Council Amends By-Law to Allow for Electronic Meetings

Essex County Council approved By-Law amendments at a Special Meeting Thursday afternoon to permit the holding of electronic meetings when an emergency has been declared.

“These amendments ensure that elected representatives can continue moving forward the business of the County in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Warden Gary McNamara. “The changes enable us to use technology to bring councillors together in times of crisis when circumstances or health guidelines require them to be apart.”

Councillors met via videoconference in a meeting that was streamed live to the County of Essex website. They voted unanimously to amend Procedure By-Law #41-2018 to allow for electronic participation in meetings by councillors when an emergency under section 4 or 7.0.1 of the Emergency Management and Civic Protection Act has been declared to exist in all or part of the municipality.

The Municipal Emergency Act passed by the Province last week allows municipalities to conduct council, board and committee meetings when confronting local or province-wide emergencies. The Act was passed in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Warden Gary McNamara declared a State of Emergency for the County of Essex Sunday, saying the declaration placed the County in a state of constant readiness to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and any other issues, including flooding and rising lake levels.

Essex County’s seven local municipalities have likewise declared states of emergency as have the City of Windsor and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” said McNamara. “We are resilient, we are resourceful and we will get through this crisis together.” 

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, residents should visit the websites of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Public Health Ontario and Public Health Canada.