{"id":1811,"date":"2012-05-24T15:03:20","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T19:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/?page_id=1811"},"modified":"2012-05-24T15:03:20","modified_gmt":"2012-05-24T19:03:20","slug":"public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011","title":{"rendered":"Public Consultation in a borough – Improving the process (2011)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A citizen complained about the way a Public Consultation was conducted by Arrondissement de Pierrefonds-Roxboro and submitted that many undertakings stated in the Montr\u00e9al Charter of Rights and Responsibilities<\/em><\/span> (MCRR) were not respected.<\/p>\n

We analyzed this complaint in light of various parameters, such as: the legislative, statutory and other applicable frameworks; the comments and recommendations issued by the Office de consultation publique de Montr\u00e9al<\/em> after a Public Consultation involving Arrondissement de Pierrefonds-Roxboro; and the good practices generally recognized with regard to public consultations.<\/p>\n

Following our investigation, we issued numerous comments and ideas for improvement to the borough which welcomed them all. Here are the basics:<\/p>\n

a)\tScope of the Consultation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The global project for the review of all urban planning By-laws included many projects of zoning change. At the end of the process, sixty zoning changes were adopted as part of this global project, while eleven such projects were excluded. In our opinion:<\/p>\n

o\tThe borough\u2019s decision to exclude these eleven zoning change projects from the global project was appropriate in light of the importance of this type of changes for the residents of the areas affected;<\/p>\n

o\tHowever, more zoning change projects should have been excluded from the global project i.e. all of those likely to have an impact on the immediate environment of the residents;<\/p>\n

o\tSuch an approach would have been more consistent with the spirit and the letter of the Act Respecting Land Use Planning and Development <\/em><\/span>and of section 16 of the MCRR;<\/p>\n

b) \tQuality of the information put at the disposal of citizens<\/strong><\/p>\n

In section 16 of the MCRR, Ville de Montr\u00e9al undertakes to encourage and promote citizen participation by providing citizens \u201cuseful information stated in a clear language<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Ville de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s Public Consultation and Participation Policy<\/em> states that Ville de Montr\u00e9al should: \u201cbefore any consultation<\/strong>, produce and communicate complete<\/strong>, objective<\/strong>, relevant<\/strong>, user-friendly<\/strong> and accessible information<\/strong> on the policy, the project or the program that is the subject of the consultation\u201d.<\/p>\n

(Our emphasis)<\/p>\n

Considering this framework, we submitted to the borough:<\/p>\n

o\tThat it would have been appropriate for the borough to provide the citizens, from the beginning, with a simplification document explaining, in a clear language, the main directions of this global project, as well as the most important changes suggested;<\/p>\n

o\tThat this document should have clearly informed the citizens of every zoning change project integrated in the general remodel, as well as of the relevant procedures to challenge them.<\/p>\n

o\tThat in order to properly inform citizens and encourage public participation, the borough should have made available more quickly, from the beginning, and at the same time as the draft by-laws, the documents explaining the projects regarding zoning and, more particularly, its documents entitled Zoning change \u2013 Annotated plan and explanatory chart \u2013 Zoning change.<\/em><\/p>\n

c)\tClarity of the information<\/strong><\/p>\n

The final draft of the proposed By-laws to be submitted to the Borough Council, for its approval, were put on the borough\u2019s Website with a note stating: \u201cThe present document is a preliminary version of the By-law (\u2026)<\/em>\u201d. This created confusion for citizens. The projects should have been identified as the final version, in view of their adoption.<\/p>\n

d)\tAccessibility of the information<\/strong><\/p>\n

All of the documents regarding this Consultation, including the modifications brought during the process, should have been put at the disposal of the public on the borough\u2019s Website and<\/strong> in all of the service points where the initial documentation had been made available, namely: the borough\u2019s office and 2 libraries (Pierrefonds and Roxboro). This was not the case for some documents.<\/p>\n

The Minutes produced following the 2 Public assemblies<\/em> and the Chart summarizing the Open House activities were never put at the disposal of citizens. We believe these documents should have been made accessible, in the 3 service points.<\/p>\n

e)\tAccessibility of the Public Consultation process<\/strong><\/p>\n

Citizens who wanted to submit written comments could not hand-in handwritten documents: this requirement may have had an exclusionary effect.<\/p>\n

Despite the constraints that can arise from reading handwritten documents, a more inclusive approach should have prevailed: the borough should have accepted Memoirs and comments of citizens that were not typed, with the condition that they be easily readable.<\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The borough confirmed that these suggestions and comments for the improvement of the processes would be implemented, for all future Public Consultations. This positive reaction is very much in line with the approach advocated by our office, namely the continuous improvement of the procedures and processes of the municipal administration.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff was satisfied with the results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A citizen complained about the way a Public Consultation was conducted by Arrondissement de Pierrefonds-Roxboro and submitted that many undertakings stated in the Montr\u00e9al Charter of Rights and Responsibilities (MCRR) were not respected. We analyzed this complaint in light of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":345,"menu_order":18,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1811","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPublic Consultation in a borough - Improving the process (2011) - OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public Consultation in a borough - Improving the process (2011) - OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A citizen complained about the way a Public Consultation was conducted by Arrondissement de Pierrefonds-Roxboro and submitted that many undertakings stated in the Montr\u00e9al Charter of Rights and Responsibilities (MCRR) were not respected. We analyzed this complaint in light of … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011\",\"name\":\"Public Consultation in a borough - Improving the process (2011) - OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-24T19:03:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cases handled\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Examples of Charter files\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Communications and Informations\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Public Consultation in a borough – Improving the process (2011)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/\",\"name\":\"OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Public Consultation in a borough - Improving the process (2011) - OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Public Consultation in a borough - Improving the process (2011) - OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al","og_description":"A citizen complained about the way a Public Consultation was conducted by Arrondissement de Pierrefonds-Roxboro and submitted that many undertakings stated in the Montr\u00e9al Charter of Rights and Responsibilities (MCRR) were not respected. We analyzed this complaint in light of … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011","og_site_name":"OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011","url":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011","name":"Public Consultation in a borough - Improving the process (2011) - OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-05-24T19:03:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations\/public-consultation-in-a-borough-improving-the-process-2011#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cases handled","item":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Examples of Charter files","item":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Communications and Informations","item":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/cases-handled\/examples-of-charter-files\/communications-and-informations"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Public Consultation in a borough – Improving the process (2011)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/","name":"OMBUDSMAN de Montr\u00e9al","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1811\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ombudsmandemontreal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}