Barred from some township properties for 3 months
KAGAWONG—A Billings Township council meeting had to be delayed for several minutes on Tuesday, November 7 after the township enforced a portion of its procedural bylaw for council meetings after a local resident, Bill Concannon, attended the meeting with the intent of videotaping/recording the public meeting.
Mr. Concannon had entered the upstairs hall of the Park Centre in Kagawong and set up his video equipment to videotape the council meeting.
Billings Mayor Bryan Barker explained that the videotaping of council meetings is in contravention of the township procedural bylaw. He also explained that, given the importance of the agenda, the township was recording the meeting and explained to Mr. Concannon that he could request a copy of the recording through the township office.
Mayor Barker then recessed the meeting, indicating he was providing Mr. Concannon with time to remove his video equipment.
Mr. Concannon refused to do this.
Another resident in attendance questioned why the township was enforcing a procedural bylaw over the rights of people to videotape the meeting.
Mayor Barker explained the procedural bylaw for council meetings includes a provision for decorum and content that prohibits the videotaping/recording of council meetings by members of the public.
The resident then asked the other members of the public if they had any objections to Mr. Concannon videotaping the meeting. The answer to this polling was no. Mr. Concannon said that the township procedural bylaw does not outweigh his rights as a Canadian citizen to attend the public meeting as well as videotape it.
With Mr. Concannon refusing to remove the equipment, the decision was made to call the Manitoulin detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to remove him from the meeting.
After two OPP officers arrived with the intent of removing Mr. Concannon from the meeting, the latter reiterated that the township policy is not a law. However, one of the OPP officers informed him he had been asked to leave, and ultimately the Park Centre is private property, owned by the township.
Mr. Concannon disagreed, saying the building is public property and that members of the public own the building. He also pointed out that all he was going to do is tape the meeting proceedings and reiterated that as a Canadian citizen he is allowed to do this.
Mr. Concannon was warned by the OPP that he would be arrested for trespassing if he refused to leave the meeting. It was at this point the former left the Park Centre with the two OPP officers. Mayor Barker explained to the members of the public in attendance that this was not an isolated incident, and the township has had numerous incidents involving Mr. Concannon to the extent that township staff feel uncomfortable and intimidated in the workplace.
Under the Billings procedural bylaw, section 28 page 18 it reads, “All electronic devices not required for conducting the meeting shall be turned off or turned to silent mode. Staff shall be discouraged from communicating by electric means during a meeting. No staff member or member of the public shall use an electronic device as a recording device or to broadcast, or otherwise publish, or post audio, video, or photographs of any meeting.”
The policy allows the township to restrict a member of the public’s access to services or staff. Following the incident at the meeting last week, the township forwarded Mr. Concannon a three-month trespass notice that will not allow him to attend council meetings, the Park Centre and its entire property, including the parking lot. As well, he will not be permitted to attend the township office or parking lot. After the three-month period this can be lifted or increased to six months.
