Gatineau considers creating an independent office of public consultation

Sophie Demers 

The municipal council gathered on February 25 during the plenary committee meeting to be presented with the final report from the Committee dedicated to the reactualization of the reference framework for citizen participation in municipal affairs. 

Since October 2022 the committee has met 20 times with the goal of optimizing the public consultation process at the City of Gatineau.

“We had presentations, meetings with those responsible for citizen participation, consultations with other cities in Quebec, Canada and the world, but also cities of similar size to Gatineau. We made a diagnosis of the situation in Gatineau to see what we had done in terms of citizen participation, where we were good and where we could improve,” said Anik des Marais, Mitigomijokan councillor, and member of the committee. 

The final report found that there is a strong interest in public participation but low attendance. There is a lack of awareness of the process, but residents do want to be consulted and have their voices heard in the decision-making process. 

The committee recommended that an Independent Office of Public Consultation be created and that a new public participation policy be adopted. The independent office would oversee the application of the Public Participation Policy. 

According to the presentation by the committee, the policy would strengthen the city’s relationship with residents and be guided with the principles of transparency and communication. The policy will detail the appropriate time to consult residents, ensure communication with residents about their level of influence during a consultation as well as what was retained from the consultation in the final decision. The committee also noted the importance of ensuring a diversity of perspective from the public, making sure to hear from those directly affected by the decision and from all districts instead of always hearing from the same residents who regularly participate. 

The committee also recommended a citizen's right of initiative mechanism which would allow the public to request a consultation on certain issues or projects. This mechanism would have specific requirements and conditions. 

After the presentation, many councillors voiced their opinions of the report. The council was divided with many asking for more details about how the office would run and how much it would cost while others questioned the necessity of an independent office. 

Marc Bureau, Parc-de-la-Montagne-Saint-Raymond, asked if the committee looked at models from cities outside of Quebec suggesting Vancouver as they manage to have strong citizen participation without a dedicated office. 

Conversely, Louis Sabourin said “We are giving ourselves the tools necessary to strengthen participatory democracy by allowing citizens to express themselves about the decisions that concern them and by ensuring a more transparent and inclusive decision-making.

We are improving the quality of decisions. We are promoting trust between the population and the elected officials, notably by reducing mistrust and the feeling of exclusion of citizens.”

Daniel Champagne, Jean Lessard, Jocelyn Blondin, Mike Duggan, Mario Aubé, and Giles Chagnon were part of the group of councillors that wanted more details before giving their support for the recommendations. 

Other concerns included ensuring the proper part of the population was consulted and that citizens from another area of the city can’t stop a project that the neighborhood wants. Others wanted to know more about how the office would run, how people would be hired, the financial costs involved, while others questioned if this was necessary, wanting to know why the current procedure needed changing. 

“I think that in the era we're in right now, with the big projects we have in the city, the ambition we have for the city, but also the challenges of getting there, the goals of the citizens and the goals of the promoters. This allows us to have a tool to build consensus and go further together,” said Gatineau Mayor, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette. 

More information and details about the plans for an independent public consultation office will be presented to the municipal council in July before an official decision is made.