In Saskatchewan, public participation in planning and decision-making is a clearly established provincial policy. Participation is reported to be at an all-time high due to the government's political philosophy and to activist stakeholders; the premier's office recently led the development of a public involvement manual which has been distributed to all provincial departments, with an introduction by the premier. However, respondents see participation increasing more rapidly in municipal and provincial government agencies than in federal government actions in the province or in the private sector. Despite the increased public participation activity, there are few specialized public participation staff in government agencies or corporations, and independent practitioners must offer other services as well. In addition, there is pressure to increase economy and efficiency and to provide indicators and measures of success. The amount of participation in policies and programs is significant and increasing, with advisory committees becoming more popular than the customary open houses and public meetings. Stakeholders tend to be more involved than the general public. The fields of ADR and public participation occur independently in Saskatchewan; practitioners tend to focus on one or the other field. Return to Public Participation in Canada
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