Elliot Lake council voted against an amendment to the procedural bylaw on Monday forbidding councillors from walking out of meetings without permission.
Councillor Ed Pearce tabled the motion citing the Integrity Commissioner’s Interim Report that specifically stated that getting up and leaving in the middle of a meeting is ‘grandstanding.”
He adds councillors who leave without permission of the chair are inhibiting the rights of the council for an honest debate on the issues.
However, the majority of his fellow councillors felt it is their right to decide not to take part in a vote if they so wish and that they answer to their electorate for their actions, so they defeated the motion.