Guidelines for participation

All participants need to be aware of, and agree to, the following guidelines at the beginning of any public engagement process. Guidelines for participation will be visible where appropriate at public engagement sessions, and feedback reported back to community and Council will be reviewed to ensure input aligns with these guidelines.

During in-person, online and digital engagement opportunities, all participants agree to:

• Be respectful of all participants;
• Be open to all ideas;
• Adhere to the established process and time frame;
• Change process during a session only by group decision, if necessary;
• Allow everyone the opportunity to speak;
• Allow people to speak without interruption;
• Try to include everyone; and
• Turn cell phones off/mute.

The City is committed to providing a respectful environment for all participants that will enable them to express their perspectives on topics freely without fear of intimidation or reprisal. To maintain a respectful environment, a participant may be asked to remove himself/herself from a public engagement activity if he/she has:

• Refused to follow the guidelines for participation. This may involve ignoring time restrictions for speaking.
• Displayed disrespectful behaviour or made disrespectful comments when others expressed a point of view.
• Made disrespectful personal comments or attacked other participants.