TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: December 15, 2025 Report No. ADM-25-065
TO: Council
FROM: Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Proposed Additional Amendments to the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council approve the amendments to the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee’s Terms of Reference to include public participation at the meetings and that the public participation period be limited to a maximum duration of 30 minutes, with each speaker provided up to five minutes as outlined in Staff Report No. ADM-25-065.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The members of the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee (CWAAC) are requesting Council’s approval to further amend the committee’s Terms of Reference to allow a public participation at its meetings. The committee supports this change as an additional step to reducing barriers to public discussion of accessibility barriers they may be facing in their communities. One of the strengths of the committee lies in its lived experience, community knowledge, and insight into how municipal programs and services can be more accessible and inclusive and approving public participation as proposed would help to ensure that the committee’s recommendations made to the Township are meaningful, people-centred, and aligned with the community’s needs.
BACKGROUND:
The Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee is a sub-regional intermunicipal committee representing the City of Colwood, City of Langford, District of Highlands, District of Metchosin, District of Sooke, Town of View Royal, and the Township of Esquimalt in accordance with the requirements of the Accessible British Columbia Act that came into effect in 2021.
At the Council meeting held October 6, 2025, Council approved an amendment to the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee’s (CWAAC) Terms of Reference (Attachment 1) to permit a roundtable discussion so that members have a vehicle through which to discuss matters arising or share information falling within the committee’s mandate. At the subsequent CWAAC meeting held November 26, 2025, the committee unanimously recommended additional amendments to the Terms of Reference to allow public participation at future meetings as a means to further reducing barriers for people wishing to discuss accessibility matters. On November 10, 2025 correspondence was sent to the Mayors of all partner CWAAC municipalities requesting an additional change to include public participation at committee meetings (Attachment 2). This proposal was subsequently considered at the November CWAAC meeting and supported unanimously by the committee.
Chronology:
• March 2023 - Council authorizes participation in the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee
• November 2023 - Council approves proposed Terms of Reference
• November 2023 - First CWAAC meeting held, amendments proposed respecting membership
• January 2025 - Committee membership transitions to community members with lived experience
• February 2025 - First committee meeting with new membership (not all partner municipalities have appointed a community member)
• September 2025 - Proposed amendments to the Terms of Reference to include member round table discussion for matters falling within the Committee’s mandate
• October 2025 - Council approves the proposed amendments
• November 2025 - Committee members recommend additional amendments to the Terms of Reference related to public participation at meetings
Advisory Body Recommendations:
At the November 26, 2025, Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting, the following recommendations to Council were made:
That the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee recommend to the Councils that the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference be amended to include a public participation portion to the meetings. CARRIED.
That the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee recommend to the Councils that the public participation portion be limited to a maximum duration of 30 minutes and that each individual speaker be provided up to five minutes. CARRIED.
ANALYSIS:
The Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee (CWAAC) has requested that the partner municipalities consider amending the Terms of Reference to allow for a time limited public participation period at each committee meeting. Currently the committee’s terms of reference do not provide for public input during meetings. The general intention was to allow the committee to have open discussions and review any public feedback received through each municipality’s feedback mechanisms. Typically, public participation is received and considered at Council meetings when decisions are being made on respective business items. In addition, members of the public can advocate for accessibility directly to Council at any time either through public engagement opportunities, meeting with members of Council, appearing before Council as a delegation (where permitted), or otherwise contacting Council. Members of CWAAC have collectively expressed concerns that not including the public participation period as requested is creating barriers to accessibility instead of reducing them as intended by the committee’s mandate and the Accessible British Columbia Act.
The Township’s Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081 provides for flexibility on the inclusion of public participation at committee and commission meetings in section 49 as follows:
“Public input or presentations by members of the public are only permitted at Committee and Commission meetings as provided for in the applicable Terms of Reference or establishing bylaw”.
The Environment, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Terms of Reference is silent on public participation at meetings, however the establishing bylaw for the Advisory Planning Commission (APC) and the Advisory Planning Commission Design Review Committee (DRC) provides that:
“The public will be given an opportunity to speak to the application at a Council meeting but will not be given an opportunity to speak to an application during an APC or Design Review Committee meeting.”
Generally, at Esquimalt, public input is restricted at committee meetings where land use applications are under consideration so that committee members can provide their input freely without feeling pressured by the expressed opinions of the public in attendance. This is an important factor in the decision-making process to ensure that Council receives authentic input from all interest holders. Furthermore, the APC and DRC make recommendations for Council to consider as part of their decision-making process on land use matters, so related public input is targeted to the decision-makers at the appropriate point in the application process to reduce public participation fatigue and procedural frustration having to stay informed at numerous intervals in the approval process. This is an important distinction from the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee and the matters generally included in its meeting agendas.
The purpose of CWAAC, as outlined in the Terms of Reference, is as follows:
2.1.1 to assist member municipalities to identify barriers to individuals in or interacting with the municipality;
2.1.2 to advise member municipalities on how to remove and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the municipality; and
2.1.3 receive in a consultative capacity, updates to the ember municipality’s accessibility plans.
The proposed public participation period would afford members of the public an opportunity to offer important community perspective on accessibility not identified or brought forward to a meeting agenda by staff. Council relies on the committee to share their perspectives on how issues may impact people with disabilities or experiencing accessibility challenges and to provide thoughtful, experience-based recommendations that reflect real-world impacts of accessibility focused solutions. As the municipalities continue to learn about accessibility, it may be advantageous to leverage this change. Without this change, issues may not be brought to the attention of the partner municipalities and they may persist as unidentified barriers. The public participation period would help to ensure that the committee’s efforts and the corresponding recommendations made to the Township are meaningful, people-centred, and aligned with the community’s needs.
Staff support the inclusion of a time limited public participation period at CWAAC meetings given that the one of the strengths of the committee lies in its lived experience, community knowledge, and insight into how municipal programs and services can be more accessible and inclusive. Councils look to the committee to provide thoughtful, experience-based recommendations that reflect the real-world impact of accessibility focused solutions. However, limiting public participation to written comments to the accessibility feedback email itself creates a barrier to the broader public who may be experiencing diverse accessibility challenges within the Township.
In addition, as noted, the Council Procedure Bylaw provides flexibility for public participation at meetings if it is included in the Terms of Reference or establishing bylaw. The proposed amendment to include a time-limited public participation period of 30 minutes with each speaker allotted up to five minutes to speak still allows the committee to address official meeting matters and keep the meetings to the within the overall two-hour meeting length as currently outlined in section 4.0 of the Terms of Reference.
Of further consideration is the sub-regional nature of the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee as it is comprised of seven partnering municipalities. As part of this collaboration there are numerous regulatory frameworks under consideration which do not all seamlessly align procedurally. Some municipalities allow public participation at their advisory body meetings, and some do not. Further complicating this matter, where public participation is permitted, not all of the provisions are the same including variation to total time limit, and differing individual speaker maximum time allotments. Since Esquimalt has built in sufficient regulatory flexibility, should Council wish to approve the amendments to the Terms of Reference as proposed, it would work within the Township’s own established policies and procedures.
OPTIONS:
1. That Council amend the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference as outlined in Staff Report ADM-25-065 (Recommended).
2. That Council further amend the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference and approve as amended.
3. That Council receive Staff Report ADM-25-065 for information.
4. That Council postpone a decision on amending the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference pending receipt of additional information from staff.
5. That Council provide alternate direction to staff.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Engaged and Healthy Community
Good Governance and Organizational Excellence
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There are no financial implications associated with this proposed amendments to the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee’s Terms of Reference.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
If Council approves the proposed amendments to the Terms of Reference, staff will advise the committee and administrative support currently provided by the City of Colwood. Once approvals from all partnering municipalities are received, the Terms of Reference will be revised and published to the Township’s Committees webpage.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
• Prior to officially amending the committee’s Terms of Reference, all seven partnering Council’s must approve the proposed changes.
• If Council approves the proposed amendments Township staff will advise staff at the City of Colwood who are currently providing administrative support to the committee and also advise the committee.
• Should the proposed changes be approved by all Councils, the Terms of Reference will be revised, redistributed to committee members, and posted to the Township’s Committees webpage.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
2. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
1. Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference (does not include recent approved amendments as not all partner municipalities have provided approval)
2. Email from Patsy Hamilton dated November 10, 2025