WESTLOCK — Westlock resident Benita Pedersen is speaking out after she was recently denied the chance to speak as a delegation before town councillors at the Feb. 12 regular council meeting.
Pedersen, who recently finished in second place behind David Truckey with 255 votes in the Jan. 10 Town of Westlock byelection, is known amongst residents and many Albertans for her outspoken views on several topics.
She wanted to speak with councillors about their decision to join the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities, which they did at the end of November. Pedersen says she is very disappointed in the town’s decision not to allow her to speak at the regular council meeting.
“I wrote a very polite email requesting to speak as a delegation at (the) council meeting. I’ve done this in the past and in general, they’ve said yes,” she said. “This is very upsetting. It’s telling me that council doesn’t want to listen to the voice of the community.”
Mayor Jon Kramer said while the decision to refuse a delegation is “always up to council," he noted this would be his approach as the town’s new mayor going forward.
“I’m always happy to meet with residents, but as far as presentations to council, when we accept them it’s going to be for items that we’re doing business on that we want to consider,” said Kramer.
He added that the doors to administration and the mayor’s office are always open for those conversations but “we’re going to reserve those times for folks that are going to present to us on business or if council requests for those (presentations).
“We’re always happy to hear from residents, but at public meetings when it pertains to council business. I know that request was for business that had already happened and taken place,” he said.
“Typically, concerns that go to administration or the mayor, if we can deal with it at that level, we deal with it at that level rather than bringing it all towards council, towards (a) public meeting,” he added. “You find 90 per cent of the issues that residents deal with do get dealt with at that level, at the CAO level.”
He also noted that the response falls in line with the town’s procedural bylaw.
Town of Westlock CAO Simone Wiley responded to a request for additional information on the town’s procedural bylaw saying “the Town’s procedural bylaw has provision to allow council and administration the authority to deny a delegation request,” said Wiley in an email.
She went on to say that Pedersen had submitted “a request to be a delegation appropriately and on time,” however, her request was to provide her opinion and interpretation on a topic that council had already made a decision on and (already) been provided with the same information that she was planning to provide, she noted.
“Mayor Kramer has extended an offer (to meet with) Ms. Pedersen to hear her concerns,” said Wiley.
Pedersen said “there are many citizens of Westlock concerned about this issue,” and added that she feels council is not interested in hearing the “voice of the people” and are “not being transparent enough about the decisions they are making and the implications of those decisions.”
She is concerned that the town will be taking guidance from the United Nations with regard to resolutions, policies and bylaws and noted that the United Nations is a foreign entity that “doesn’t understand our local needs and does not have our best interests in mind.”
