The City of Parksville has announced no members of the public can attend its next council meeting, set for Monday (Dec. 7).
In a release on Saturday (Dec. 5), manager of communications Deb Tardiff said “we were advised yesterday that the Dec. 2 Provincial Health Officer order on gatherings and events repeals the Nov. 10 order and imposes more stringent prohibitions including in-person public attendance at council meetings, public hearings, committee meetings, open houses and other in-person meetings. This order prohibiting members of the public from attending meetings is in effect until Dec. 7. However, given the current surge of COVID-19 infections in British Columbia, we do not expect this order will be rescinded on Dec. 7.”
She explained that with council’s next meeting set for 3 p.m. on Monday in the Forum at the Parksville Civic and Technology Centre, public will not be allowed to attend, in order to comply with the PHO order.
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Residents may view the meeting live through webstreaming, accessible from the city’s website. The meeting video is also archived for future viewing. The agenda for the Dec. 7 meeting is posted and comments should be emailed to council@parksville.ca prior to the meeting.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision was recently made by council to cancel the Dec. 21 meeting.
“Prior to council’s first meeting in 2021, expected to be held on Jan. 18, we will advise the public how they may view and/or participate in the meeting,” said Tardiff. “We apologize for this last-minute notice; however, we were advised of this revised order late on Dec. 4.”
The new provincial order may be viewed here.
— NEWS Staff, submitted