How to Participate
Open Forum
Open Forum allows for comments from the public relating to any item and will appear at the beginning of each regular Council meeting.
Individuals shall sign the ‘Open Forum Register’ with the clerk prior to being permitted to speak to Council or a Committee during Open Forum including brief written description of their speaking content.
Open Forum shall last no longer than ten (10) minutes. The length of time each individual has to address Council shall be at the discretion of the Mayor or Chairperson, but as a general practice shall not be longer than two (2) minutes.
Individuals may verbally address Council however presentation or distribution of any materials is not permitted at the meeting. Material or information for Council may be provided to the Clerk before 4:30 p.m. the day before the Meeting and will be reviewed by staff and circulated to Council before 12 p.m. on the day of the Meeting.
During Open Forum, no member of the public shall:
- Speak disrespectfully of any person;
b. Use offensive language;
c. Disobey the rules of procedure or a decision of the Mayor or Chairperson; d. Speak to Council about matters: - Involving current or pending litigation;
ii. Involving insurance claims;
iii. Administrative complaints that have not been reported and investigated through the applicable process;
iv. Beyond the jurisdiction of Council; or
v. Contrary to MFIPPA.
Delegations, Deputations and Petitions
Council welcomes and encourages public input. The following is intended to help you provide information and comments about items on Council and Coordinated Section Committee agendas.
- When you submit written comments, you will need to include the full name and address of the presenter and who they are representing, if applicable.
- Any comments submitted in writing to Council and its Standing Committees are considered public documents which may be posted on the Town of Penetanguishene's website.
- Written submissions can be sent to:
- the Corporate Services Department; or
- the Clerk.
- Individuals appearing in person to present information at meetings are referred to as "Delegations" in Council's Procedure By-law.
- Delegations may only speak to items that are listed on the agenda for that meeting.
- All delegations shall address their comments through the Chairperson presiding over the meeting.
- Delegations are allowed to speak for a maximum of ten minutes unless otherwise authorized by Council.
- Delegations appearing before Council, who have previously appeared on the same subject matter, shall be limited to providing only new information in subsequent presentations.
- Delegations intending to present PowerPoint or computer-generated materials are required to forward the electronic file to the Clerk's department by noon the Wednesday before the meeting. This will allow technical support to find out if the material is compatible with the town's system and to properly load the materials for presentation.
- Once a delegate has finished, the Chair of the meeting will ask Members of Council or Committee if anyone has questions for the delegate.
If you are interested in making a delegation at a Council meeting or Committee of the Whole meeting, a completed application form would be required to be submitted to the Legislative Services department.
- Delegations at Council are heard at the beginning of the meeting.
- Delegations at Coordinated Section Committee are heard during consideration of the item after the staff presentation, if applicable, has been completed.
- For clarification or further information, please contact the Legislative Services Department or email the Clerk.
Proclamation Requests
Proclamations are an excellent way of providing valuable education and information to the citizens of Penetanguishene. At the discretion of the Town, proclamations may be issued for events that deserve special recognition. All proclamation requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Guidelines for Proclamation Requests
The Town reserves the right to decline any request for a proclamation or to make an exception to the following guidelines:
- Proclamations recognize a day, week, or month.
- A four-week notice is required to provide proclamations.
- Any draft language provided may be edited or rewritten at the discretion of the Mayor's Office.
- What to include in a Proclamation Request
- Contact person's name, address, and phone number
- A brief summary and/or background of the event
- The name and date(s) of the day, week, month, or event to be proclaimed.
- Proposed text for the proclamation, including "Whereas" clauses
- A date when the proclamation is needed
How to Submit a Proclamation Request
Proclamation requests may be submitted by mail or email to the Corporate Services Executive Assistant.
Live Streaming - Committee, and Council
The Town of Penetanguishene is pleased to offer live streaming of council meetings. Please note that live streaming and the after-meeting recorded video are provided as a convenience to our community. Municipalities are not required to video record meetings. However, we recognize that offering a live webcast and video recording can make council meetings more accessible to interested residents. At times, we do experience technical difficulties. We do our best to address them immediately, but video, audio, and recording systems may malfunction. When they do, we are not able to provide an alternative video or live feed. The best way to be guaranteed to hear all council discussions is to attend meetings in person.
Town of Penetanguishene
10 Robert Street West,
Penetanguishene, ON
L9M 2G2
T: 705-549-7453
F: 705-549-3743