Jenna Jessop
"Community participation needs to happen early enough that residents can actually influence decisions, not after most of the decisions have already been made. When a City project or development could significantly affect a local natural area, I want residents and community organizations to know about it early, understand what is being proposed and have a meaningful opportunity to provide input.
I would also like to create more opportunities for residents to be directly involved in caring for their local environment. That could include community tree planting, native planting and pollinator projects, shoreline and habitat restoration, invasive species removal, community gardens and other local stewardship initiatives. The City can work with community associations and environmental organizations that already have knowledge and volunteers willing to help.
We should also make it easier for residents to understand the environmental information behind City decisions. Reports and consultations should clearly explain what is being considered, what the potential impacts are and what parts of a proposal can still change.
Most importantly, we need to close the feedback loop. When residents take the time to participate, they should hear back about what the City heard, what changed as a result and why certain suggestions could or could not be incorporated. That is how we build trust and encourage people to stay involved."
David Purchase
"I think the best way to get people involved is to make it local and give them something they can actually participate in.
I'm on the Blackburn Community Association Board of Directors, and I've seen how much can get done when residents are involved in their own community. The City should be working more directly with community associations on local environmental projects and helping residents who want to get involved actually do it.
That could be something happening in a park, along a pathway or somewhere else in the neighbourhood. The idea doesn't always have to come from City Hall either. If residents see something that could be improved in their community, there should be an easier way to bring that idea forward and work with the City to make it happen.
The same applies to environmental decisions. If the City is considering something that could affect a neighbourhood, residents need to be brought into the conversation early enough that their input can still make a difference. I don't consider it meaningful consultation if people are being asked for their opinion after the important decisions have basically already been made.
As councillor, I would make sure residents know what's happening in Ward 2, how they can get involved and who they can contact when they have an idea of their own. That's how you get more people participating. You bring these things down to the neighbourhood level instead of expecting residents to go looking through the City's website to figure out what's going on."
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Response in French Provided by the Candidate
"Pour moi, la meilleure façon d'encourager les gens à participer, c'est de ramener ça au niveau du quartier et de leur donner de vraies occasions de s'impliquer.
Je siège au conseil d'administration de la Blackburn Community Association et je vois ce que les résidents peuvent accomplir lorsqu'ils participent directement dans leur communauté. La Ville devrait travailler davantage avec les associations communautaires sur des projets environnementaux locaux et aider les résidents qui veulent participer à passer de l'idée à l'action.
Ça peut être un projet dans un parc, le long d'un sentier ou ailleurs dans le quartier. Et l'idée n'a pas toujours besoin de venir de la Ville. Si des résidents voient quelque chose qu'on pourrait améliorer dans leur communauté, ils devraient pouvoir proposer leur idée et travailler avec la Ville pour la réaliser.
C'est la même chose pour les décisions environnementales. Lorsqu'une décision de la Ville risque d'avoir un impact sur un quartier, les résidents doivent pouvoir participer assez tôt pour que leur opinion puisse encore changer quelque chose. Demander l'avis des gens lorsque les décisions importantes sont pratiquement déjà prises, ce n'est pas une vraie consultation.
Comme conseiller, je veux que les résidents du quartier 2 sachent ce qui se passe dans leur communauté, comment ils peuvent participer et à qui parler lorsqu'ils ont eux-mêmes une idée. C'est beaucoup plus efficace que d'attendre que les gens cherchent eux-mêmes l'information quelque part sur le site Web de la Ville."