This text is part of the special publication Public consultations
Exactly twenty years after its first public consultation, on October 22, 2002, the secretary general of the Office de consultation public of Montreal (OCPM), Luc Doray, measures the progress made. “We had not anticipated the adhesion that the Office would arouse”, rejoices the one who will retire at the end of December after two decades devoted to giving a voice to Montrealers.
The OCPM was born out of a drift in the public consultation process under the administration of Mayor Pierre Bourque. When the latter took over the reins of the City in 1994, the new team repealed the municipal by-law that had created the Bureau de consultation de Montréal (BCM) in 1989. Obtained after two decades of community social movements to promote citizen participation in the development of the city, the BCM held significant consultations on the future of the Hôtel-Dieu or the development plan for Mount Royal, in particular.
The Bourque administration entrusted urban planning issues to a committee of the municipal council. “The files were passed to him in a burst, without consultation devices. This has created discomfort over the years, ”says Luc Doray. Faced with the dissatisfaction of the citizens, the City set up an independent commission to work on the holding of public hearings, which advocates the creation of an independent public consultation office. 1er January 2002, Bill 170 killed two birds with one stone by creating both the new Ville de Montréal — one island, one city — and the OCPM, enshrined in the city’s charter. By seeing the light of day thanks to a legal text, the Office has the right cards in hand to remain independent and sustainable.
An independent Office
“We designed and set up the OCPM from scratch,” recalls Luc Doray, who at the time was appointed Secretary General, unaware that the adventure would last twenty years. The small team of three people put together by the Office’s first president, Jean-François Viau, laid the foundations for the operation of the organization, which did not depend on any political power. “This distance is very important, because over the years it has allowed us to build a kind of forum where we are a neutral and credible third party. People have the well-founded impression that they speak in front of commissioners who have no preconceived ideas or interests in the projects, share all the information to which they have access and are open to the discussion”, emphasizes the Secretary General.
When a mandate is given to the OCPM, it appoints a commission that will be responsible for drawing up a report for the municipal council at the end of the consultation process. This initially took place in two stages: an information session on the various aspects of the project, then a formal public hearing. “Over the years, the cases have become more complex and we have implemented other more dynamic methods,” says Mr. Doray. Online consultations notably enrich the arsenal of tools of the Office, which has a Facebook page and a website on which all the documentation and reports produced can be consulted.
Inclusive participation
From 2002 to 2022, more than 160 consultations were held, most of the time on urban planning and development projects, such as the Mount Royal protection and enhancement plan (report published in 2008), whose record participation had shown the attachment of the citizens to this mountain. Some OCPM consultations also focused on topics affecting all Montrealers, such as systemic discrimination and racism (2018-2020) or reducing dependence on fossil fuels (2015-2016).
One of the Office’s priorities has always been to ensure that all those who wish to do so feel comfortable expressing themselves, says Luc Doray. For example, it has organized preparatory sessions with the help of community workers and developed public participation kits to allow groups to debate among themselves and provide their recommendations. For a consultation in the Namur-Hippodrome district, the Office even went through school children of non-French-speaking parents to succeed in informing them.
Over the years, the Montreal public has not been the only ones to play the game. “Real estate developers have integrated our processes into their way of working,” says Luc Doray. They probably saw us at first as a step to take, but gradually most realized that when consultation takes place far enough in advance [avant qu’il n’y ait trop d’investissement], it makes projects more socially acceptable, but also improves them. »
The OCPM in a few figures
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.