Framework for Citizen Participation in the City of Toronto

The Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team recommends the adoption of the following report (February 1, 1999) from the Chief Administrative Officer; and further, that Councillor David Miller, High Park, be requested to Chair the proposed forum:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to outline a broad framework for citizen participation in the City of Toronto. This framework defines the meaning of citizen participation and civil society. It describes the multiple forms of citizen participation in City governance. It recommends that a forum be held to discuss further the roles of City government in maintaining a civil society.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no immediate financial implications associated with this report. The costs of organizing a forum on citizen participation will be absorbed within the existing budget.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the principles of citizen participation as identified in this report be adopted;

(2)the City of Toronto sponsor a forum designed to develop further the roles of the City government in citizen participation; and

(3)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Council Reference:

On February 4, 5 and 6, 1998, Council adopted Clause No. 1 of Report No. 1 of The Special Committee, entitled "Terms of Reference for the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team. The Clause described six priority areas in the Special Committee's workplan, one of which is the reinforcement of mechanisms for citizen involvement in the City's governance.

As part of the report "Roles and responsibilities of community councils in the context of the council-committee structure", Council also adopted the following recommendation:

"The Chief Administrative Officer's forthcoming report on citizen involvement in municipal governance explore more fully the experience of other jurisdictions in this regard and include recommendations relating to the provision of resources on Citizens' Assemblies, Residents' Associations and Tenants' Associations, including support currently provided through the Healthy City Office". (Clause No. 1 of Report No. 12 of TheSpecial Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team, adopted as amended by Council on October 28, 29 and 30, 1998).

Discussion:

Chapter 8 in the Toronto Transition Team's final report noted that:

"This is a City where people get involved. There are thousands of people who participate in one way or another in maintaining and improving the liveability of their neighbourhoods, their communities and their city. [There is] a tradition of citizen involvement which must not be lost in the transition to the new City. What we have now should become the foundation on which to expand and enhance citizen participation."

The Transition Team provided the following examples of ways in which citizen input is incorporated into decision-making:

(a)contact with individual ward councillors;

(b)deputations to committees of Council;

(c)participation in formal public consultations on specific issues;

(d)involvement in Council sub-committees, task forces, advisory committees or program management committees;

(e)membership on City agencies, boards and commissions;

(f)involvement in partnerships, coalitions and joint working groups among citizens, business groups, councillors and municipal staff to collectively address issues over time; and

(g)community development initiatives to overcome barriers to participation and facilitate involvement in community affairs.

As the examples illustrate, there are currently many different ways for citizens to participate in the governance of the City of Toronto. At one end of the continuum (described in Figure 1), citizens have a less active involvement in government through their roles as tax and fee payers, users of services and recipients of information. The other end of the continuum reflects more active citizen participation in policy formulation and service delivery.

--------

Figure 1 Continuum of Citizen Participation

in City Governancy

pay taxes pay user fee use services receive information

seek information vote

contact councillor

make deputations participate in consultations

sit on working groups, advisory committees, task forces, etc.

sit on ABCs, program management committees, etc.

get elected

Passive Citizen

Active Citizen Participation

Each form of citizen participation along the continuum makes a valid and necessary contribution to City governance. The context in which governance decisions are made varies from situation to situation. Therefore, no single form of participation is appropriate for all circumstances. The notion of a continuum of citizen participation is supported by the literature on citizen participation and prominent political scientists.

Different situations lend themselves to more active or less active approaches to citizen engagement. The relationship between different decision-making situations and levels of citizen engagement is illustrated in Figure 2.

There are circumstances in which the City government has a very clear understanding of the issue and what its response should be. In these cases the relationship between the City government and citizens is characterised by the Council informing citizens about the nature of the issue and the City's response. The recent snow emergency is an example of this type of decision-making. In this instance, the City informed rather than consulted with Torontonians about its response to the storms.

At the other end of the continuum, there are situations in which the City government is unaware of the existence and nature of an issue or has not included the issue on its policy agenda. Citizens recognize and define a community issue, advocate for its resolution, and play an active role in identifying alternative responses and selecting a preferred course of action. In these cases, the citizens play the lead role and are more actively engaged in the resolution of the issue.

The Figure 2 model outlining citizens' different roles in public decision-making presumes an informed citizenry keenly interested in working towards the resolution of community issues and in shaping the quality of community life.

The discussion so far speaks to citizen participation in City governance. The opportunities for citizens to actively engage in setting directions for their community in cooperation with each other is equally important. This form of citizen participation focuses on the relationships between and among citizens and their respective communities and the capacity building required to do that.

Citizens in cooperation with each other create and maintain civil society. Civil society refers to the network of informal social relationships between and among community members which are designed for mutual care, joint problem-solving and community development. Civil society is embodied in voluntary, non-profit associations, neighbourhood groups, churches, charity groups, local community activist groups and social movements. In other words, civil society is a sphere of social relationships, which lies outside the domain of government and the market economy. Civil society has also been referred to as the "third sector" bridging the gap between the actions of the private sector and government. The ability of the community to effectively address community issues is enhanced the more citizens become actively involved in cooperative problem-solving and shared decision-making (community capacity building).

For example, citizen assemblies are an innovative model for building community capacity. Citizen assemblies are discussion forums which provide opportunities for interaction and dialogue between and among citizens as well as between citizens and elected officials. Citizen assemblies which are open to all citizens in a particular geographic area pursue some or all of the following objectives:

(a)to inform communities better about issues relevant to them;

(b)to engage residents in discussions about municipal decisions and policies which affect them;

(c)to increase the visibility of and improve communication among existing local organizations;

(d)to increase participation of marginalized groups and individuals;

(e)to encourage a deeper thinking by residents, local organizations and politicians about solutions to problems and directions for community development; and

(f)to foster community empowerment.

The City of Toronto actively supports its citizens in building community capacity in a number of ways:

The City government encourages the formation of civic associations, community groups and networks around specific community issues. For example, the government has community development officers and a healthy city office which can assist citizens in forming new neighbourhood associations or community groups and in advocating for the resolution of particular issues. These civic associations may even be in a position to solve certain community issues either in whole or part without reliance on the government.

The City of Toronto contributes to the economic stability of community organizations through the provision of seed money, program funding and operating grants. The City of Toronto annually spends a significant amount of money in financial assistance to community agencies working in different service areas (e.g., arts and culture, social and community services, crime prevention, youth employment etc.)

The City of Toronto provides its citizens with background research and up-to-date information on pressing community issues. Information pamphlets and brochures are usually translated into different languages in order to facilitate their accessibility to different language groups.

The City of Toronto makes meeting space available for citizens and community groups at City facilities.

Principles of Citizen Participation in the City of Toronto:

The City of Toronto government continues to support the tradition of citizen involvement. It is recommended that citizen participation in the City of Toronto be guided by four principles:

(1)Collaborative Decision-Making:

The City of Toronto is committed to govern in partnership with the citizens of Toronto. This principle recognizes that citizen participation is an integral element of the City's governance culture.

(2)Accessibility:

The City of Toronto is committed to continuously work towards the removal of barriers to effective citizen participation. The City of Toronto will ensure that citizens have the opportunity to make presentations to Council, its standing committees and community councils. The City of Toronto is committed to include the diversity of community groups in public consultation processes.

The City government is committed to facilitate citizens' access to municipal elected officials and City staff. The City of Toronto will support councillors in actively seeking citizen input on community issues and in expressing citizens' views and concerns in the political decision-making process.

(3)Continuous Improvement in Citizen Participation:

The City of Toronto is committed to learning about innovative and creative ways of fostering citizen participation in other jurisdictions. It will apply new learning and develop innovative "made in Toronto" practices.

(4)Community Capacity Building:

The City of Toronto is committed to supporting its citizens in cooperative problem-solving.

It is proposed that the City of Toronto engage in a dialogue on citizen participation with Torontonians. At this forum, citizens and elected officials will be able to explore the opportunities for citizen participation in Toronto. They will review best practices of citizen participation in other jurisdictions. This dialogue can be organized as a two day discussion forum to be held in 1999. The forum may include elected officials, researchers and members of academia from other cities who have had experience with different mechanisms of citizen participation.

Conclusions:

This report has defined the different ways in which citizens are currently involved in the governance process of the City of Toronto. It has outlined a set of key principles which underlie and guide citizen participation. It has proposed that the City government and the citizens of Toronto engage in a dialogue designed to further explore the notion of citizen participation and to share best practices regarding citizen participation.

________

Mr. Peter Clutterbuck, Community Social Planning Council, appeared before the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team, in connection with the foregoing matter.