City committee endorses remote attendance rules for Calgary councillors

The ability for elected officials to remotely attend council and committee meetings will be limited if new rule changes are adopted in the coming months.

A Calgary committee voted in favour of the new guidelines Tuesday afternoon and the motion will now be discussed by council as a whole.

"We're having the same argument that a lot of workplaces are having right now," said Coun. Jasmine Mian, the Ward 3 representative.

"I think it's very important to consider it in the context of, we are meant to represent the public, and so we have to have a reasonable debate as to what the right measures are."

If the bylaw changes pass, it would mean councillors need to make their "best efforts" to attend any and all council meetings in person.

The bylaw, however, also says a member may attend remotely if they provide the city's ethics advisor with a reason that's deemed valid under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

The new bylaw rule changes were recommended by Calgary's Integrity and Ethics Office, but Coun. Mian added amendments to the motion.

Mian, who gave birth in the summer, says there needs to be some flexibility for people who can't always stay for every meeting.

"I have a four-month-old baby at home and sometimes when our meetings go very late into the evening, I might need to pop out to just be with him," she said.

"And so this allows that flexibility, but still keeps the guardrails so that the expectation is that you're there in person when you can be."

City officials said the policy discussion did not come about due to any particular instance, but it was introduced just months after Coun. Dan McLean was sanctioned for remotely attending a meeting while on the golf course.

McLean voted in favour of the proposed new rules.

As part of the guidelines, councillors who attend remotely will have to be in a secure location and must have their camera on at all times during the meetings.

While the committee has recommended the changes, council as a whole will have to debate and vote on it before it becomes a bylaw.