Oakville town council will be doing all of its business online for the foreseeable future.
All meetings, starting with tonight’s council meeting (Feb. 26, 2024), will be conducted in a fully virtual and live-streamed format.
Town councillors were informed of the decision by email last Friday afternoon.
Mayor Rob Burton told Oakville News that the move comes after a review of the safety and security of the council chambers, as well as discussions with Halton police.
"The timeline to return to a format with an in-person attendance option will be confirmed once safety and security improvement plans are finalized and approved by council and implemented," he wrote in an email.
Virtual town hall meetings began during the pandemic, with the town eventually adopting a hybrid meeting model in 2022.
Since then, councillors, staff and members of the public have been able to participate in meetings in person, electronically through Zoom, or over the phone.
But on Jan. 29, with a contentious resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire on the agenda and an overflow crowd packing the council chambers, councillors vacated the building and finished their meeting electronically.
The crowd, upset with the decision to remove the resolution from the council agenda and deny delegations a chance to speak on the issue, occupied the building for several hours after councillors departed.
Read more here: Oakville Town Council meeting delayed over cancelled Gaza conflict delegations
Halton police were eventually called by town staff to help manage the scene.
That meeting also spawned several town hall protests, with speakers calling for Burton's resignation.
Several large Palestine support protests have also attracted hundreds of marchers to the downtown core in recent weeks.
Read more here: Hundreds attend Palestine support protest, closing downtown Oakville
Three council meetings are scheduled between now and next Monday. A meeting on March 27 will see council consider next steps in the development of Midtown, while March 4 will allow people to offer opinions on allowing four dwelling units on all residential properties in Oakville.
But Burton says the move to virtual meetings will not impact people’s ability to take part.
"Our online capacity for participation is greater than our in-person capacity," he wrote. "Public participation will be as robust as always."
All council meetings are live streamed on the town’s website and available on the town’s YouTube channel here.