Delegation/Presentation Process and Requests
By-law 4835-06.C, as amended was approved at Council on August 22, 2006 changing the process for conducting meetings of Council and Committees, including the delegation process. By-law 5300-11 as amended was approved at Council on March 8, 2011.
The following is an excerpt from By-law 4835-06.C and By-law 5300-11 relating to the Delegation/Presentation Process.
- Delegations shall be encouraged to appear at the appropriate Committee first rather than Council. Anyone wishing to appear before General Committee, Advisory Committee or Council shall advise the Director of Customer & Legislative Services/Town Clerk by 5 p.m. on the Monday prior to the meeting. The request to appear shall be in writing and shall state in detail the nature of the matter to be presented by the spokesperson.
- Anyone wishing to speak on an item that is not on the Council Agenda shall be directed to appear at the Open Forum Session that precedes Council meetings. Alternatively, the delegate may be placed on a Committee Agenda to address an issue that is not on the agenda.
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No person other than the designated spokesperson may speak on the matter and not for more than five (5) minutes.
- A delegate not on the agenda shall not be heard without the consent of at least two thirds majority of the Members present.
- All delegations appearing before General Committee or Council shall be permitted to speak only once on an item. Once discussion in respect of a motion or resolution has commenced, no further presentation shall be made by the delegate or by any other person other than a Member of Council.
- Members of Council shall only ask questions for clarification from delegates and shall not engage in any debate with the delegates (By-law 4912-07.C)
- Any person may speak on the matter at a Public Planning Meeting provided that the spokesperson is speaking on an item that is contained in the agenda. The delegate shall not speak for more than five (5) minutes, but may have an opportunity to speak more than once on the agenda item.
- Delegations shall speak in order of the item as it is listed on the agenda.
- Presentations of general interest shall be placed on the Council agenda and shall be limited to ten (10) minutes per presentation (By-law 5300-11 as amended)
How to submit a delegation/presentation request
To submit a delegation or presentation request to the Clerk's office, please complete our Delegation Request Form or Presentation Request Form
and email or fax it to:
Manager of Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk
Attn: Cindy Janzen
Department of Customer & Legislative Services
100 John West Way
Aurora, Ontario
L4G 6J1Phone: (905) 727-3123 ext. 4217
Fax: (905) 726-4732
Email: councilsecretariatstaff@aurora.ca
Please note: Please ensure that you include the topic of your delegation. If you are representing a group, please include a phone number where you can be reached during business hours to enable staff to contact you to confirm your attendance. Also please ensure that you include your mailing address for follow-up correspondence.
How to make a delegation/presentation to Council or Committees
We are pleased to provide you with some information that will help make your delegation/presentation to Council and/or Committees effective. These recommendations should be followed to ensure that your delegation/presentation is seen and heard by the Council/Commitee Members, the audience and the recording device utilized at each meeting.
Provide Information in Advance
Provide a copy of your presentation to the Manager of Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk on the Tuesday morning one week prior to the meeting, so that you can be placed on the agenda, and the Members are aware of your presentation topic. The Manager of Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk can be contacted by phone at 905-727-3123 ext. 4217 or by email to cjanzen@aurora.ca.
Speak through the Chair
Delegations are permitted five (5) minutes to speak. A delegation consisting of 3 or more persons who are present at the meeting and wish to discuss the same issue may have more than 1 speaker, provided that the speaking time collectively does not exceed fifteen (15) minutes. When addressing Council/Committees or answering a question, regardless of where the question came from, you should always address your comments to the Chairperson. This helps maintain order in the meeting. Members of Council shall only ask questions for clarification from delegates and shall not engage in any debate with delegates.
Speak into the Microphone
Meetings held in the Council Chambers utilize a microphone system. When addressing Council/Committees or answering a question, regardless of where the question came from, always use the microphone.
- If you must move from your position to use a microphone, please move to the microphone before you begin speaking.
- If you have moved back to a seat in the gallery and you are asked another question, please return to the microphone to respond.
- Do not try to address Council from a seat in the audience since the people in the room and the people watching the broadcast cannot hear you.
Test your Presentation Materials before the Meeting
If you are presenting drawings, documents or a PowerPoint presentation that you wish to display, you are requested to provide the presentation, if possible when submitting your request for delegation status, or by noon the Tuesday prior to the meeting so that the presentation may be loaded on the computer. All electronic versions of documents and presentations must be compatible with Microsoft Office XP and must be provided by email and on a CD/DVD disk. Please note: The use of memory sticks is not permitted. If you require information regarding the presentation equipment in the Council Chambers, please contact the Manager of Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk by phone at 905-727-3123 ext. 4217 or by email to cjanzen@aurora.ca.
Ensure your Presentation will be Visible
When preparing any drawing or document to project using the document camera or digital projector, please ensure that the text or the diagram will be visible in the Council Chambers or meeting room. This means that any text or diagram on sheet or overhead is large. For a presentation on the screen to be legible for the audience, the words on the document or drawings on the sheet of paper should be legible from a distance of 8 feet away (this means using a minimum font size of 24).
Ask Us for Advice
If you would like assistance or have an accessibility issue and would like advice on making a delegation/presentation to Council, please contact the Manager of Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk by phone at 905-727-3123 ext. 4217 or by email to cjanzen@aurora.ca