Municipal Consultations: Necessary or Overkill?
According to the City of Toronto, open government is guided by four principles: transparency, participation, accountability, and accessibility. To promote open government, the city provides the public with access to data, city records, council and committee decisions, and other information.
Consultations with local stakeholders are key to Toronto’s policy process. The City argues that consultations help build capacity and inform participation, planning processes and city building. It is argued that transparency allows local government to remain close to the people. But is it possible for consultations to hinder rather than enrich the policy process?
Last Friday, our class took a trip to Toronto City Hall, where we had the opportunity to talk with Munk alumni working in municipal government. I used this opportunity to ask whether the principle of open government, especially with regards to consultations, is beneficial to the policy process. I received mixed responses.
On the one hand, open government provides citizens with opportunities to become more engaged with government decision-making. Residents can attend community meetings, participate in online surveys, and join discussion panels. Opportunities for engagement exist. The question is, who’s taking advantage of these opportunities?
In reality, people are busy. They have work, school, chores, kids, and the latest season of Game of Thrones to worry about. According to a poll by IPSOS, only 20% of Canadian respondents have ever participated in a municipal public consultation. Those who do participate often have underlying motives for being there, resulting in selection bias. Others face language barriers or have limited knowledge about the issues being discussed.
City councillors can also use adequate consultation — or lack thereof, as a tactic to block legislation from being passed or voted upon. This delays the decision-making process and thus the policy outcome.
Other government decisions are simply so mundane that consultations seem redundant. Say the city was planning to re-pave a neighbourhood sidewalk: would you read the meeting notes, attend the town-halls and fill out surveys about said sidewalk? Would anybody?
Having the option to directly engage with government on matters you care about is a beneficial element of municipal government. I’m just not convinced that consultations are necessary for every government decision.
