Legislative History: Adopted June 26, 2018 (By-law No. CPOL.-273-251); Amended July 25, 2023 (By-law No. CPOL.-273(a)-215)
Last Review Date: July 25, 2023
Service Area Lead: City Clerk
1. Policy Statement
1.1 This policy establishes the responsibilities and procedures for public access during City Council and Standing Committee meetings, in order to ensure the safety of all attendees and proper decorum during meetings.
2. Definitions
For the purposes of this policy,
2.1 Chair – means the person presiding at a Council or a Standing Committee meeting.
2.2 City – means The Corporation of the City of London.
2.3 Council – means the Council of The Corporation of the City of London.
2.4 Meeting – means any regular, special or other meeting of the Council or standing committee, where:
a) a quorum of members is present; and
b) members discuss or otherwise deal with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the Council or standing committee.
2.5 Meeting Room – means the room in which a Council or Standing Committee meeting is being held.
2.6 Standing Committee – refers to one or more of the following committees: the Civic Works Committee, the Community and Protective Services Committee, the Corporate Services Committee, the Planning and Environment Committee and the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee.
3. Applicability
3.1 This policy applies to all persons attending a public City Council or Standing Committee meeting.
4. The Policy
4.1 Roles and Responsibilities
a) The Chair is responsible for ensuring that meeting attendees conduct themselves with proper decorum at all times, and that there is a safe and respectful meeting environment, pursuant to the procedures outlined in the Council Procedure By-law.
b) The City Clerk, or their designate, is responsible for providing legislative and secretariat support at a City Council or Standing Committee meeting.
c) The Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, is responsible for ensuring the physical safety of the meeting room and its occupants.
4.2 Procedures
4.2.1 Prior to the Commencement of a Meeting
a) Approximately 15 minutes prior to the commencement of a meeting the City Clerk, or their designate, shall ensure that the entry door(s) to the public viewing area of the room in which the meeting is being held is unlocked.
b) Corporate Security shall ensure that the entry door(s) to the public viewing area of the room in which the meeting is being held is propped open, once it is unlocked by the City Clerk, or their designate.
4.2.2 Decorum During a Meeting
In the event that any person(s) attending a meeting conducts themselves in a manner that is not in keeping with proper decorum, the Chair shall follow the steps outlined in Part 2 section 9 and/or section 17 of the Council Procedure By-law, as applicable, in order to restore decorum, which could ultimately result in the removal of that person(s) from the meeting.
4.2.3 Immediate or Impending Threat to Safety
a) If, at any time, the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, identifies an individual(s) as being an immediate or impending threat to the safety of themselves or other meeting attendees, steps will be taken to neutralize the threat and remove the individual(s) from the meeting, without warning. The Chair shall suspend the meeting until the immediate threat is contained and order is restored. No other person(s) shall be permitted to enter the meeting until such time as the threat is contained and order is restored, in order to mitigate risk to the safety of other persons. Members of the public wishing to enter the meeting will be advised by a City representative that there is a disruption and that entry to the meeting is temporarily suspended, for their personal safety. Once the disruption has been resolved, meeting attendees will be permitted to enter the meeting and the meeting shall resume.
b) If, at any time, there is an immediate or impending fire, structural failure, weather event or other environmental threat to the safety of meeting attendees, the Chair shall suspend the meeting, the meeting room will be evacuated so that attendees can move to a safe location, and no further individuals shall be permitted into the meeting room until such time as the threat to safety has been resolved. In the event the threat is likely to be present for an extended period of time, the Chair, upon consultation with the City Clerk, or their designate, and the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, may postpone consideration of any unfinished business to a future date and/or time.
4.2.4 Room Capacity
a) For purposes of compliance with the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 O. Reg 213/07 the five committee meeting rooms in City Hall have a capacity of 60 people. Council Chambers on the main level has a capacity of 90 people, while the Council Chambers public gallery has capacity for an additional 90 people.
b) In accordance with the Council Procedure By-law, no person shall be allowed to enter the main floor of the Council Chambers during meetings without the leave of the Chair, except members, employees of the Corporation, individuals invited to the main floor, and those representatives of the media who have appropriate identification to the satisfaction of the City Clerk.
c) The Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, shall advise the City Clerk, or their designate, if the meeting room capacity has been exceeded. If such is the case, the City Clerk, or their designate, shall make the necessary arrangements to have an overflow room(s), if available, opened for members of the public, who would otherwise exceed the meeting room capacity, to observe the meeting via live video stream. Security personnel will then direct any members of the public in excess of meeting room capacity, to the overflow room(s).
d) In the event that an overflow room(s) is not available, or has reached its capacity, the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, shall create a staging area in an appropriate area within the building the meeting is being held, where members of the public will be held until such time as room becomes available in either the meeting room or an overflow room.
e) In the event that the number of members of the public waiting to enter a meeting is of a size that is too large to be accommodated as provided for in part d), above, the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, after consultation with the City Clerk or their designate, will advise members of the public that the indoor staging area, overflow rooms(s) and meeting room are at capacity and request members of the public to wait outside of the building until such time as capacity becomes available.
f) No group of individuals will be allowed to enter a meeting if the number of individuals within that group will create a situation where the room capacity is exceeded. The group may be divided into smaller groups in order to ensure that, upon being granted entry, room capacity is not exceeded.
g) The Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, shall inform the City Clerk, or their designate, of the status of capacity throughout the meeting, unless it is otherwise evident that capacity is not being exceeded. The City Clerk, or their designate, will keep the Chair apprised if capacity is exceeded, so that the Chair can, if necessary, encourage members of the public to leave once their item is addressed, in order to make room for other members of the public to enter the meeting for their item(s) of interest.
4.2.5 Protests
In the event that the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, have reasonable grounds to believe that a person or group of persons may be attending a meeting in order to disrupt its proceedings or threaten the safety of meeting participants, the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, may take reasonable measures, including, but not limited to prohibiting that person or group of persons from entering the building and will, as soon as is reasonably possible, advise the Chair via the City Clerk, or their designate, of this action.
4.2.6 Prohibited Objects
a) The following objects are prohibited from being brought into meetings, due to safety concerns:
i) weapons (guns, knives, slingshots, explosives, etc.)
ii) projectiles
iii) large, unwieldy objects (i.e. sign posts)
iv) any other item determined by the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, to pose a risk to the safety of meeting attendees.
b) Any person who arrives to attend a meeting with a prohibited object(s) may be denied entry to the meeting. The Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, may, at their own discretion, agree to hold the prohibited object(s), if that object(s) is otherwise legal to carry, for the person for the duration of the individual’s attendance at the meeting, thus permitting the individual to enter the meeting. The prohibited object(s) will be returned to the individual after the individual has left the meeting.
4.2.7 Prohibited Access
Prohibition of access to a meeting by banning entry to the building and/or meeting room shall be authorized by the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate and who will, as soon as is reasonably possible, seek the concurrence of the meeting Chair, via consultation with the City Clerk, or their designate, of this action.
4.2.8 Off-Site Meetings
When it is necessary to hold meetings at a venue outside of City Hall, a crowd control plan will be developed specific to the alternate venue by the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, in consultation with the City Clerk, or their designate. The City Clerk shall ensure the meeting Chair is advised of the crowd control plan.
4.2.9 Trespass Notices
The Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, has the authority to issue Trespass Notices pursuant to the Trespass to Property Act, 1990, c.T.21, as amended, to restrict access to individuals who are deemed to be of a safety risk to the Members of Council, the Civic Administration or members of the public, to any property owned, leased or otherwise occupied by the City.
4.3 General Provisions
Nothing in this policy restricts the Director, Emergency Management and Security, or their designate, from taking reasonable measures to ensure the safety and security of any property owned, leased or otherwise occupied by the City, and the persons occupying that property. Where such measures relate to a meeting, the Director, Emergency Management and Security will consult with the applicable meeting Chair, via the City Clerk or their designate, with respect to the safety and security measures being put in place for the protection of all meeting participants.