9. INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR CANDIDATES
SÉANCES
D’INFORMATION AUX CANDIDATS
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
That Council direct that the Elections Office
for the City of Ottawa offer information sessions in both English and French to
registered candidates, one session in each language, to be provided prior to
July and the other after close of nominations.
RECOMMANDATION
DU COMITÉ
Que le Conseil dirige le Bureau des élections de la Ville d’Ottawa d’offrir
des séances d’information en anglais et en français aux candidats inscrits, une
séance dans chaque langue devant être donnée avant juillet et une autre après
la fin de la période de candidature.
DOCUMENTATION
1. Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee’s report dated 3 March 2010
(ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0015).
Report to / Rapport au :
Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du
développement économiques
and Council / et au Conseil
Coordonnateur de comité
(613) 580-2474, Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°: ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0015 |
SUBJECT: INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR CANDIDATES
OBJET: SÉANCES D’INFORMATION AUX CANDIDATS
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend
Council direct that the Elections Office for the City of Ottawa offer
information sessions in both English and French to registered candidates, one
session in each language, to be provided prior to July and the other after
close of nominations.
RECOMMANDATION
DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des
services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande que le
Conseil dirige le Bureau des élections de la Ville d’Ottawa d’offrir des
séances d’information en anglais et en français aux candidats inscrits, une
séance dans chaque langue devant être donnée avant juillet et une autre après
la fin de la période de candidature.
BACKGROUND
At the 2 March 2010 meeting of the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC), Councillor M. Wilkinson submitted the following Notice of Motion for consideration by the CSEDC at its meeting of 6 April 2010:
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa Election Office provides information to
candidates on all aspects of a municipal election campaign that affect
candidates; and
WHEREAS providing briefing sessions to registered candidates for
Council or School Board would reduce the number of inquiries made to the City
and provide useful information to candidates;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Elections Office for the City of
Ottawa offer information sessions in both English and French to registered
candidates, one session in each language, to be provided prior to July and the
other after close of nominations.
There are many rules and processes that must be adhered to as part of a municipal election campaign. While the rules are outlined in the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (“the Act”) and there are various resources to assist candidates, it can still be a challenge to properly manage a municipal election campaign. Further, in December 2009, changes were made to the Act that potential candidates need to be aware of.
Campaign School information sessions have become more common. Staff have recently assisted in a municipal elections workshop for women hosted by Councillors Wilkinson and Harder. The staff presentation focused on clarifying the election rules and making potential candidates fully aware of their responsibilities under the Act.
Staff is supportive of hosting two information sessions in French and English for registered candidates with the intent to provide an overview of the legislation and clarification of rules and responsibilities. Staff is suggesting that each of the information sessions be held simultaneously in English and French, to ensure that the information is provided to candidates in the language of their choice. It is recommended that these sessions be held at Ottawa City Hall to allow both sessions to occur at the same time. To meet the intent of the motion, staff intend to host the first information session on a Saturday towards the end of June.
The second information session is recommended for after Nomination Day, so that all registered candidates would have the opportunity to attend. This session would need to be held during the evening on a weekday as the workload of the Election Office staff will increase significantly after September 10, 2010 and staff will be working every weekend until Voting Day. Staff currently anticipate they would host an evening session during the week of September 13-17, 2010.
CONSULTATION
This item will be advertised in the local dailies as part of the Public Meeting Advertisement on Friday preceding the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee Meeting.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
LEGAL/RISK
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal/risk management impediments to
implementing the recommention in this report.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
There are no budget implications for this report. Staff can accommodate these sessions within existing budgets.
DISPOSITION
Staff to take appropriate action as directed by Committee and Council.