A North Bay resident is raising serious concerns after armed police were present for the third time during a local public meeting, questioning whether this is becoming standard practice
Editor’s note: Mr. Arseneault writes in response to the BayToday story Armed police block councillors and board members from mayors meeting with Castle Arms residents.
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To the editor:
Last night’s public meeting at Cassellholme was the third time in recent years that there was a police presence at a public meeting.
The first was at the NNDSB meeting, where people were protesting the proposed name change of Chippewa High School.
The second was the August 12 city council meeting. And again last night
In each case, it was a matter of overreach. At the August 12 meeting, I was the lone protester outside City Hall. Nobody asked me what I was doing, especially the police.
I have three questions about last night:
- Did someone ask for the police, or did they act on their own
- Is a police presence going to be the norm at local public meetings
- Will the mayor and the other council members protest the treatment of council members King, Lowry, and Mayne?
Granville Arseneault
North Bay
Editor’s note: Police were also called to a North Bay city council meeting on Oct. 29 after a member of the audience called on Mayor Peter Chirico, who was in the mayor’s chair giving a statement in defense of his expenses, to resign.
