{"id":21754,"date":"2011-08-02T11:57:31","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T15:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=21754"},"modified":"2011-08-02T11:57:31","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T15:57:31","slug":"lorinc-the-consultation-follies-or-the-folly-of-consultation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2011\/08\/02\/lorinc-the-consultation-follies-or-the-folly-of-consultation\/","title":{"rendered":"LORINC: The Consultation Follies or the Folly of Consultation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the wake of Thursday\u2019s consultapalooza, numerous pundits delighted in observing that all but three of the 169 deputants who toughed out the epic session opposed the sweeping budget (re: service) cuts envisioned in the KPMG documents. No one came to defend Ford-friendly expenditures, such as keeping the Don Valley Parkway properly paved or spending millions on studies to justify the mayor\u2019s fantasy Sheppard subway scheme.<\/p>\n

In the UFC showdown between the War On The Car\u2122 crowd and the War For The Library set, Team Atwood appears to have scored a knock-down win. Gotcha, Robbie.<\/p>\n

Team Ford bluffly responded that Ford Nation didn\u2019t come out to make its populist voice heard because its denizens were hard at work, earning a living.<\/p>\n

Well, you know what? The vast majority of Miller’s Minions\u00a0 \u2014 or whatever one wants to call Toronto\u2019s progressive centre-left \u2014 didn\u2019t show up for pretty much the same reason. So while I applaud the citizens who endured this 22-hour circus, I certainly cannot blame anyone, of any political persuasion, for taking a pass, thanks.<\/p>\n

Indeed, even if Ford and the executive committee had adopted a slightly less survivalist approach \u2014 a two-day session in the relative comfort of the council chamber \u2014 the basic structure of the process is absurd, if not completely insane.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yes, I understand that some political theatre is necessary, and also that politicians sometimes can only be persuaded when confronted directly, and emotionally, with the consequences of their decisions. And so the session did have its highlight reel moments \u2013 the acerbic older ladies; the young man who read out a parable about eliminating the foundations of the \u201cHouse of Toronto\u201d; and of course the 14- year-old Scarborough girl who wept as she told the committee, at 2 a.m., about her deep affection for her local library and her fear of losing the same.<\/p>\n

But for me, these highlights had the feel of a cheap sugar high, delivering a short-lived surge of political adrenalin. As for the politicians, if they were paying attention at all, they mostly seemed interested in scoring points, as usual. Is there that much sunlight between Janet Davis\u2019 sarcastic queries \u2014 \u201cIs food a nice-to-have or a must-have?\u201d\u2014 and Giorgio Mammoliti\u2019s hectoring cross-examinations?<\/p>\n

If council and city officials actually cared about soliciting the views of residents \u2014 which is by no means certain \u2014 they should use last week\u2019s debacle as an excuse to detonate Toronto\u2019s ossified public consultation model and start over. As a foundational principle, I\u2019d suggest the following: avoid approaches that make it exquisitely difficult for most residents to participate.<\/p>\n

Which means: Weekend or evening sessions, held out in the city rather than within Fortress City Hall. A restructured consultation process that encourages debate, compromise and facilitated interaction instead of mind-numbing parades of deputants. And greater reliance on electronic media to convey residents\u2019 views.<\/p>\n

Would it be so difficult for the city to set up video-equipped computer terminals at library branches, for example, so residents can record their feedback in ways that don\u2019t necessarily involve composing emails? Citytv\u2019s Speaker\u2019s Corner, may it rest in peace, is certainly a model worth emulating.<\/p>\n

I also find myself wondering whether the city could do a better job capturing, on a routine basis, feedback from residents who use specific municipal services. The city sends out hundreds of thousands of property tax and utility bills. Would it be so difficult to include a survey form and a pre-paid envelope? Or could the city take a page from the consumer products sector and conduct focus groups with, for example, library patrons, parents of kids enrolled in parks programs, and even commuters? If city bureaucrats could share quantifiable data with elected officials, perhaps they\u2019d have a keener sense of what works and what needs to be fixed, which, really, is what this debate is all about.<\/p>\n

Dave Meslin recently pointed out to me that the city\u2019s public consultation notices, regularly printed in the newspapers in tombstone ads, could scarcely be less inviting. The notices make no concessions to interesting design or readability, and are difficult even for aficionados to decipher. What, he asked, would happen if consumer goods companies took the same approach when promoting their products? They wouldn\u2019t sell anything, that\u2019s what. Which is what we do.<\/p>\n

None of these complaints are new, but the absurdist quality of the current budget debate has brought them to the fore. We find ourselves at an Alice-in-Wonderland moment, where the powers-that-be assure us that those who speak up don\u2019t represent those who don\u2019t, and this despite repeated, but unconvincing, efforts by the Ford administration to solicit the views of the governed.<\/p>\n

Long before Ford became mayor, the city and council had a tin ear when it came to listening to residents. If there was ever moment to begin fixing a system that is broken beyond repair, this is it.<\/p>\n

photo courtesy of<\/em> West Annex News<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the wake of Thursday\u2019s consultapalooza, numerous pundits delighted in observing that all but three of the 169 deputants who toughed out the epic session opposed the sweeping budget (re: service) cuts envisioned in the KPMG documents. 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