When the clerk has been invited to speak to the matter before the motion has been seconded. Amherstburg’s Procedural By-law, MOTION PROCESS states, ‘Where deemed in order by the Chair, every motion shall be moved and seconded before being spoken to, questioned, debated, or put to a vote.’

The report to council on the new 2023 Procedural By-law specifically mentions a form of the word ‘consistent’ twelve times; for example, consistency in the application of rules is crucial for maintaining fairness, transparency, and trust in any organization or community, including the Town of Amherstburg.

At the August 10 Heritage Committee meeting, Frank DiPasquale spoke about Ontario Heritage Ministry nominations to award outstanding service to protect history and heritage; he thought of three people, two are committee members Shirley Curson-Prue and Robert Honor and author Meg Reiner.

DiPasquale moved a motion that these three people get recognized in the Ontario Heritage Ministry and he said he hoped there was a seconder for that.

Instead of asking if there was a seconder, Chair Simon Chamely recognized the clerk, who stated it could be put on the agenda, but whenever you want to introduce new items; introducing and moving those items in the same meeting can sometimes be problematic. So perhaps the best approach here may be to ask administration to investigate this and bring it back so that way it can be before the committee at their next meeting. Even if that’s the September in-camera session, they could deal with it during the public session if that was appropriate.

The September 21 in-camera committee meeting, according to the minutes, dealt with one item: review of expressions of interest and it’s not listed in the October 12 committee meeting agenda.

I couldn’t locate ministry awards, but I did find Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards and an October 15 deadline for all nomination forms and supporting materials.