This text is part of the special publication Public consultations
Even if according to its president, Isabelle Beaulieu, it will also be necessary to work to chase away a few clouds, in particular by managing to diversify the public.
In 2012, the Charbonneau commission splashed the mayor of Montreal, Gérald Tremblay, forcing him to resign, he who had been in charge of the city for ten years. The scent of scandal surrounding his administration has also camouflaged his legacies, including the creation, in 2002, of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM).
His predecessor, Pierre Bourque, had put the key in the door of the Bureau de consultation de Montréal, symbol of a city that is more open to the ideas of its citizens when it comes to transforming it. The need for a space for information and discussion, led by commissioners who are experts in various fields, and not elected officials, quickly made its way: the OCPM has since become a unique model of its kind.
When she arrived in 2015 as commissioner, Isabelle Beaulieu was far from suspecting that she would one day become its president – she took the helm last February – even if her background prepared her very well for this function. Doctor of political science, member of the Superior Council of the French language in the 2000s, former director of the Quebec office in Washington, we take her at her word when she speaks fervently about the benefits of participatory democracy.
The one who succeeded Dominique Ollivier, now president of the Montreal executive committee, intends to continue the projects begun under her leadership, while recognizing that new challenges are on the horizon. Because if the pandemic reality is still present, more than two years after the first wave of COVID-19, other issues are looming.
“We are going to say it: participation is difficult, recognizes Isabelle Beaulieu from the outset. Getting people out of the house, getting them to think collectively about the collective, is much more complex than before. This does not mean that the OCPM remains idly by in the face of a certain citizen apathy, the president being proud to point out that all the consultations carried out by her organization are now hybrid and therefore accessible to as many people as possible.
Debate to build better
The OCPM receives consultation mandates from the city council and the executive committee of the City of Montreal, which entrust this independent organization with the task of organizing informed discussions on issues relating to the preservation of a heritage site, on the construction of a large infrastructure or on an urban development plan.
When we know how resistant citizens or certain pressure groups can be to change, we understand that the OCPM sometimes navigates in troubled waters and must always display itself as “a neutral third party”, recalls Isabelle Beaulieu with pride. . According to the President, the Office must above all counter a phenomenon as old as the world, but exacerbated by the polarization of the debates: the famous syndrome of “not in my backyard”.
In the face of a new hospital or the upgrading of a former industrial sector, transformations often raise new issues and old fears, such as the increase in traffic and the redefinition of the social fabric of a district. In this context, “the Office is a wonderful tool, underlines Isabelle Beaulieu, because it offers a dialogue with all Montrealers, not just the neighbors of the project, thus allowing citizens to project themselves into the city of the future and to imagine the one we want”.
Highlight collective intelligence
While in the last century consultations generally took place only at City Hall, the leitmotif of the OCPM has long been to go where the population lives and offer them as much information as possible time to make up our minds on a project that needs to be discussed in depth. “It’s not an educational process, but to inform citizens well so that they can confront their ideas. Before asking people what they think of it, we must give them the maximum of tools. This is how we manage to highlight collective intelligence. »
However, it is not always easy when particular interests take precedence over the common good. The President of the OCPM is well aware of this. “We are seeing it, at the moment, with the consultations around a very big issue, the 2050 Urban Planning and Mobility Plan, where we are addressing the issue of urban densification. It’s huge and fundamental because it affects all Montrealers. If we ask them where we should densify, the answer is simple: everywhere except near my home! This is how discussions based on facts and verified information can dispel many fears. Provided, of course, to participate.
Consulting has a bright future ahead of it
As the OCPM celebrates its 20e anniversary of existence, the future appears bright in several respects, even if a few clouds darken the celebrations. Does the organization still have the means to match its ambitions? Is it able to respond to requests from elected officials to promote innovation, participation and diversification of audiences? Isabelle Beaulieu wishes it, but wonders with what money.
“Our operating budget was $2 million 20 years ago. It is 2.7 million today…” she says. At a time of galloping inflation and technological deployment of the organization, this fact is certainly a brake on its development.
Finally, even if it is (above all) not a court, some would like the recommendations of the OCPM to be more restrictive. According to the president, the final decisions are certainly up to elected officials, but they are often more enlightened when they take into account citizen knowledge. She also recognizes a weakness in the follow-up to the proposals made.
“We should know about it,” she says. Some boroughs do this almost systematically. This is the case of Ville-Marie, which often comes back to us with a list of what has been accepted, what will not be and what will be included later, in a future settlement. Entering this obligation is an important claim for us. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.