New bylaw sparked by body bag episode
Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 10/99) - The public will have to mind its manners and its language when sitting in on city council meetings.
 Percy Kinney holds up a body bag, much like the one he used in a presentation to city hall last August.(Cindy MacDougall/ NNSL photo) |
Anyone swearing, insulting a councillor or city employee, accusing a councillor of lying, questioning a councillor's motives or in any other way violating parliamentary rules of order may be asked to stop speaking, or even kicked out of the meeting.
"If you're going to come here and talk to us in chambers, you should be polite and respectful," said Coun. Robert Slaven.
"We've been put here to do a job, and we can't do that if we're abused."
Most of the councillors who spoke to the motion referred to a meeting this July, when angry residents packed chambers to speak on a 3.7 per cent tax hike.
However, Coun. Ben McDonald, who tabled the bylaw, said he was not prompted by the July meeting.
"I didn't attend the July meeting," he said.
"I brought this forward because of a presentation where a body bag was draped over a podium.
"I realized then there were no rules for presentations."
Chief coroner Percy Kinney was the one who draped the body bag over the podium during his August presentation to city council.
He was trying to convince them to fund a fire department dive rescue team, which city administration advised against.
"I don't remember doing any of those things (swearing, being disrespectful, etc.)," said Kinney.
"I'm surprised. I'd like to know what component of my presentation brought this on.
"There's nothing in there (the new bylaw) that says, 'Thou shalt not carry body bags.'"
After the council meeting, McDonald said the body bag presentation was inappropriate.
"I thought it was too theatrical," he said.
"It made the decision more emotional than it should have been."
When asked whether the dive team funding would have been granted if Kinney had not used the body bag in his speech, McDonald said probably not.
"Honestly, I think it made it more difficult to vote against it," said McDonald, who voted for the motion.
Coun. Bob Brooks voted for the conduct bylaw, but not because he disliked Kinney's presentation.
"At no time was he (Kinney) disrespectful to council," Brooks said.
"If we had more presentations like that, we'd have a more colourful meeting."
"If you look at the new bylaw, Percy could go into chambers tomorrow and do the same presentation," he said.
Brooks said he voted for the resolution because of the swearing and accusations during the tax hike meeting.
"There should be respect on both sides, the public and council," he said.
"We'd ask for people to behave the same way we (councillors) have to act."
