By Aaron Schulze

Who gets to speak: Town of Nipawin reviewing newly-approved communications strategy

Dec 21, 2018 | 1:00 PM

The Town of Nipawin’s Corporate Communications Strategy passed during the Dec. 10 council meeting, but it now appears to be heading back to the committee for review.

Councillors Sheldon Chornawka and Geoff Stewart were the two votes against the strategy in a 4-2 vote during the council meeting as they, and members from the media, had concerns with the wording of the final paragraph regarding media relations.

The paragraph in question reads:

“Only the Mayor or Chief Administrative Officer are authorized to make statements to the media, or participate in media interviews, on behalf of the Town of Nipawin. Council or the Chief Administrative Officer may authorize others to respond directly to media requests for information relating to activities, projects, events and initiatives as deemed appropriate.”

Barry Elliott, Nipawin’s chief administrative officer, told northeastNOW the strategy wasn’t intended to interfere with anyone’s elected official rights.

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“The intent in this paragraph was really that the mayor and chief administrative officer are the two official spokespersons on behalf, in the mayor’s case, on all governance decisions that have been made by council,” Elliott said. “Mayor [Rennie] Harper is of course the face of council in the community, so it makes good sense that she is the one to speak to the overall direction of council. In my case, I don’t speak on behalf of council, but I can speak to the administrative and operational elements of the municipality.

“It was intended so that there would be a central figure and common access point to the information, so the message remains clear.”

Elliot mentioned while the strategy still passed, it will be going back to committee to look at the media relations paragraph in the new year.

Another aspect of the town’s media relations remains contentious.

Their Council Procedure Bylaw prevents recordings from taking place in council meetings, which is problematic for reporters who wish to document the public portion of such meetings. Elliott said he expected that to be visited again in 2019.

aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow