A Swan River area videographer was recently ousted from a municipal council meeting after recording during the session.
The issue stems from a recent bylaw to ban public recording of meetings in that municipality.
Why it matters: The incident has sparked discussions around local government transparency.
Read Also
Farmers Business Network to open Manitoba facility
A new agricultural chemical distribution centre in Brandon will be one of two that Farmers Business Network plans to build on the Prairies.
Jeremy Bergen, who works as a reporter for the Swan Valley Star and Times, was not attending in his capacity with that newspaper at the time. He was hired independently by a local ratepayer of the RM of Minitonas-Bowsman, through his side business in which he is paid for video recordings of council meetings.
He typically offers that service for meetings of the Town of Swan River and the RM of Swan Valley West councils. Bergen’s client had complained that the council was not operating transparently.
He first attended a council meeting in the RM of Minitonas-Bowsman on Aug. 20. Knowing the process would be confrontational, he said, Bergen informed council of his presence ahead of time, and said he would be recording because he was asked by a ratepayer to do so.
When he arrived, Bergen said the council’s first order of business was to address the recording and ask him to stop.
“I just said, ‘I’m recording and I’m not going to stop,’” the reporter said. “At that time, they didn’t have a bylaw on the books, so all they did was note that I refused to leave, and they continued with their meeting, which, surprisingly, only lasted about 10 minutes.”
During those 10 minutes, the council introduced the bylaw on public recordings and it passed first reading.
Bergen next attended a meeting on Sept. 3. The municipal council didn’t stop Bergen from recording at that time, but the bylaw went through its remaining two readings and received final approval.
At the third meeting he attended, Bergen was told he could not record. Council did not proceed with the meeting until the RCMP arrived.
“The RCMP informed me if I refused to stop recording, they could potentially arrest me and perhaps charge me with mischief,” said Bergen.
He ultimately packed up and left the meeting.
No one from the municipality was available to speak to the Co-operator about the incident, but chief administrative officer Trevor Wowk sent an emailed statement: “The updated bylaw restricts public and media recording as the municipality will be audio and video recording Council meetings and hearings.
“The recordings will be posted to the municipality website for all residents to access, along with all meeting agendas and minutes. This practice is similar across a large majority of cities and municipalities across the country.”
A similar incident happened earlier this year in the RM of Alexander. In that case, the person recording was charged for causing a disturbance. A council member for the RM of Alexander said they were unable to comment about the incident because the court case is pending.
When asked about municipal obligations in these situations, Manitoba’s Department of Municipal and Northern Relations responded via email, saying that procedural matters, such as the recording of council meetings, are generally governed by the local bylaws of each municipality.
“Municipal councils, as elected governments, have the authority and responsibility to control the proceedings of their own meetings so that public business may be conducted efficiently and effectively,” read the response. “This includes the authority to expel members of the public from council meetings if their conduct is not appropriate.”
Updated Oct. 15 to clarify that Bergen was not acting as a reporter when he was ejected from the council meeting.
