," he said. "Let’s not be, at this present time, a solution in search of a problem that may not, in fact, occur or exist.”
Manly’s motion was carried, with councillors Sheryl Armstrong, Janice Perrino, Ian Thorpe and Mayor Krog opposed.
“I think Coun. Manly’s motion is a thoughtful addition because … I think it matches the intention, which is a suite of regulations, when taken together, that define how conduct will occur in city facilities, but also in these council chambers … These come down to actually defining what we think is appropriate and how this environment should exist, free of intimidation and attempts at bullying and manipulating decisions,” Coun. Tyler Brown said.
He added that he had no concerns that the ability to restrict media from recording proceedings would be abused, and said having "clear-cut policies" on council procedures can help the city better manage its meetings.
Eastmure said she was interested in passing the bylaws, but didn’t understand the need to do so before the previously discussed media accreditation process had been developed.
“I don’t see the need to rush this,” she said. “We have practices in place where the chair can make sure that council chambers is a safe and respectful place as it is, so why not wait until we have included a piece so that it doesn’t look like we are infringing on the rights of journalists to be able to do their jobs.”
Geselbracht said, for the sake of city staff, he wanted the bylaws in place right away “to make a very clear message that it’s unacceptable to treat people that are working in the public service in that way.”
“I would like to get this passed now and make it very clear for journalists in our community there’s no problem for you to be here and it will be very easy for you – even in the interim while we don’t have the amendment put in – but council wants to make sure that it’s written in stone in our bylaws that there will be no fettering of journalistic freedom of speech in our chambers,” he said.
Eastmure questioned how restricting recording in council could be enforced.
"I’m disappointed we’re going down this route and I think the optics are not good,” she said.
Armstrong also didn’t support adopting the bylaws.
“I think it’s far overreach…" she said. "It’s not the recording that’s the issue, it’s what’s done with it afterward and there’s Criminal Code provisions for a lot of that.”
The bylaw amendments were adopted with Armstrong and Eastmure opposed.
