Sea to Sky to get nearly $8M
Supercluster drops partner
Trade war hits Point Roberts
Alberta seeks a better deal
A national energy corridor?
Gretzky statue defaced
Measles cases are up to 351
Pope Francis will recover 
12 headlines to catch up on
The Bay: what went wrong?
All B.C. Bay stores to close?
Wall Street slips again
Big weekend for Warriors
Oilers left with questions 
Stream WHL games for free
Daniel Craig blames Bond
Rob Lowe a nosy father
Baldoni's team fires back
Unruly conduct in council chambers is prompting Osoyoos council to ask upper levels of government for help managing what it says is "malicious behaviour" from members of the public.
The Town of Osoyoos is asking the provincial and federal governments for legislation against “personal and defamatory attacks on local government” in a resolution to a regional advocacy body later this month.
Osoyoos council has put forward a resolution to the Southern Interior Local Government Association about conduct they say undermines and ties up the democratic process. SILGA represents 37 Southern Interior local governments and will be holding a conference from April 30 to May 3.
Defamatory comments and threats have been hurled at councillors and staff during Town Hall meetings, mostly over the Town’s beleaguered water system and a 26 per cent tax increase.
In the resolution, the Town notes that current rules under WorkSafeBC and the Workers Compensation Act do not offer enough protection to council members against such problems.
Osoyoos is now calling on upper levels of government to strengthen protections against what it says are malicious accusations and comments.
The resolution states that the Town is asking for “legislative changes that address the issue of personal and defamatory attacks by members of the public on local government leaders, while also upholding principles of freedom of speech and transparency.“
The request to SILGA also renews calls from other municipalities for the province to create a shared local ethics commissioner’s office to help enforce conduct rules, and establish an independent office of integrity.
Earlier in March, the Town of Osoyoos amended its code of conduct, setting out procedures around interruptions to council meetings, harassment, and conduct that ties up the business of council from being carried out.
For example, signs are no longer allowed at council meetings and presentations can't contain defamatory or discriminatory content.
Residents are still able to address council through a five-minute delegation, but they must be approved by council and reflect items on the most current agenda.
