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Moved
by L.A. Smallwood
BE IT
RESOLVED THAT the Rules of Procedure be suspended to permit the introduction
of the following motion, in order to enable the Ottawa Police Services Board
and its committees to respond in a timely manner to the restrictions in place
as a result of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic;
BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Rules of Procedure be suspended to provide that
Members of the Board may participate in consideration of, and vote on, this
and the following motion through electronic participation by way of Zoom at
the Special Meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board on April 16, 2020;
WHEREAS the
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to evolve and is causing
significant effects across the world and in the City of Ottawa, and
WHEREAS the
ongoing COVID-19 situation and associated recommendation from Ottawa Public
Health that physical distancing be practiced in order to decrease transmission
will result in Members of the Board being unable to physically attend the
Board meeting of April 16, 2020 and other Board and Committee meetings for an
unknown period of time thereafter; and
WHEREAS
Section 37 of the Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, as
amended, provides that a Board shall establish its own rules and procedures
in performing its duties under the Act; and
WHEREAS the
Municipal Emergency Act 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 4 provides that a local
board, including a Police Services Board, may hold a special meeting to amend
a procedure by-law where an emergency has been declared to exist in all or
part of the municipality under section 4 or section 7.0.1 of the Emergency
Management and Civil Protection Act and a member participating electronically
in such a special meeting may be counted in determining whether or not a quorum
of Members is present at ant time during the meeting; and
WHEREAS on March 17, 2020, an emergency related to the COVID-19
outbreak was declared in the whole of the Province of Ontario, pursuant to
Section 7.0.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, as
set out in Order in Council 518/2020; and
WHEREAS the
Acting Chair has convened the special meeting of April 16, 2020 as a Special
Meeting of the Board; and
WHEREAS
the Board’s Procedure By-law (No. 2014-3) does not provide for
electronic participation at meetings of the Board nor its Committees, and
Section 27 of the Procedure By-law requires that, “When the
Chair calls for the vote on a question, each Member shall remain seated until
the result of the vote has been declared by the Chair, …” and that, “A Member not seated shall not be
entitled to vote”; and
WHEREAS,
under the current circumstances relating to COVID-19, allowing Board Members
to participate electronically in a meeting of the Board or its Committees
pursuant to the Board’s discretionary authority would provide an
opportunity for Members unable to physically attend the meeting to
participate and exercise their statutory roles and responsibilities; and
Therefore
Be It Resolved that the Ottawa Police Services Board approve that the
Procedure By-law (2014-3) be amended, as such forth in Document 1, to
provide for Members to participate electronically in the Board meeting of
April 16 2020 and in all meetings of the Board and its Committees held
thereafter while the emergency declaration set out in Order in Council
518/2020 remains in effect in accordance with the parameters described in
this motion; and
Be It
Further Resolved that the Board waive the requirement under Section 27 of the
Procedure By-law, such that during the continuation of the State of Emergency
when the Chair calls for the vote on a question, any Member participating
electronically at that time shall be entitled to vote; and
Be It
Further Resolved that, in order to respond to evolving circumstances, the
Board suspend the notice requirements set out in subsection 35(3) of the
Procedure By-law such that these emergency provisions may be amended or
revisited by a majority of the Board at a future meeting.
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