Participating in a Board Meeting

Anyone wishing to provide input to the Board at its public meetings must apply to be a ‘delegate’, at least seven days in advance of the meeting date.  Any Delegate may address the Board at an open session of a Board meeting (time permitting) on any topic that: 

• Relates to SPS police services or policies. 
• Affects a segment of the community, as opposed to a single individual. 
• Relates to a strategy of policing, as opposed to a single action by one or more officers. 
• Relates to the Board’s oversight mandate, as opposed to day-to-day police operations. 

Delegates may not address the Board with respect to any matter that relates to a conduct complaint within the jurisdiction of the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner or is a substantial repeat of information presented by the Delegate to the Board within the previous six months. The Executive Director keeps track of such matters and if appropriate, refers the Delegate to the appropriate oversight body. To apply to be a delegate click on the button below to email the Executive Director indicating the date of the Board meeting and the topic on which you wish to speak. 

The Executive Director may limit the number Delegates appearing at any given open session of a Board meeting if the allotted agenda time does not allow for all Delegate requests to be accommodated. In addition, a Delegate may not address the Board more than twice in a calendar year (or within 6 months) without prior approval of the Board. 

A Delegate that has been approved to speak at an open session of the Board meeting must provide a written submission and a list of persons attending to the Executive Director, to be distributed with the meeting materials. At the Board meeting, the Delegate is provided the opportunity to present to the Board, for a maximum of five minutes (unless extended by the Board). Upon completion of the presentation, Board members may ask questions for the purposes of clarification and obtaining additional, relevant information. 

When addressing the Board, Delegates are expected to act respectfully and adhere to all practices established by the Board Chair for constructive discussions and maintaining decorum at the meeting.