Empowering government to build better resident and employee experiences and get more value out of their civic engagement technology.

Learn More
Resources
Connect
  • Success Story
  • Swagit

The City of Timmins, Ontario overcomes unique citizen engagement obstacles

Swagit Logo

Overview

The City of Timmins is northeastern Ontario’s fourth largest city and one of Canada’s major centers of mining. Local legends say that in 1909, a Porcupine Lake prospector named Harry Preston skidded on a moss-covered rocky knoll and revealed a massive vein of gold, setting off the great northern Ontario Porcupine Gold Rush of 1909-1911. The company town that sprang up to house the miners became known as Timmins. Over the next hundred years, over 50 mines in the area produced 70 million ounces of gold making this region Canada’s greatest gold producer.

In 1973, 35 townships covering 1,260 square miles (including Porcupine, South Porcupine, Schumacher, and Timmins) were organized into the City of Timmins.

Metrics

  • Remote access to City Council meetings has notably eased concerns of reduced citizen engagement due to distance from the City’s Council meetings or weather that could make it impossible to attend public meetings.
  • Compliance with Canadian international privacy law A Canadian based Content Distribution Network allows Timmins to store and deliver all of its content from Swagit’s Montreal Point-Of Presence (POP)
Must have Granicus Solutions

Situation

During the cold winter months, many of Timmins’ 41,000 residents can become snowbound, while others head south for warmer climates.

“The city can get snowstorms that close roads and make driving conditions unfavorable for those residents who want to attend regular meetings,” said David Laneville, former Director of IT for the City of Timmins.

Timmins’ search for a video streaming solution for its meetings met a major obstacle in Canadian law, however. Canadian law mandates that government server technology and database storage must remain within Canadian borders, to avoid privacy risks that could arise from international transfer of personal information.

Solution

In 2010, the City of Timmins launched its new streaming video solution, which provides greater access to municipal information and services for residents.

“The city looked at several vendors across North America,” said Laneville. “Swagit {now part of Granicus} was the best fit and had the most robust CDN that was qualified to handle our needs.” Swagit’s Content Distribution Network allows Timmins to store and deliver all of its content from Swagit’s Montreal Point-Of Presence (POP). By developing its own CDN, Swagit (now part of Granicus) does not rely third-party providers. This not only keeps costs low, but enables Canadian customers to maintain compliance with their laws.

By using Swagit’s EASE™ solution the city is able to promote live events, as well as broadcast meetings and other content via the internet.

“Now, residents can watch live meetings from the comfort of their home, or can tap into the video-on-demand database and watch at their convenience from anywhere in the world,” Laneville said.
Results

The City of Timmins provides transparency for residents despite unique obstacles: Canadian international privacy law, a 1,260-square-mile city footprint, and northeastern Ontario winters. Providing remote access to City Council meetings has notably eased concerns of reduced resident engagement due to distance from the City’s Council meetings or weather that could make it impossible to attend public meetings.

Swagit helps government agencies to transform their role with the public and provide better service for their citizens. The hands-free EASE™ solution harnesses the power of streaming video for government.

Meetings for the City of Timmins can be viewed on the City’s website from any device that is connected to the internet (livestream and on-demand videos at http://www.timmins.ca/mayor-and-council/webcasts.)