BURSTVictoria council meets for its final time Thursday evening under somewhat of a shroud – after the mayor, in a rare move – pulled a presentation from the public off the agenda.
The monthly evening meetings of a council that primarily meets during the day on Thursdays frequently include a musical introduction and a plethora of public input on a variety of topics.
Because the once-a-month evening meeting is generally open to all residents of any municipality, to speak on any topic for up to five minutes, there is a red notice atop the agenda: “Victoria City Hall is a place where civil discourse, respect and inclusion is paramount. We ask each of us to help make city hall a place where we are all welcome and valued, where speakers and listeners honour the protocols that guide our work, and no form of discrimination is tolerated.”
With the election looming Oct. 17, the Oct. 8 evening meeting is the last of this council. On the agenda was a speaker with a presentation Alto felt she could not leave – and opted to remove.
“There was an item which dealt specifically with an international conflict that causes a great deal of division. I believe that city council and city hall have the responsibility and the opportunity to create a safe space for the exchange of ideas, and to do so in a way which showcases how a community can disagree but be civil and kind. It is my judgement that the materials presented on this matter were neither civil nor kind, and that they brought to the council table an international matter that is far beyond the council’s capacity or authority to take any action,” Alto said during a Wednesday (Oct. 7) press conference.
“I made this decision. I made this decision based upon protocols that we use every day, based upon a variety of different sections of different procedural advisories and advice … I did not do this lightly, and I am aware that this will cause concerns, but I believe that my higher responsibility is to ensure that the city demonstrates the ability to disagree with civility, and that it protects individuals who are not elected.”
Alto said she made the decision herself and informed the rest of council earlier in the day. With the presentation removed, the person scheduled to present it will not have that option.
“It’s not to say we can’t disagree, we must disagree, but we must have the space to do that in a way which continues to recognize that we are all members of a community. And it is my position that this presentation would undermine that,” Alto said.
The rest of the agenda will continue, with a dozen or so speakers remaining to potentially speak, with the brief descriptions of their presentations reading as rebuttals of the first item – which references the mayor’s support of the Chabad of Vancouver Island and “support of genocide in Gaza.”
“It is my understanding, based upon their brief descriptions, that they were speaking positively. My issue with the previous presentation was that it was rather negative, and included accusations of a very dramatic nature to a specific person,” the mayor added.
Council meets Thursday morning as committee, followed by council and the evening meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., with a performance from the Victoria Conservatory of Music.