Making Decisions: How City Council Meetings Work

Public Service Announcement

Making Decisions: How City Council Meetings Work

July 15, 2025 – Iqaluit, Nunavut

 

The City of Iqaluit encourages residents to become familiar with how City Council meetings work and how decisions are made that affect our community. These meetings follow rules set by the Cities Towns and Villages Act and the City’s Council Procedures By-Law. These rules help ensure that decisions are made in a transparent and fair way.

Council meetings are held regularly, usually twice a month, and are open to the public. The schedule and agenda for each meeting are shared in advance on the City’s website and posted in public locations. This helps residents know when meetings are happening and what topics will be discussed.

If you want to speak directly to Council about a topic or concern, you must ask to be added to the meeting agenda as a “delegation.” To do this, you need to contact the City Clerk’s office two weeks before the meeting. This allows time for your request to be reviewed and for the agenda to be updated and reapproved before the meeting takes place. Delegations are scheduled early in the meeting, before Council begins debating or voting on items. This is the formal time when residents and community groups can share their views with Council.

It is important to note that once Council reaches the final stage of passing a bylaw called the third reading no further public input is permitted during that meeting. For this reason, residents are encouraged to speak up early in the process while Council is still considering the issue.

To support transparency, the City posts meeting agendas, a list of Council motions, Council meeting minutes, and full audio recordings on its website. While these audio files provide a full record of each meeting, they are not searchable, so locating specific discussions may take time. The City is working to improve access to meeting records to make it easier for residents to stay informed.

We encourage all residents to take part in their local government by attending meetings, staying informed, and reaching out to Council when they have questions or input.

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For additional information, please contact:

 

Geoff Byrne

Manager of Communications and Customer Service

City of Iqaluit

867-979-5619 | G.Byrne@iqaluit.ca