Kamloops City Council could be doing away with its public inquiries during its council meetings.
The motion, introduced by coun. Bill Sarai, was brought up after the Tuesday council meeting was “Zoom-bombed.”
Shortly before 4 pm, the city issued a public apology after a video showing “inappropriate behaviour” was broadcast to people tuning into the meeting over Zoom.
That included members of the public, city staff, council members and media.
In the news release, the city does not identify what the broadcast included. KamloopsNow staff were not tuned into the Zoom meeting so we are unable to confirm what was shown.
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“We deeply regret the inappropriate behaviour that occurred and any distress it may have caused,” the news release said.
“Our intention is always to create an open and safe space for discussion, and we are disappointed that this incident overshadowed that goal.”
The meeting was adjourned following the incident.
The meeting briefly resumed and was being broadcast live on Youtube, as it is every week.
City staff told council that all staff members, including those recording the meeting minutes, “did not have the capacity” to continue on with the meeting and requested that the meeting be adjourned.
During the brief six minute meeting, mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson said he did not see the “act” that was shown at the Zoom meeting.
Staff said the people watching on Zoom were exposed to the “act” on full screen.
“It was incredibly disturbing,” city staff said during the brief council meeting.
The news release said the city took the matter seriously and will be actively reviewing procedures and security measures.
Coun. Bill Sarai suggested that council explore the possibility of removing the public inquiries portion of meetings.
Kamloops council has two options for members of the public to address council on matters relating to the agenda. They are usually held at the beginning and end of each meeting.
“I have been sitting in this horseshoe for six years now and the decorum that comes to us and the accusations and the finger pointing and the laughing has just gotten to the point where it hinders us to do our job,” coun. Sarai said.
“We’re more than willing to answer questions that come up individually or in a group, whatever channel they need, and our staff are available.”
Coun. Sarai said he had been contemplating the motion for quite a number of months, adding that the two public inquiries take up to three-quarters of city council’s time.
Staff said the motion to consider removing public inquiries would be dealt with at a future meeting, but no date was given.
The Tuesday meeting was completely adjourned for the day. No rescheduled date has been given.
As of 4:45 pm, the City of Kamloops has completely removed the brief meeting from YouTube.
