A call for Central Saanich to be more proactive in the release of in-camera information has been rejected by council on a tie vote.
Coun. Zeb King had recommended that staff develop of a policy “for proactive disclosure of closed meeting business, including decisions and reports, once the need for confidentiality has ceased to exist.”
King’s motion would have seen the district release information on the township’s website and be accompanied by a reference on the council agenda.
Currently, Central Saanich council decisions reached in-camera are released only by decision of council.
Chief administrative officer Patrick Robins said the change, if implemented, would require a bit more tracking of both council resolutions made during in-camera sessions and any accompanying reports, letters or supporting documentation.
There would also have to be a determination of the triggers for release, he said.
King said all he was seeking was support for development of a policy.
Mayor Ryan Windsor was against the motion.
“While I think there are some really good ideas here, I think our current approach of rising and reporting is working well for us,” Windsor said. “So I’m not going to support this although the ideas, I think, are things that we could build into our current structure, perhaps not going as big as this.”
King said releasing information as a matter of policy instils confidence in the public that information will be released without any politics involved as to what should or should not be released.
He recalled being a council member in 2012 when Central Saanich councillors were unable to answer questions about their decision made in-camera to grant a paid leave to then-councillor Terry Siklenka, who was discovered to be living and working on the Cayman Islands at the time.
King, who in that case had voted against granting Siklenka leave, was prohibited by law from speaking out about the in-camera decision until that council decided to report on it.
“That was not easy. That was uncomfortable. When a majority doesn’t want to release something and you are bound by that in-camera fiduciary responsibility, it could potentially never be released,” King said.
He said Central Saanich has been a regional leader in transparency initiatives through actions such as webcasting meetings and it should continue by following best practices as outlined by the B.C. ombudsperson.
Voting in favour were councillors King, Christopher Graham and Gord Newton. Opposed were Windsor, and councillors Carl Jensen and Niall Paltiel. Coun. Bob Thompson was absent.
The ombudsperson says local governments should strive to release as much information as possible as often as possible, in order to demonstrate their commitment to the principles of transparency and accountability.
Best practices include:
• Complying with provisions of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• Establishing a process and assigning responsibility to specific staff for reviewing and releasing minutes of closed meetings and related information no longer requiring confidentiality.
• Releasing as much information as possible as often as possible once confidentiality is no longer required.
