Question period has come back to Richmond Co.
It had been removed by members of the previous council; the municipality’s current councillors reinstated it for regular council and committee of the whole meetings during November’s regular council meeting Monday.
After, Amanda Mombourquette, the warden of Richmond Co., said it was a campaign issue.
“Our first regular council meeting, we had our question period, and that was an accomplishment for us,” she said. “We hope it sends a message to our constituents that they can count on us to follow through on what we talked about during the campaign.”
Mombourquette said residents need to be able to ask questions on topics before councillors.
She said it’s part of a commitment to transparency.
“We all ran on campaigns of openness, transparency and accountability, and those three things are three different things, but reinstating question period was really the first step to getting back toward more transparency around the council table,” she said. “Citizens have every right to be able to ask questions of their councillors, and we’re interested in making sure that right is enshrined in our council.”
Mombourquette said there are issues in light of COVID-19 restrictions- only seven members of the public may attend a meeting in the gallery.
She said everyone should bring any questions they have to their councillor separately, or call municipal staff members before a meeting to make sure there is space for them to ask their question.
