Guide for Delegates
Regional Council is the decision-making body for Halton Region, and meets on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. on a monthly cycle. Council is composed of the Regional Chair and elected representatives from each of the Region's four municipalities.
General Access to Meetings
All meetings of Council are open to the public unless closed under one of the exceptions in Section 239 of the Municipal Act (external link). Members of the public attending Council meetings just to observe do not need to register in advance.
Before Registering as a Delegate
Before requesting to appear before Council, please discuss your concerns with a member of Regional staff and/or your Regional Ward Councillor. Many issues may be resolved at the staff level. If not, staff can often advise other ways you may address your concerns.
Registering as a Delegate
Delegates may only register to speak on matters that are on an existing Council agenda. If you wish to speak to a matter that is not on an agenda, please contact staff.
If you would like to appear before Council, you must register in writing (by e-mail to regionalclerk@halton.ca or by fax) by the close of the business day prior to the date of the meeting. The request must include the following:
- name of the Delegate (first and last),
- delegate’s mailing address and, if applicable, e-mail address,
- delegate’s telephone number,
- an outline of the nature of the Delegation,
- if applicable, the name, address and telephone number of any person, group or organization that the Delegate is representing, and;
- the specific action being requested of Council.
You will have five minutes to address Council.
Requests to delegate will not be permitted if they are about:
- A matter under litigation between you and/or your client and The Regional Municipality of Halton.
- A matter under investigation by the Region’s Ombudsman or Integrity Commissioner.
- An appeal of an award of a contract to a vendor or service provider.
Delegating at Statutory Public Meetings
Statutory Public Meetings are held as required to ask for public feedback on matters relating to specific Provincial legislation (Development Charges Act or Planning Act, for example). These meetings are held by Council’s Statutory Public Meeting & Hearing Committee and the schedule may vary.
If you wish to speak at a Statutory Public Meeting, registration is encouraged as registered delegates will be given speaking priority. However, once the list of registered delegates is exhausted, the Committee Chair will open the floor to anyone else in attendance who wishes to speak.
Each delegate may speak for 10 minutes at a Statutory Public Meeting and all comments must relate to the matter under consideration at the meeting.
Groups
If a group of individuals wishes to address Council, the group should designate one individual as their spokesperson. However, the other members of the group may participate if Council has questions following the delegation and the spokesperson needs assistance in answering them.
Written Submissions
- If you are including written material or an electronic presentation as part of your delegation, please provide it to the Office of the Regional Clerk by mail, e-mail or fax in advance of the meeting.
- In addition, please bring 40 hard copies of the material for distribution to Members of Council, Regional staff and the media.
- Please be aware that any written submissions will be made public.
- If there is any personal or private information in the material you do not wish to be made public, please remove it before distributing to the Clerk.
- If you do not have a formal presentation document but are using speaking notes as part of your presentation, please provide a copy of the notes to the Clerk following the meeting for inclusion in the public record.
- If you wish to provide a written submission to the meeting instead of appearing as a delegation, please provide it to the Office of the Regional Clerk before the meeting.
- Please note that anonymous, defamatory, copyrighted or otherwise inappropriate written submissions will not be circulated or included in any public documents including the meeting agenda(s).
Appearing Before Regional Council
- Delegations are heard at the beginning of the meeting.
- The Regional Chair will invite you to approach the podium to make your presentation. The podium may be lowered if you need to remain seated during your presentation. If you are unable to use the podium a portable microphone will be provided. Ask staff for assistance.
- You will have five minutes to speak. If you feel you will need more time, please tell the Clerk before the meeting. Council will determine if it will extend your time.
- Please direct your remarks to the Regional Chair and Members of Council, and abide by the guidelines for delegates set out in Section 10 of the Procedural By-law.
- After your delegation, please remain at the podium to answer questions from Council. Once you have answered the questions, you may return to the gallery.
- Council may then debate or address the issue based on the order in the agenda.
Tips for an Effective Delegation
- Introduce yourself and if you are representing an organization at the start of your presentation.
- If you are asked a question, address your response through the Chair by starting your answer with “Mister/Madam Chair, through you…”
Audio/Visual Guide for Delegates
Audio visual equipment, including a computer with audio capabilities and an LCD Projector, is available for use in each Regional Council meeting. Also available in Council Chambers is a document camera for projection of non-electronic material. You will be required to use this equipment as non-Regional computers are not configured for use with our audio visual equipment.
In order to ensure that electronic presentations are properly tested on Halton’s systems it is strongly recommended that they be submitted to regionalclerk@halton.ca or delivered to the Regional Clerk at the address below at least 24 hours in advance. If access to a website is required, it is also recommended that the web address be provided at least 24 hours in advance to ensure that it can be properly viewed on Halton Region systems. Staff will be available 30 minutes prior to the meeting and will make every effort to assist, but cannot guarantee the functionality of items that have not been received in advance.
Please be advised presentations need to be smaller than 5MB to be sent through e-mail. If the presentation is larger please submit via CD, DVD or USB storage device to:
Office of the Regional Clerk
1151 Bronte Rd, Level 3
Oakville On L6M 3L1
Halton Region uses Windows 7 and currently supports the following file formats with this operating system:
- Microsoft Office 2010 (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Project, Visio)
- Windows Media Player
- Real Player
- Adobe Acrobat X
- QuickTime
Please note that PowerPoint presentations should not be converted to PDF files as unexpected results could occur.
Contact Information
To register as a delegate or to obtain advice, please contact the Regional Clerk at:
- The Regional Municipality of Halton
1151 Bronte Road
Oakville ON L6M 3L1
- Phone: 905-825-6000
- Fax: 905-825-8838
- Toll Free: 1-866-4Halton (1-866-442-5866)
- E-Mail: regionalclerk@halton.ca
- Office Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
NOTE: Please contact the Regional Clerk's Office concerning meeting dates as these may change without notice.