A Public Hearing will be held during a Regular or Special Council meeting in accordance with the Municipal Government Act (MGA) and this bylaw.

Public Hearings shall be advertised to the public in accordance with the MGA. If the CAO deems it appropriate, the Public Hearing may be held in a venue other than the Council Chambers.

The CAO may change the date, time and place of a Public Hearing. If any of the date, time or place is changed, the Public Hearing must be re-advertised.

Wherever possible, Persons interested in speaking at a Public Hearing should register with and forward a written submission to the CAO no later than the end of the day prior to the commencement of the Public Hearing.

Written Submissions from Members of the Public

Written submissions cannot be submitted marked “in confidence” or “confidential”. Anyone who makes a submission that is marked in this manner will be contacted by Administration and notified that they may withdraw their submission or make a revised submission as per the provided submission deadlines. If no response is received the submission will be withdrawn.

Anonymous submissions will be withdrawn as there is no way for Council to weigh the relevance of the contents.

A submission may be withheld from the Agenda if it contains hate speech, discriminatory language, or defamatory language.

The CAO will make reasonable efforts to redact email addresses, phone numbers and signatures from written submissions. No other information will be redacted.

The Reeve, or other Presiding Officer, shall declare the Public Hearing open and shall outline the Public Hearing procedures.

Administration shall introduce the Resolution or Bylaw and shall briefly state the intended purpose followed by an applicant who may have up to ten (10) minutes to provide comments on the application.

The Reeve, or other Presiding Officer, shall then open the floor to public presentations.

The Reeve, or other Presiding Officer, shall call upon those who have registered to speak first, followed by others in attendance at the Meeting who wish to speak to the item.

The Reeve, or other Presiding Officer, shall request those who wish to speak on the matter to state their name and legal land description prior to their presentation. Anyone who does not identify themselves shall not be given the opportunity to speak.

Verbal presentations shall be limited to ten (10) minutes per presentation unless Council consents to extend the allotted time.

Council shall limit questions of clarification to a total of five (5) minutes per presentation, unless Council consents to extend the allotted time.

Following Public presentations, the Reeve, or other Presiding Officer, may choose to close the Public Hearing.

If a Public Hearing is recessed, Council shall not receive any additional submissions in relation to the subject matter until it reconvenes the Public Hearing.

Once the Public Hearing is closed, Council or Administration shall not receive any additional information on the proposed Bylaw or Resolution without reopening the Public Hearing.

Debate concerning matters raised at the Public Hearing shall take place during a Regular Council Meeting following the Public Hearing and at the discretion of the Reeve and Council.

Voting on Matters Related to a Public Hearing

The Bylaw or Resolution that is the subject of the Public Hearing is put on the floor for Council’s consideration.

When a Public Hearing on a proposed Bylaw or Resolution is held, a Member of Council:

• Must abstain from voting on the Bylaw or Resolution if that Member of Council was absent from all of the Public Hearing.
• May abstain from voting on the Bylaw or Resolution if that Member of Council was only absent from a portion of the Public Hearing.

Written Minutes of Public Hearings will become part of the Council Meeting minutes, and will reflect names, and if a Presenter speaks for or against a Bylaw or wants to make general comments on a Bylaw.

Attending Public Hearings through Electronic Means

Public Hearings with participation by electronic means are authorized to be held either through video or tele-conference systems as deemed appropriate by the CAO.

In the notice of the Public Hearing, the CAO shall provide for the method in which the public can view the meeting remotely.

It is recommended that individuals that wish to speak through electronic means during a Public Hearing pre-register to speak by submitting their contact information to the CAO by 4:00 pm on the day before the Public Hearing.

Individuals will be required to provide their contact information to be used in the event that they are disconnected from the Public Hearing and to identify them in the hearing proceedings. The County will make a reasonable attempt to re-connect with any pre-registered speaker in the event that they are disconnected but reserves the right to proceed with the Public Hearing at their discretion.

During the Public Hearing process, all individuals will be requested to mute their microphones until they are granted the opportunity to speak by the Reeve.

After the Applicant’s presentation, individuals that would like to speak in the Public Hearing, and that have pre-registered to speak, will be invited to provide their presentation to Council when requested by the Reeve, or other Presiding Officer. They will be provided ten (10) minutes for their presentation unless an extension is granted by the Reeve. The Reeve may permit other individuals that are attending remotely, but have not pre-registered, the opportunity to speak at the Reeve’s discretion.

Councillors that are attending a Public Hearing through Electronic Means are required to turn on their video either before, or during, the Public Hearing so that their identify can be confirmed by the Reeve. In the event that video cannot be enabled, the Reeve shall determine the Councillors identity through a means they deem acceptable.