Ward 6 Councillor Mark MacKinnon will be starting off the new term being watched by the cameras that he insisted be funded. The City of Guelph confirmed today that the inaugural meeting of city council Monday will be the first to be live-streamed by the City of Guelph itself. 

“We’re excited to offer the community easier access to Council and committee meetings,” said Stephen O’Brien, city clerk for the City of Guelph in a press release. “Not everyone can attend meetings in person. With live streaming, anyone with an Internet connection can watch City Council meetings and stay informed about the decisions that affect them and their city.”

Rogers has been notoriously fickle when it comes to broadcasting council meetings on channel 20 in recent years, especially when it comes to broadcasting special meetings on days and times outside the three regular council and committee meetings that take place on the first, second, and fourth Monday of the month.

So starting Monday, Guelphites can go to guelph.ca/live and never miss a council or Committee of the Whole meeting ever again, and they don’t have to worry about a cable subscription. At the same time, Rogers will still broadcast the council meetings, you know, when they feel like it.

The move to upgrade council’s streaming capacity was made by MacKinnon in 2016, and then again in 2017. A total of $15,500 was budgeted to upgrade the software and hardware to allow for the live-streaming and archiving of meeting videos, and while the motion failed in 2016, council accepted the motion in 2017 by a vote of 11-2.

The new council is sworn in on Monday at 6:30 pm in the council chambers of city hall, and online at guelph.ca/live.