Days 2 and 3 of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Sustainable Communities Conference are in the books! Tomorrow I’m headed home. If I tried to give you a play-by-play of the past two days we’d be here all night. But there were some common themes that came up over and over again, and it’s worthContinue reading “Working with Nature”
Tag Archives: Communication
Political Analysis, Punditry, and Gossip
As I write this, we’re flooded with political questions at every level. Internationally, we’re hearing analysis about which parties can support peace (or war) in Gaza and Ukraine, or getting details about the indictment of the President of South Korea, not to mention the non-stop speculation about what incoming US President Donald Trump will doContinue reading “Political Analysis, Punditry, and Gossip”
How to Speak to Council
One of the most important ingredients of a healthy democratic society is citizen voice: do regular people have the ability to speak up about issues they care about, address themselves to their elected officials, and have input into the matters that affect them? Democracy is about much more than just voting every four years, andContinue reading “How to Speak to Council”
Year One
It’s been a year since this council was sworn in, and what a year it’s been! I started this blog during a campaign in which I focused on Vision, Communication, and Collaboration, and I feel like those have been central to the way that council has operated so far. My Highlight The End of 2022Continue reading “Year One”
Public Consultations
This week started with a Planning meeting that included a public consultation about a proposed development near a wetland. Before, during, and after this meeting there has been significant public interest: councillors have been receiving emails, addressing comments on social media, and getting phone calls about the development, and through all of this communication we’veContinue reading “Public Consultations”
The Public Trust
My last three posts here have been about the Council Code of Conduct and the role of the Integrity Commissioner, and this morning I was in a training session with councillors and senior municipal staff from across Northumberland. Out of the enormous binder I was presented with once I was elected, and the numerous trainingContinue reading “The Public Trust”
Rumours and Negativity
When you run for office, you meet a lot of people. Campaigns can get busy and complex, but most of it is just walking around town, going door to door, introducing yourself to people you don’t know and checking in with the ones you do. If I make it to your doorstep (and there’s aContinue reading “Rumours and Negativity”
The Feelings of Politics
“You feel what you feel, and your feelings are real.” – Sven the Reindeer (Frozen 2) Politics is an emotional affair. We’ve all become accustomed to outrage as a driving political force; it isn’t news when politicians address a chanting mob to feed their angst and fuel their resentments. While this kind of nasty populismContinue reading “The Feelings of Politics”
Communication in Local Government
“Who do I talk to about this?” “When is that event?” “Why isn’t this on the website?” The workings and structure of municipal governments is rarely clear, but it’s not from a lack of trying. I can almost guarantee that your answer is on the municipal website – but so is a lot of otherContinue reading “Communication in Local Government”