Petitions

Petitions should:

Be addressed to the Mayor and Council and signed by at least two people.

Identify the Principal Petitioner initiating the petition, including their address, phone number (email is optional), who will serve as key contact should the petition require any communication or follow-up action  by the City of Woodstock.

Be respectful and temperate language.

Contain legible printed names accompanied by original signatures and address of all signatories on physical petitions.

Provide names, addresses and valid e-mail address for digital petition.

Be free of erasures or interlineations in its text (i.e., the text of a petition may not be altered by erasing words, crossing out words, or adding words or commentary).

Include page numbers on each page, including the total number of pages.

Clearly disclose on each page of the petition a written statement regarding the public nature of petitions and that information contained in the petition will be made available, as a public document, at both a City Council meeting, and at the City Clerk’s Office for public inspection.

Petitions must not:

Contain offensive, defamatory, or disrespectful language.

Relate to human resources (e.g., personnel), litigation or potential litigation matters.

Petitions will be received in paper format by the Clerk at Woodstock City Hall 500 Dundas St, Woodstock, ON N4S 0A7. Electronic petitions may be submitted in PDF format to the attention of the Clerk at clerksinfo@cityofwoodstock.ca. 

Friday 12:00 p.m. (noon) prior to the meeting

In accordance with Chapter 16 Procedure, subsection 16.2.12 of the Municipal Code, petitions received by the Clerk, that are submitted in accordance with this policy, will be provided to Council electronically by inclusion in a regular City Council meeting agenda package.

In accordance with subsection 16.2.13 of the Municipal Code, petitions must be submitted to the Clerk no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the Friday before the date of the Council meeting when Council is held on the Thursday and, in the event a regular Council meeting is held on a day other than Thursday, not later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the seventh day preceding the Council meeting date in order that it be included in the Agenda.

Late Submissions - Urgent matters submitted past the deadline

In accordance with subsection 16.2.14 of the Municipal Code, a petition that is received by the Clerk later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the Friday prior to the regularly scheduled meeting may be brought before Council, if in the Head of Council’s opinion, the matter is urgent and if a majority of Council approves the matter to be considered.

All petitions received by City Council will be included on the City’s Petition Registry.

The Petition Registry will include a brief description of the Petition, the date it was received by City Council, and a link to an electronic version of the petition for public inspection.

Personal information on a petition will be collected under the authority of Section 28(2) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) for the purposes of communicating and informing City Council of the views of the signatories of the petition.

Personal information collected on the petition will not be used by the City for any other purpose other than to ensure it meets City Council’s requirements for a valid petition and to ensure contact with the Principal Petitioner for any communication or follow-up action as a result of the petition by the City of Woodstock.

Personal information including mailing and email addresses will be redacted when the petition is included on a Council Agenda. Names and signatures of the signatories, including the Principal Petitioner, will not be redacted and will be available on the City’s website and included in the agenda package for the meeting it is to be considered by City Council.

Petitions, in their entirety (i.e., unredacted), will be available at Woodstock City Hall (500 Dundas St, Woodstock, ON N4S 0A7) in the Clerk’s Office for public inspection.