Yes, the room was full for the meeting. That was Regional Council chambers on January 24th. It was so full there were people sitting on the stairs, and in extra chairs behind Council itself. There were two major issues to be dealt with at that meeting - The Lord's Prayer and the Greenbelt issue that has been plaguing this Council for many months.
Greenbelt - The great majority of this Council finally came through (see issue in the January 23 posting below). They voted 29 - 1 for the best compromise option, which was Option #1. Option #2 would have been best (to rescind), but there was no way they would support an option that said outright that they were dead wrong. So politically, the best result we could hope for was Option #1, which was to simply receive the Planning Committee report (which signalled the intent of Durham Region to remove lands from the Greenbelt at it's earliest opportunity, which wouldn't be until at least 2015 when the Greenbelt is revisited) - to receive the report for information. That effectively lets it die a quiet death.
The *recommendation* of Planning Committee had been to attach a supplemental attachment to the Official Plan to let developers and landowners know who the lucky few were who had their lands singled out for "future growth" plans by the Region. That would have been Option #3, the one that had been recommended by Planning Committee. Remember that this was a purely political recommendation, not supported by Planning Staff (the experts) or the majority of residents nor by some of the municipalities. It appears that Regional Council did see the light, and showed that they actually MAY have the best interests of the region, the environment, and the people at heart. We certainly will be watching closely to see what they do in the future, as will the media (including the dreaded Toronto Media).
The Lord's Prayer - The Ottawa-based group, Secular Ontario, has lost this round with Durham Region. This organization has complained that saying prayers at any municipal council's meetings, including Durham Regional meetings, is against the law. Since the 1999 Ontario Court of appeal ruling against prayer, individuals and groups like Secular Ontario have used that ruling to force councils to stop the long-held tradition of praying at the beginning of meetings.
This issue has caused quite a stir in the region, with many residents speaking at Finance and Admin Committee meeting, and following up with another 13 delegations signed up to speak at Council on Wednesday (24th). Most were strongly in favour of keeping the Lord's Prayer, with 3 speaking against it. Durham Region came up with a "compromise", sort of. They will still say the Lord's Prayer, but it will be *before* the meeting is officially opened, rather than after the meeting is called to order. Council voted 21 - 4 to approve this change in "procedure".
Those speaking against the proposal gave valid reasons for their position, such as prayer should be a personal thing, a matter of conscience. They felt prayer has no place in a political forum. On the other hand, those who were staunchly in support of continuing the tradition also had their valid reasons, and Council attempted to come up with a compromise.
It remains to be seen whether this action will hold up if challenged in a court of law, but it was evident that the vast majority of both Councillors and residents wanted to continue with prayer prior to meetings. The new "procedure" of saying the Lord's Prayer (and allowing anyone else to silently pray on their own, or not) prior to calling the meeting to order was begun that very day with the Chair (Anderson) entering the meeting, Council and the public standing, the Lord's Prayer recited, and then the Chair calling the meeting to order afterward. This is how meetings will begin in the future at Regional Council. Most people were quite happy with the solution. This may or may not be the end of it and we'll see what happens in the future.
These two issues show that community involvement can make a difference. Becoming involved in an issue that is important to you and to the community is an approach more and more people are taking. Durham Regional Council is listening, at least part of the time. With media and individual pressure and speaking up, it is possible to get them to change their minds (in the case of the Greenbelt) and to support an action many of them originally wanted to support in the first place (retaining prayer). So please continue to "get involved". If you can't attend a meeting because of work or other obligations, then write a letter. Or lots of letters. It is the only way you will be heard.
Greenbelt - The great majority of this Council finally came through (see issue in the January 23 posting below). They voted 29 - 1 for the best compromise option, which was Option #1. Option #2 would have been best (to rescind), but there was no way they would support an option that said outright that they were dead wrong. So politically, the best result we could hope for was Option #1, which was to simply receive the Planning Committee report (which signalled the intent of Durham Region to remove lands from the Greenbelt at it's earliest opportunity, which wouldn't be until at least 2015 when the Greenbelt is revisited) - to receive the report for information. That effectively lets it die a quiet death.
The *recommendation* of Planning Committee had been to attach a supplemental attachment to the Official Plan to let developers and landowners know who the lucky few were who had their lands singled out for "future growth" plans by the Region. That would have been Option #3, the one that had been recommended by Planning Committee. Remember that this was a purely political recommendation, not supported by Planning Staff (the experts) or the majority of residents nor by some of the municipalities. It appears that Regional Council did see the light, and showed that they actually MAY have the best interests of the region, the environment, and the people at heart. We certainly will be watching closely to see what they do in the future, as will the media (including the dreaded Toronto Media).
The Lord's Prayer - The Ottawa-based group, Secular Ontario, has lost this round with Durham Region. This organization has complained that saying prayers at any municipal council's meetings, including Durham Regional meetings, is against the law. Since the 1999 Ontario Court of appeal ruling against prayer, individuals and groups like Secular Ontario have used that ruling to force councils to stop the long-held tradition of praying at the beginning of meetings.This issue has caused quite a stir in the region, with many residents speaking at Finance and Admin Committee meeting, and following up with another 13 delegations signed up to speak at Council on Wednesday (24th). Most were strongly in favour of keeping the Lord's Prayer, with 3 speaking against it. Durham Region came up with a "compromise", sort of. They will still say the Lord's Prayer, but it will be *before* the meeting is officially opened, rather than after the meeting is called to order. Council voted 21 - 4 to approve this change in "procedure".
Those speaking against the proposal gave valid reasons for their position, such as prayer should be a personal thing, a matter of conscience. They felt prayer has no place in a political forum. On the other hand, those who were staunchly in support of continuing the tradition also had their valid reasons, and Council attempted to come up with a compromise.
It remains to be seen whether this action will hold up if challenged in a court of law, but it was evident that the vast majority of both Councillors and residents wanted to continue with prayer prior to meetings. The new "procedure" of saying the Lord's Prayer (and allowing anyone else to silently pray on their own, or not) prior to calling the meeting to order was begun that very day with the Chair (Anderson) entering the meeting, Council and the public standing, the Lord's Prayer recited, and then the Chair calling the meeting to order afterward. This is how meetings will begin in the future at Regional Council. Most people were quite happy with the solution. This may or may not be the end of it and we'll see what happens in the future.
These two issues show that community involvement can make a difference. Becoming involved in an issue that is important to you and to the community is an approach more and more people are taking. Durham Regional Council is listening, at least part of the time. With media and individual pressure and speaking up, it is possible to get them to change their minds (in the case of the Greenbelt) and to support an action many of them originally wanted to support in the first place (retaining prayer). So please continue to "get involved". If you can't attend a meeting because of work or other obligations, then write a letter. Or lots of letters. It is the only way you will be heard.
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