Speak Before Council, Committee or Transit Executive Committee

Additional Information

Delegates can speak for up to five minutes. A delegation of more than five people can have two speakers, each speaking for up to five minutes. You should be prepared to answer questions. Committee and Council members will have the chance to ask questions after your delegation.

Electronic presentations

If you want to use an electronic presentation, email us a copy at least 24 hours before the meeting so that we can load it onto our audio-visual equipment. If you submit your presentation late, it might not be available for the meeting.

Written copy of delegation

Before the Committee meeting, email us a copy of your delegation.  Delegations appearing before Regional Council must submit their written copy or outline at least 24 hours prior to the meeting or a 2/3rds majority vote will be required to be heard.

If you want a copy handed out at the meeting, please bring the right number of copies with you and give them to Legislative Services staff before the meeting starts. For Standing Committee meetings, we need 25 copies, for Committee of the Whole and Durham Regional Council meetings, we need 50 copies and for Transit Executive Committee meetings, we need 25.

Meetings are a public process

We live stream Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole, Durham Regional Council and Transit Executive Committee meetings. Anything you submit, including pictures, presentations or written submissions, will become part of the public agenda. Media might also be at meetings.

Collection, use and disclosure of personal information

Written information (either paper or electronic) that you send to Durham Regional Council or Committees, including home address, phone numbers and email addresses, will become part of the public record. This also includes what you say at meetings. If you have any questions about the collection of information, contact the Regional Clerk and Director of Legislative Services.

Tips for Delegates

1. What to do when you arrive:

1. Meetings start promptly at the time listed on the Agenda. Please be in attendance a few minutes before the meeting starts so that you can find a seat and do not miss your turn to present. If you are not in attendance, then the meeting will proceed without your delegation. When a meeting is taking place in the Council Chambers, Council members and staff have assigned seats around the “Council floor” and members of the public sit in the public seating area. Members of the public may not enter onto the Council floor or into the Councillors’ seating area. A staff member can direct you if you are unsure where to go.
2. If you have hardcopies of your presentation or additional information that you wish to have handed out, please see the Committee Clerk prior to the meeting and they will endeavour to hand out the material for you. The email confirming your delegation request tells you how many copies you should bring.  If possible, you should also provide the Committee Clerk with a copy of your speaking notes before the meeting.If you are presenting to Council you must provide your notes 24 hours before the meeting or you will require a 2/3rds vote of the members to be heard.You may hand them to the Committee Clerk at the meeting or email them prior to the meeting to delegations@durham.ca .
2. What to expect during your delegation:
   1. When it is your turn to present, the Chair of the meeting will call your name and you will go to the lectern. If you sent an electronic presentation at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to RegionalAV@durham.ca , it will be displayed on the screens in the meeting room by the Region’s IT team. There is a remote located at the lectern that you can use to control your presentation. If you are not comfortable doing this, then you can request assistance from the staff in the room prior to the meeting. There is also a microphone on the lectern that you must use in order for your presentation to be heard; this is especially important since most meetings are live streamed and recorded. The microphone has an on/off switch, and a red light appears on the microphone to show that it is on.  IT staff will control the microphone for you.
   2. You will have a maximum of 5 minutes to speak. If you are running out of time and have not finished your delegation, a member of Committee/Council may make a motion to extend your time by 2 minutes. An extension is not always granted, so try to stick to the 5 minute time limit when preparing your presentation. There is a timer at the lectern that counts-down from 5 minutes which has a green light that comes on when the timer starts, then an orange light when you have 1 minute left, and then a red light when your time is up.
   3. It is to your advantage to make your presentation simple and easy to understand. Outline clearly why you are appearing at the meeting, whether it is to make a request or to provide Council with your opinion on a certain topic. Speak slowly and clearly. Make sure your delegation does not contain any improper matter or language. The Chair of the meeting will enforce order and decorum. You may submit correspondence to Council at any time if you wish to share additional information.
   4. Once your time is up, there will be an opportunity for members of Committee/Council to ask you questions. It is important to address your responses to the Chair of the meeting and to always speak into the microphone. Once questions are complete, or if there are no questions, then you may return to your seat or leave the meeting. 

Meetings held in our other meeting rooms will have a different set-up and staff can assist you when you arrive on where to sit and where to go when it is your turn to speak. If you have any further questions about the process, please contact the Regional Clerk.