In April councillors will decide to adopt a new Public Participation Framework policy which seeks to implement improved coordination and public engagement efforts. On Thursday members of a city committee were provided updates on the policy that has been in development since 2023.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
City staff have developed a new policy to ensure public comments received through engagements are provided to council clearly, as well as new methods to collect feedback.
Members of the corporate services committee received a presentation Thursday of progress on the new Public Participation Framework, complete with public feedback on efforts to improve engagement efforts in 2026.
According to staff there has been a significant increase in expectations from both the public and council, which has led to development of a formal framework to better co-ordinate and implement engagement efforts.
“There’s really been a lot of changing expectations from the community, from city council, both currently and in the past few years, as well as just changing expectations from staff, too,” said Colleen Graham, corporate communication director.
Work on the new Public Participation Framework began in 2023 with a survey and focus groups, and was expanded in 2024 when the city hired a public participation specialist to provide insight on the internal draft of framework and new policy to be brought forward to council for future consideration.
The goal of the new policy is to make sure all city departments are on the same page when engaging with the public to build trust and increase understanding from the residents’ point of view.
“It’s really important to just start with some of the fundamental basics of engagement, we’re really talking about culture change here,” said Safira Lachapelle, public participation specialist. “We’re crawling, walking, running. And so some of these fundamental things, we kind of need to get on the same page with those across the organization and externally.”
The framework is based on a model created in Australia called the International Association for Public Participation, which categorizes public participation levels into a spectrum.
On the left end of the IAP2 Spectrum is the informative stage, used to provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist in understanding a concern.
The spectrum then increases in stages for the amount of city involvement, from consult, involve and collaborate, to the full implementation of a decision.
The city says this IAP2 spectrum is used internationally and is found in public participation plans around the world.
Lachapelle says the new policy includes several benefits.
“Number one, supporting trust and relationships between city staff and citizens,” she said. “Serving as a sounding board, early warning, providing a credible channel for communication, helping to increase understanding and support for project goals, encouraging appropriate modification of policies and procedures may help to reduce costly project delays.”
The policy is also designed to remove barriers and inequities some residents of under represented populations may encounter.
“We’re moving towards more equitable things, these are not things that happen overnight,” said Lachapelle. “It’s also critical to create safe spaces for people to share, someone with a different viewpoint may not feel comfortable expressing their views in a situation where angry people are debating or sharing in a disrespectful manner.”
The new policy also includes learning from a review of other municipal public participation policy, including Lethbridge, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Calgary and Edmonton.
The new policy is expected to come forward for council approval on Apr. 7.
