THUNDER BAY – The Clerk’s Office for the City of Thunder Bay states, “Televised broadcasts of weekly Committee of the Whole (COW) and City Council meetings will be temporarily suspended starting one month before the October 22 municipal election to permit a more level playing field for all candidates.
“In keeping with our past practice during an election year, the broadcast of weekly COW/City Council meetings on Shaw TV, Tbaytel TV, and website streaming will be suspended shortly until the new Council is inaugurated,” said Deputy City Clerk Krista Power. “The concern, shared by the broadcasters and Election Administration has been, and remains, that there is a perception that broadcasts of the meetings provide an unfair advantage to incumbent candidates in the last few weeks before the election.”
City of Thunder Bay staff recently made the decision following consultation with its TV broadcast providers. Meetings up to and including on September 17 will continue to be broadcast, after which time broadcasting will be suspended until the Inaugural Meeting on December 3. Meetings will continue to be recorded on video for City records during the time period.
Some Ontario municipalities choose to not schedule City Council meetings, which would normally be broadcast, in the fall of an election year.
