Port Hardy council has agreed to list a question and answer period on its agenda packages.
A committee of the whole meeting was held on Jan. 8 at the District of Port Hardy’s council chamber, where the committee ended up voting in favour of keeping Port Hardy’s question and answer period informal - continuing to hold it after the meeting has been adjourned and not recording questions from the public in the meeting minutes - but did recommend for council to add it to each agenda to show that there is in fact a time for public comment.
Council voted in favour of the committee’s recommendations at the following council meeting, and Chief Administrative Officer Allison McCarrick confirmed the question and answer period will be listed on the district’s next agenda package.
Port Hardy council has now joined the rest of the North Island councils (Port Alice, Port McNeill, Gold River, Tahsis, Alert Bay, Sayward, and Zeballos) by acknowledging on their agenda that they do have a question and answer period.
Port Hardy Mayor Dennis Dugas noted after the committee of the whole meeting ended that this was something Port Hardy council had been looking at implementing for sometime now.