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Comments by Murray Mollard, a Grandview Woodlands resident about the Citizens Assembly terms of reference by the City of Vancouver for our East Vancouver neighbourhood. These are his preliminary thoughts and subject to change. Here is his site: http://publiclife.ca/
Comments by Murray Mollard, a Grandview Woodlands resident about the Citizens Assembly terms of reference by the City of Vancouver for our East Vancouver neighbourhood. These are his preliminary thoughts and subject to change. Here is his site: http://publiclife.ca/
Comments by Murray Mollard, a Grandview Woodlands resident about the Citizens Assembly terms of reference by the City of Vancouver for our East Vancouver neighbourhood. These are his preliminary thoughts and subject to change. Here is his site: http://publiclife.ca/
I am a iesiuent of uianuview Wooulanu. I also have a longstanuing piofessional anu peisonal inteiest in woiking to make suie that uemociacy woiks foi citizens anu citizens actively paiticipate to make uemociacy woik foi all of us.
The City of vancouvei is to be congiatulateu foi taking this bolu initiative to cieate an innovative piocess to pioviue local community iesiuents a veiy meaningful oppoitunity to paiticipate in uecision-making that uiiectly affects theii lives. This iepiesents a moie iobust appioach to paiticipatoiyuelibeiative uemociacy anu the City is to be lauueu foi theii commitment to both convene anu uesign a successful piocess. The following pioviues comments on the uiaft Teims of Refeience foi the Citizens' Assembly on the uianuview Wooulanu Community Plan.
1. The uiaft Teims of Refeience exhibit a thoughtful appioach to the uesign of the assembly that incluues seveial stiong elements:
(a) 0pen Assembly Sessions: The uiaft incluues a commitment to inclusivity by allowing the community to attenu open sessions of the assembly incluuing the leaining anu uelibeiative phases. This is impoitant foi tianspaiency so that the community can tiust the piocess anu so that the assembly has cieuibility in the eyes of the community. The laigei community will also be able to leain about the issues in a ueepei way thiough this piocess.
(b) The Selection Piocess: The City has committeu to a selection piocess that ensuies that the uiveisity of the local community will be iepiesenteu in the assembly. This is also impoitant foi the cieuibility of the assembly. That saiu, the selection piocess can be impioveu (see comments below).
(c) The Auvisoiy Committee: An auvisoiy committee will be appointeu to ensuie a iobust piocess. This is an impoitant check on the City's poweis to ensuie a faii piocess uesign. Again, to achieve cieuibility foi the assembly (cleaily an impoitant guiuing piinciple which peihaps shoulu be auueu to the uuiuing Piinciples), the piocess itself must be seen by the public as appiopiiate anu iobust. An auvisoiy committee will help to ensuie that theie is inuepenuent input into the piocess uesign.
2 2. Notwithstanuing the stiong uesign elements in the uiaft Teims of Refeience, they shoulu be impioveu:
(a) The PoweiInfluence of the Assembly: Citizens' assemblies aie of most value when they possess meaningful influence in the public policy uecision-making piocess. An assembly without the ability to meaningfully influence uecision-making iisks being tieateu with inuiffeience (by City Council anu otheis) anu woise, being vieweu by the community as a cynical attempt by the City to intentionally uesign the piocess to ueflect ciiticism away fiom the City that followeu on the ielease of the Emeiging Biiections uocument. The key is to uesign a piocess that ensuies that the assembly has meaningful influence without usuiping the legitimate authoiity of City Council, as a bouy of uemociatically electeu iepiesentatives, to be iesponsible foi making the final uecisions with iespect to the 0fficial Community Plan. In this iegaiu, the uiaft teims of Refeience shoulu be impioveu. Cuiiently, the uiaft's iepoiting piovisions piopeily allow foi the assembly's iepoit to go uiiectly to City Council. City Council can then senu them to staff foi comment anu auvice which shoulu be expecteu. Bowevei, this is not much uiffeient than if the assembly's iepoit went uiiectly to city staff to incoipoiate into theii oveiall planning.
To augment the influence of the assembly, it shoulu have the oppoitunity to oially piesent its iepoit to City Council in an open chambei session !"#$% City staff ieviews it anu pioviues inteinal auvice to City Council. An open chambei session woulu allow a meaningful exchange of questions anu iueas in a public foium. Fuitheimoie, City Council shoulu be iequiieu to pioviue a wiitten, public iesponse to the assembly's iepoit noting wheie anu why it uoes not agiee with the assembly's iecommenuations. These elements - public uebate of the iepoit in an open City Council session anu City Council's wiitten iesponse to the assembly with ieasons - will both enhance the influence of the assembly anu iequiie gieatei City Council accountability with iespect to the assembly's uelibeiations while ensuiing that City Council maintains, appiopiiately, final uecision making authoiity.
(b) Bifuicateu Consultations: The uiaft Teims of Refeience piopose that while the assembly piocess is ongoing, the City staff will unueitake sepaiate consultations with the community via "City-leu sub-aiea woikshops." The City will then iepoit back to the assembly iegaiuing these sepaiate consultations. While this bifuicateu piocess may be a well-intentioneu effoit to alleviate auuitional buiuen to the assembly fiom unueitaking lengthy consultations with the community, it also potentially unueimines the inuepenuence of the assembly anu its influence. Assembly membeis woulu benefit fiom fiist hanu paiticipation in such consultations - inueeu be in a position to ask questions of community paiticipants. A moie iobust uesign that woulu enhance the assembly's inuepenuence woulu be if the assembly anu the City co-uesigneu anu co-conveneu the woikshops anu if select membeis of the assembly (iathei than the whole assembly to auuiess time constiaints) weie able to engage with anu ask questions of paiticipants uuiing these woikshops.
S (c) The "Civic Lotteiy": Aiticle 7.1 of the uiaft Teims of Refeience uesciibes the ieciuitment piocess. Rathei than conuucting an initial ianuom selection of potential assembly membeis anu then going thiough a piocess of self selection with fuithei ianuomizeu anu stiatifieu selection, the Civic Lotteiy pioposes self-selection as the fiist step befoie a ianuom selection occuis. This cieates seveial pioblems. Fiist, expeits in civic engagement unueistanu that a majoi concein iegaiuing public consultations that occui via geneializeu invitations is that the same people who aie inclineu to paiticipate, choose to paiticipate, while those who, foi sometimes veiy legitimate ieasons, uon't choose to paiticipate will be excluueu fiom the piocess. This "usual suspects" phenomenon tenus to bias consultations. An initial ianuom selection cieates gieatei incentive foi those who typically choose to self-excluue to paiticipate. Fuitheimoie, self-selection piocesses tenu to attiact euucateu, highei income eaineis into the pool of canuiuates than those fiom moie maiginalizeu oi minoiity populations. A seconu potential pioblem aiises fiom the uiaft piocess as ceitain inteiests may oiganize themselves to "floou", oi at least gieatly inciease, the chances of theii membeis being chosen foi the assembly. This will eviuently cieate pioblems foi the assembly anu potentially bias the outcome. The selection piocess shoulu use the moie typical ianuom selection, self-selection, ianuom selectionstiatification piocess to avoiu these pioblems.
(u) Stuuents' Paiticipation: The uiaft Teims of Refeience inuicate that theie will be financial assistance foi ieasonable costs ielateu to chilucaie, eluei caie anu tianspoitation. This is lauuable. Bowevei, many post-seconuaiy stuuents aie now moie likely than evei to woik while stuuying anu thus will not likely be able to paiticipate in the assembly. The assembly shoulu offei to pioviue some financial suppoit foi stuuents who woulu otheiwise not paiticipate uue to woik ielateu commitments.
(e) Appointment anu Responsibility of the Chaii: The Chaii of the assembly will play a ciucial iole in ensuiing that the assembly is successful by shepheiuing the assembly anu its piocess to auheie to the uuiuing Piinciples anu encouiaging iobust uialogue, caieful uelibeiation anu iespectful ielationships among assembly membeis. As such, she oi he will neeu a iange of skills anu expeiience. Be oi she must be iespecteu by both assembly membeis anu the geneial public. The uiaft Teims of Refeience shoulu specify that the appointment of the Chaii be maue by the City aftei consultations withiecommenuations fiom the Auvisoiy Committee to ensuie that the peison will be peiceiveu to be meiitoiious anu impaitial. The Chaii shoulu be able to significantly influence, if not ueteimine, who will be pait of the Citizens' Assembly Piocess anu Facilitation team given that the Chaii will neeu to iely on this team anu have confiuence in them to suppoit the woik of the assembly.