Online public participation should be immediately reinstated
Editor:
At the end of June, Clearview Township announced they were “thrilled to welcome the public back into Council Chambers for Public Participation once again”. Wonderful news! What they have also chosen to do is eliminate access for the public to submitwritten comments via their website. WHY?!
With the online portal (which is just a fillable form created as a result of the pandemic) Clearview had the highest level of public engagement to date, as stated by Mayor Measures and Councillors at numerous Council meetings (all available for viewing on their website). Voters and residents could share their opinions even if they had mobility issues, limited or no access to transportation, to childcare – or were unable to take time off work and other obligations. If you can go online, or know someone who can do it for you, your voice can be heard.
It is not okay that Clearview Township has made the deliberate choice to go backwards. They are refusing to keep this positive change that Covid demanded and are insisting that we must now show up in person in Stayner at 5:30 p.m. on a Monday. Clearview is actively raising barriers to participation and is sending a very clear message that they don’t want to hear from us.
Whether this is the CAO’s directive or coming from somewhere or someone else, this is not okay. This is unnecessary.
This needs to be corrected right now.
I urge everyone in Clearview to reach out to Mayor Measures and Councillors (by phone +/or by emailing council@clearview.ca), to the CAO and Clerk to insist that the online Public Participation form be immediately reinstated.
It is not a difficult undertaking to maintain the online form. It is, however, a very big deal to have the online form taken away, even though it has been done with a gleeful announcement about eased restrictions.
Have your voice heard, now and going forward, and let’s participate in the work that will impact every single one of us, for years to come.
Samantha Margis,
Creemore.
