WHY YOU NEED RECORDING IN COUNCIL

The arrest is near the very end of this recording. Advance to 2:44.

THIS IS NOT PART OF THE CITY-APPROVED RECORDING OF THIS MEETING

Why Private Recordings in Council Chambers Are Essential

(Voice of Nanaimo Commentary)

The video that captured the July 16 Finance Committee meeting was not produced by the City of Nanaimo. It was recorded by a private citizen.

And that’s the only reason you know a man was arrested.

The footage clearly shows a citizen being handcuffed and taken to jail—simply for speaking during a public meeting. You can debate the volume of his voice or the tone of his comments after he was cuffed, but that’s not the point of this article.

The point is this: if your only source of truth was the City’s official recording or livestream, you would never know this arrest happened. There is no mention, no camera pan, no reference—nothing. A significant moment in a public meeting was effectively erased from the public record.

That’s a problem.

It’s precisely why private recordings must be allowed. Citizens have the right to document public proceedings, especially when those proceedings involve police action, public accountability, or possible Charter rights violations.

The Mayor and Council must immediately lift the current ban on public recording inside Council Chambers. Their position is not only undemocratic—it may now be legally indefensible, as outlined in the recent warning issued by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).

The City's recording—what was archived and what would have been livestreamed—makes no mention of the arrest.

That is unacceptable in a democracy.

Lift the recording ban. Let the public document public meetings.
Let democracy breathe again inside Nanaimo City Hall.