Residents hoping to see cleaner streets downtown will have to wait another couple of weeks as city hall needs the weather to co-operate and provide overnight temperatures above zero degrees Celsius.
City administration had told city council during the March 25 regular meeting that street sweeping was likely to commence the week of Monday, April 22. However, administration presented an updated report during the April 22 meeting that said street sweeping of Main Street and adjacent roads would begin the first week of May.
“Sweet sweeping is based on road classification and generally follows the same prioritization as sanding routes during the winter months,” the report added.
Parental leave policy
City council adopted a policy in 2021 that laid out criteria for elected members to take parental leave, but recent changes in provincial legislation make that policy unnecessary.
Council adopted the Parental Leave for Elected Members bylaw in July 2021 to make it easier for younger residents to pursue municipal politics and ensure they weren’t penalized if they wanted to have or adopt children. Moreover, the established policy ensured that council didn’t have to pass a motion approving each absence.
Some provisions included:
- A council member could receive 20 weeks of leave, while the member’s seat would not be declared vacant as a result; such members were entitled to two leaves of 20 consecutive weeks per council term
- A member on leave would continue to receive all remuneration and continue to have expenses paid as per council’s expense policy
- Such members would be entitled to continue receiving communications as if the member were not on leave, as per the wishes of the individual
- A member on leave could participate at any time during the leave
- During the leave, the member could provide written notice to the city clerk and mayor about returning. Any temporary appointments would be revoked, effective the date of return of the member, allowing the individual to resume exercising the statutory role
Adopting the policy also meant council accepted bylaw 5649, which fulfilled the requirements to implement the policy. However, since then, the provincial government has amended The Cities Act, section 120(1)(c).
This section says that a member of council is disqualified from council if the member:
- Is absent from all regular council meetings held during any period of three consecutive months during which at least two meetings of the council have been held, starting with the date that the first meeting is missed, unless the absence is authorized by a council resolution or an approved leave of absence policy
With this amendment, council’s leave of absence policy is now considered a standalone document, which means bylaw 5649 is no longer required to fulfil the requirements of the policy, a council report said.
To remove the policy, council gave three readings during its April 22 regular meeting to repeal bylaw 5649, which oversees the Parental Leave for Elected Members policy. However, since Coun. Kim Robinson was opposed, the bylaw will return to the May 13 regular meeting for official approval.
City administration presented an updated policy document during the executive committee meeting afterward, but council voted to table the document until May 13.
Council appointments
Also, during the meeting, council appointed Coun. Dawn Luhning as deputy mayor, Robinson as chairman of the executive committee and Coun. Doug Blanc as chairman of the personnel committee for terms starting May 1 to June 30 or until a successor is appointed.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 13.
