Councillor calls for more transparency at Iqaluit city hall

City councillor Terry Dobbin, pictured at right in a June 2013 council meeting, called for greater transparency at Iqaluit city hall, which could include streaming broadcasts of cluttered meetings. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

Questions about the City of Iqaluit’s communications strategy ballooned at city hall Sept. 18, when council’s finance committee of the whole considered the cost of video equipment for the live broadcast of meetings.

“The cameras themselves are not the issue. The issue is transparency,” said Coun. Terry Dobbin. “We have to do a better job communicating to the voters of Iqaluit.”

Dobbin noted that council meeting minutes posted on the city’s website are exactly three months old, dating back to the last finance committee meeting, June 20.

Even though administration has ramped up efforts to put out public service announcements on construction and other important events in the city, Dobbin said he’s still bombarded by questions about unexpected roadwork.

“We’ve got a parking lot over there, across from the Qamutiq [building],” he said, referring to the unexplained paving of a gravel and dirt lot in the city centre.

“People are asking me what is that? Is that a city project? I don’t know. There’s other issues that happen in the city that councillors should be updated on.”

Up until about 10 years ago, Iqaluit used to broadcast council meetings twice a week, in English followed by Inuktitut. Unused analog cameras still hang from the ceiling in the council room.

Asked at a previous meeting to give an estimate on the cost of buying modern digital equipment needed to do broadcasts again, administration gave a figure of $18,770. Broadcaster fees would add to this.

The city’s chief administrative officer, John Hussey, reminded councillors that in its last use of broadcast television, the city was charged hourly rates.

“You take the budget [meeting], that was 16 hours this year,” he said. Nunavut languages legislation also requires that the city would have to translate broadcasts into French as well as Inuktitut, he added.

Committee members agreed that transparency should be improved, but pointed to the internet and the city’s website as a better way to do it. The city’s senior director of corporate services, John Mabberi-Mudonyi, reminded council that the city had posted a request for proposals for a new website, open until Oct. 4.

“I support being transparent, but I think we just need to make improvements with our website, with our minutes and our radio spots, that sort of thing,” said Coun. Joanasie Akumalik. Other online tools such as Facebook and Twitter could also add to the mix, he said.

“Maybe we should update our communications strategy, before we go onto this proposal,” he said, referring to video broadcasts.

Dobbin pointed out that the City of Yellowknife puts out a weekly newsletter, highlighting council decisions, requests for proposals, special events and programs.

“Whether it’s newsletters, cameras, radio, cable TV, whatever,” he said, “we have to start coming up with a strategy to communicate with the people of Iqaluit.”