PUBLIC CONSULTATION

1
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
Comments please

• get your act
  together

2
DEFINITION

• Process through which people who will be affected
  by or are interested in a decision, and who have
  a stake in the outcome, get a chance to influence
  its content before it is made
• (CSA Z764-96)
• Primary purpose of public participation is to
  demonstrate to the public that the right
  decisions are being made, on balance, for the
  right reasons

3
REASONS

• Inform the public
• Present different viewpoints
• Identify concerns about the proposal
• Pinpoint areas of conflict
• Foster trust and mutual respect
• Raise comfort level of decision-makers

4
KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Public means an enormous array of individuals and
  groups
• Mutual trust and respect among all parties
• Diversity of understanding of common values,
  goals and objectives
• Individual and collective responsible behavior
• Mutual recognition and acceptance of others
  rights, interests and aspirations
• Development and implementation of mutually-agreed
  rules and procedures

5
INPUTS TO EA PROCESS
6
SCOPING

• Understand nature and scope of decisions
• Statement of purpose and goals
• Identify environmental issues
• Know when decisions are required
• Know who should be involved and why
• Range of public-involvement mechanisms
• Resource requirements
• Valid assumptions

7
PUBLIC

• Local residents
• Aboriginal people / communities
• Local / regional government officials
• Community organizations
• Professional / business associations
• Small business owners
• Educational institutions
• Public interest groups
• Media, etc.

8
STAKEHOLDERS

• Government
• Institutions
• Professional organizations
• Business organizations
• Citizen organizations
• Environmental organizations
• Concerned individuals
• Labor
• Etc.

9
MECHANISMS

• workshops
• exchanges
• townhall meetings
• task forces
• committees
• working groups
• polls
• etc...

• open houses
• site visits
• public meetings
• community visits
• bulletin boards
• panels
• conferences
• seminars

10
TYPE AND TIMING
11
FORMS OF PARTICIPATION

• Persuasion change attitudes without raising
  expectations
• Education create awareness of programs and
  issues
• Information feed-back public feed-back on
  decision
• Consultation dialogue mutually accepted
  objectives
• Joint planning shared decision-making
• Delegated authority transfer of responsibility
  to body with expertise
• Self determination public undertakes the process

Participation vs. consultation vs. involvement?
12
CONSULTATION?

• Consultation proponents informs public about
  proposal
• Participation public participates in the public
  consultation process but not part of the
  decision-making process
• Involvement public involved in public
  consultation and decision-making process

13
HIERARCHY OF POWER

• Citizen power -gtgt Citizen control
• Delegated power
• Partnership
• Placation -gtgt Tokenism
• Consultation
• Informing
• Therapy -gtgt No participation
• Manipulation

14
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN

• Plan for public involvement
• goals / objectives
• strategy
• mechanisms
• stakeholders
• schedule
• implementation
• responsibilities
• follow-up

15
CONSENSUS BUILDING

• Process in which all those who have a stake in
  the outcome aim to reach agreement on actions and
  outcomes that resolve or advance issues related
  to the environment, economic sustainability, etc.

16
CONSENSUS BUILDING PROCESS

• Designed to
• ensure that all significant interests are
  represented and respected
• enable participants to deal with each other
  directly
• give an effective voice to all participants
• allow parties to design an appropriate process
• provide a forum that forges partnerships

17
CONSENSUS BUILDING PRINCIPLES

• Purpose driven
• Inclusive but not exclusive
• Voluntary participation
• Self design / flexible
• Equal opportunity
• Respect for diverse interests
• Accountability
• Time limits
• Implementation

18
CONFLICT RESOLUTION

• Traditional approaches
• Litigation
• Regulation
• Administrative procedures
• Arbitration
• New techniques
• Mediation
• Negotiation
• Bargaining
• conciliation

19
CONFLICT RESOLUTION

• Causes
• Cognitive conflict
• Values conflict
• Interest conflict
• Relationship conflict

20
CONFLICT RESOLUTION

• Requisite conditions
• Motivation towards resolution
• Roughly equal power
• Acceptable, minimal risk of failure
• Organizational authority
• Negotiability of issues
• Control over process

21
CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ACT

• Public involvement requirements
• purpose of the Act
• screening discretionary (required for new Act
• class screening required / Gazetted
• comprehensive study required
• mediation
• panel review
• public registry

Proposed amendments Act provide for greater
public participation
22
MANITOBA ENVIRONMENT ACT

• Public involvement requirements
• Act encourages participation
• public registries
• public notices
• public review of EIS guidelines
• public hearings
• State of the Environment Report

Proposed amendments provide for earlier and more
extensive public participation
23
MANITOBA PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES

• Shared process
• Respect
• Commitment
• Timeliness
• Communication
• Responsiveness
• Accountability

24
Next Class

• Read about public reviews
• Know the reasons why public reviews are carried
  out
• Know the difference between panel reviews and
  public hearings
• Come to class prepared to discuss public reviews