qRD staff asked to bring forward alternative public notice bylaw

qathet Regional District (qRD) directors have instructed staff to bring forward a draft alternative notice bylaw for consideration. According to a staff report at the March 11 regional board meeting, in February 2022, the province enacted legislation allowing local governments to adopt a public notice bylaw, offering alternative methods for publishing statutory notices.

Under the Community Charter and Local Government Act, local governments must provide advance public notice for matters of public interest, such as public meetings, land dispositions, elections and public hearings. Without a public notice bylaw, notices must be published in a numbered newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks. 

Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he did not believe the bylaw was necessary.

“We are looking at a big increase in the communications line item in our budget,” said Gisborne. “We advertise in the local newspaper and the magazine, and it is fine to support, especially when we are looking at a budget of more than $100,000 for communications.

“All I see is yes, we can pass this motion, but it is going to result in another staff report and a proposed bylaw. The purpose for the change in the legislation was for communities that don’t have local newspapers so they can still meet the legislative requirements to provide information to their communities.”

Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said she was also not in favour of this and is satisfied with the way the way things are done now, with the exception that Lasqueti Island needs to be changed because the advertising in the Parksville newspaper isn’t the most appropriate way to reach Lasqueti Island residents.

City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said she was in favour of the motion.

“This isn’t about changing things that work with our local paper,” said Elliott. “It isn’t about trying to change things for areas that are working. This is about staff bringing forward a bylaw that allows them to do things differently, maybe on Lasqueti Island, or areas where the system doesn’t work.

“In order to do something different than what is legislated we need a bylaw to allow that to happen.”

City director Rob Southcott said he respects the local publications and their value. He said this is a time where communications have never been more important.

“I respect the explanations that staff brought to us when this was first presented,” said Southcott. “I support staff having the greatest flexibility and capability of looking after communications needs. We need the bylaw.”

Electoral Area E director Andrew Fall said the motion before directors was to direct staff to bring forward a draft bylaw to take advantage of the changes that the province made to legislation about public notices.

“It’s actually about giving local governments, including the qRD, more flexibility,” said Fall. “Even though developing a bylaw costs money, in terms of staff time, the current mechanisms aren’t excluded, so we can continue to do what we are doing, but it will allow more options.

“In other words, we could be more efficient in terms of using dollars for communicating with the public. It doesn’t necessarily mean more dollars, but it will certainly mean the dollars we spend will be better used to reach the public.”

Fall said spending money on the Parksville Qualicum Beach News is not efficient because it’s not a publication most Lasqueti Islanders read.

“This [bylaw] will increase the tools we can use so the dollars we use for public communication for notices can be reaching the people more efficiently,” said Fall.

Gisborne said the intent of the legislation is that local governments no longer have to use the newspaper or the magazine.

“You no longer have to use what you historically were required to do,” said Gisborne. “The only way to not use the default in the legislation is to have an alternative notice bylaw. In my opinion, that’s what this is about. It’s not about getting more options, it’s about meeting the legislative requirements, but not having to use the local newspaper.

“If we don’t pass this bylaw, we still have to use the local paper, but we can still use Facebook and community notice boards. We already have those options at our disposal.”

Gisborne said passing the bylaw would mean that notices would not have to go in the local newspaper, so he’s not in favour of the motion.

The regional board voted in favour of staff bringing back a draft bylaw, with Gisborne opposed.

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