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Public Consultations on Canada’s Democratic Institutions and Practices: 20070820 (b) The federal government should emulate the provincial government’s commitment to public meetings (“I’ve never seen or heard about that from the federal government” 22 ); (c) “Forums like this one…should become a routine for the government” 23 ; and (d) Schools should introduce “compulsory courses to educate young people on how democracy works.” 24 2.2.10. PEI Forum As in the case of Saskatchewan and Northern forum attendees, PEI participants perceived voluntarism to be more alive and well at their location than elsewhere in Canada. “Volunteer activity in PEI,” insisted one attendee, “is pretty good.” According to another, “It’s amazing how much the [PEI] students do volunteer already. Yearbook Club, Student Councils, Environment clubs…” As elsewhere, attendees at the Charlottetown forum perceived government consultation as poor. “Accountability of government is not good,” declared one Islander. “Government does not consult the public very well,” opined another. A number of recommendations emerged from the forum: bursaries for university based on a record of voluntarism, pervasive use of mock elections in schools, strong civics curricular in schools, and federal model Parliament based on PEI Junior Legislature model. 2.2.11. Nova Scotia Forum Participants in the Nova Scotia expressed frustration with the democratic process in the same spirit as other forums. People are disengaged in part because they “feel kind of helpless.” They believe that “[government] doesn’t listen,” and they feel ignored. 22 Le gouvernement fédéral a des choses à apprendre du gouvernement provincial. Au Nouveau-Brunswick, le gouvernement provincial fait des sessions d’informations, des sessions de consultation [aux sujets de politiques]. [Au niveau] fédéral, j’en n’ai jamais vu ça, jamais [en] entendu parler. 23 Je pense qu’un exercice comme-ça (break-out group discussion) devrait être fait le plus souvent possible. Ça devrait devenir un routine pour le gouvernement. 24 Au niveau de l’éducation, je pense que ce serait indispensable qu’il ait des cours qui soient obligatoires pour informer les jeunes de comment [la] démocratie fonctionne. 22 www.compas.ca
Public Consultations on Canada’s Democratic Institutions and Practices: 20070820 As for the voluntary sector, people are offering their services less than in the past because of the increasingly professional expectations of voluntary organizations. For example, people “now have to pass all kinds of police and other checks, which they just don’t want to be bothered doing because it’s a pain in the butt.” A wide range of remedies for encouraging engagement in either the voluntary sector or the democratic process included: hot lines for the elderly to get help to assist them to go out and cast their ballot; Internet voting, especially for the young; in each constituency, a general meeting each year attended by federal, provincial and local politicians; and greater government assistance to voluntary organizations, including the provision of meeting places. 2.2.12. Newfoundland and Labrador Forum Participants in the Newfoundland and Labrador forum seemed less concerned about declining turnout than attendees at other forums. In Newfoundland and Labrador, conversation focused on the quality of consultation. Participants expressed doubt about the authenticity of government desire to consult, wondering how much government truly cared and to what extent the government’s own polls were rigged—after all, they only “give you the [policy] options that they put forth, and I think that’s a little misleading.” MPs are no better than government departments, according to a number of participations. After MPs adopt a position, they do not “come back to give us a reason why they are going in a certain direction.” 2.2.13. Youth Forum in Ottawa To an amazing degree, attendees at the Youth forum in Ottawa gave voice to opinions resembling closely those of participants in the individual provincial and territorial forums across the country. Youth lamented the decline in involvement in society and in the democratic process. Some attributed the decline to social isolation. As one participant put it, “it is too easy to stay home and not be active as a citizen. There’s the Internet, television, and all sorts of 23 www.compas.ca
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