Manitoba Residents Challenge Ban on Recording Municipal Council Meetings

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/manitoba-residents-challenge-ban-on-recording-municipal-council-meetings-5879924?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

Four residents of a rural Manitoba community have filed a court application challenging a municipal policy that prohibits the public from recording council meetings.

The issue began after a Springfield resident was told to stop recording a public meeting of the Rural Municipality Council (RM Council) of Springfield on Feb. 4. At the time, Mayor Patrick Therrien said only “media” were allowed to record and that all media must obtain approval from the council’s chief administrative officer 48 hours in advance.

“According to the mayor’s interpretation, members of the public are not considered ‘media’ and therefore cannot record public meetings at all,” said the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) in a news release on June 26.

The centre, which is representing the four applicants in the legal action, said its constitutional lawyer Darren Leung sent a “warning letter“ to Therrien and his council members on March 20, advising them that “there is no bylaw or resolution currently prohibiting recording of public meetings” and that the mayor has no authority to enforce such restrictions under Manitoba’s Municipal Act. Continue…