The Editor:
Re. "Port Coquitlam censures councillor who 'unlawfully disclosed confidential infornation'" (The Tri-City News, May 28)
The Mayor and Council’s decision to censure Councillor Laura Dupont and remove her from committees and external boards has further intensified my concerns about city matters being decided behind closed doors.
I was initially worried when the Mayor dissolved all the Citizen Advisory committees. These committees gave us, the public, a chance to learn about issues before council and to provide input. In its place, a Mayor’s Citizen Advisory Roundtable was created that only meets four times a year. Democracy depends upon a regular and open exchange between citizens and their elected representatives — not a quarterly meeting with the mayor.
In addition, seven public council meetings have been cancelled in 2020. An increasing amount of city business is being done in closed meetings, without the media and citizens aware of the details and able to provide input. Democracy requires that citizens and the media are aware of issues being discussed and decisions made by our elected officials, and that there is opportunity to ask further questions and dialogue.
And now this. We, the public, cannot learn the details of the breach allegedly committed by Councillor Dupont since she has been silenced, and the Mayor and Council are keeping it private. Open, transparent and participatory government is essential for democracy, but we’re getting less and less of it here in Port Coquitlam.
Adrienne Cossom, Port Coquitlam
