In Newfoundland, there is greater awareness of the need for public participation, and in general the practice is increasing. The application of principles, however, varies significantly, even within the same sector, and the public is getting more selective about the decision processes in which it participates. Participation seems to be either project related, especially on resource development, or at a high policy level. Participation at the municipal level is limited, reflecting the province's low population density and relative undeveloped state of government services, but there has been quite a bit at the provincial level. For example, there was a referendum on denominational education reform, a discussion on a new regional economic development policy, public review of a provincial strategic economic plan, and proposals to include more public involvement in a revised environmental assessment program. On the other hand, participation was notably absent in a recent health care issue. The government's decision to consolidate hospitals in St. John's led to a 50,000-name petition against it. In Newfoundland, there is pressure for efficiency and economy in the overall decision-making process, but not so much on the public participation component. For example, a government discussion paper seeks to streamline the environmental assessment process while lengthening the public participation element at each stage. One has to wonder how this will work, given that currently government agencies do public participation with limited resources. There are no specialized public involvement firms, but those who combine public participation with other work seem reasonably busy. Answers to the questions of who to involve and how seem to depend on the issue; certainly project proponents are becoming more sophisticated in that regard. While some still use public meetings--which almost invariably turn out to be disasters--open houses, focus groups and roundtables seem to be most common. ADR and mediation are unheard of. Return to Public Participation in Canada
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