Appear Before Council or a Committee

Deputation Requests and Deadlines

To appear on a Council meeting agenda as a deputation, you must contact the City Clerk’s Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday before the next regular Council meeting.

The Mayor may approve a deputation to be added to the agenda after this deadline, up to final agenda approval.

The Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) review all deputations, including materials and presentations, during the agenda-setting process.

If required materials are not submitted by the deadline or before the agenda is finalized, the deputation will not be permitted to proceed.

Number of Deputations

A maximum of three deputations will be scheduled per regular Council meeting. This helps ensure Council can conduct business efficiently and effectively.

Unscheduled Deputations

If you are not listed on the agenda, you may still request to appear as a deputation during the meeting.

Approval requires a majority vote of Council members present.

Speaking Time

Each deputation is limited to 10 minutes total.

If a deputation includes more than one speaker, the group shares the 10-minute limit.

Council may, by resolution, allow additional speaking time if needed.

Questions from Council

Council members may ask questions during or after a deputation for clarification only. No debate or commentary takes place during this time.

Council/Committee Decisions

After hearing a deputation, Council may decide to:

• Receive the information
• Refer it to another agenda item
• Refer it to staff, a committee or a board for a report
• Add it to New Business for further consideration

The same rules and procedures apply when appearing before any standing committee of Council.

Governing By-law

These procedures are outlined in By-law 2019-48 (Part 7.6) and updated by By-law 2024-81.