Port Moody councillors should treat an electronic council meeting the same as one being held in chambers at the Inlet Theatre, says Mayor Rob Vagramov.
Tuesday, council agreed to his motion to implement standards of behaviour for its regular meetings currently being conducted over the Zoom virtual meeting platform because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those standards include a professional regard for “appearance, language, visual connection and focus.” Councillors will also have to keep the video camera in their computer enabled during meetings, without the use of virtual backgrounds.
The same standards won’t apply to special meetings called on short notice to discuss urgent matters.
Vagramov said when council recently adopted a procedure for councillors to still participate electronically in a meeting they’d otherwise miss because of a special circumstance, it didn’t foresee an extended public health emergency that prohibits public gatherings.
“We’re living in a bit of a different reality here,” he said, adding setting standards will ensure virtual meetings match in-person sessions as closely as possible.
At a meeting on April 14th, during a discussion about whether council should opt out of commenting on a liquor license application for a new lounge and patio, Coun. Meghan Lahti, whose camera was turned off and was attending by audio only, interjected with a pair of profanities. After Vagramov reminded her to mute her microphone, she immediately apologized and said she was hosting a family dinner party. Later, she said her “family was behind her and talking about something else.”
Tuesday, Vagramov said keeping video feeds live during regular council meetings ensures a level of commitment and accountability.
“This isn’t the sort of thing you chime in when you’re doing something else.”
Coun. Amy Lubik agreed there’ve been challenges.
“This is a really strange position for everybody to be in,” she said. “We’ve all had some growing pains getting used to the technology.”
Those growing pains haven’t been confined to Port Moody. Also on April 14, a participant in a meeting of Vancouver city council that was conducted by phone got caught out flushing their toilet right before roll call.
Port Moody council’s call for decorum passed unanimously. Lahti was absent. The motion also directs staff to create a policy framework to distinguish a special electronic meeting from a regular one.
