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WATERLOO CHRONICLE WIHAI s INSIDE SPORTS Mixed reaction to proposed municipal transparency laws aterloo Mayor Herb Epp Ws against the proposed Transparency in Public Matters Act, arguing there are enough protections in place to keep municipal councils from making important decisions behind closed doors, and that the City of Waterloo is abiding by the law as it is applied now under the Municipal Act. The law, as proposed in a priâ€" vate members bill by MPP Caroâ€" line Di Cocco now at the commitâ€" tee stage at Queen‘s Park, would require municipal councillors to Tenzin Thutob, a monk from the Namgyal MorTastery in New York, has spent the last month helping to creâ€" ate a Buddhist mandala of compassion at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery. For more information on the mandala and its ceremonial dismantling, see page 12. By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff wWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005 «_ WATERLOO, ONTARIO WATERLOO PUBLiC LIBRARY Serving your community since 1856 â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" Making the mandala Citizens will also be able to question the validity of these in camera sessions by appealing to the province‘s Information and Privacy commissioner, rather than having to go out of pocket and challenge the legality of a meeting in the courts. The new act would also have more teeth than the existing Municipal Act, which simply sugâ€" gests an advisory role for the Minâ€" keep more detailed minutes of inâ€" camera meetings to provide citiâ€" zens a better paper trail if they wanted to contest a decision. It would also better define what issues can be discussed behind closed doors. istry of Housing and Municipal Affairs if local councils don‘t live up to the letter of the law. The privacy commissioner could in fact reverse a council decision if it was determined the closedâ€"door meeting had been improper. Councillors could also be fined up to $2,500 each if they were found to have participated in an improper meeting. But Epp said he believed the act was being pushed by citizens in other areas of the province where politicians aren‘t living up to the current Municipal Act. Continued on page 6 $1INCLUDING GST aNDRES BALE* PHOTO "Maybe you‘re not happy with your family, but if you look at the alternatives you would not be hapâ€" pier with anything else." "I have not found any appetite among the people of Waterloo to look towards a oneâ€"tier (governâ€" ment) or have a merger with any of the other municipalities," he said. "They‘re not always happy with everything going on at city hall, but when they look at their alternatives, they‘re quite pleased. But local councillors are making it clear they have no interest in conâ€" sidering regional amalgamation; they like things just the way they Mayor Herb Epp said he is preâ€" pared to go to the table to look at other options that are available, but he isn‘t prepared to start negotiating on something like amalgamation without a proper mandate from citiâ€" zens. aterloo city council has Wgreed to partake in disâ€" cussions with the other regional municipalities on the hot topic of municipal reform and movâ€" ing towards a singleâ€"tier governâ€" ment. Waterlioo0 refuses to support oneâ€"tier system The City of Kitchener passed a "... it doesn‘t hurt to talk." Ward 1 councillor By Ryan ConnEu For The Chronicle â€"Jan d‘Ailly Continued on page 7