Ottawa Needs A Residents’ Assembly

By Jake Morrison

The recent reprimand of Rideau-Vanier Councillor Stephanie Plante for violating the Council Code of Conduct points to a deeper problem in Ottawa: the steady erosion of decorum in our policy debates.

Ottawa faces an overwhelming number of pressing issue. And we can meet them but only if we stay focused on solutions. When debate slips into personal attacks or identity-based insults, the conversation stops being about the problem and becomes about the insult. Policy is forgotten. Progress stalls.

The truth is Ottawa has all the talent it needs. Our residents and councillors have the experience, intelligence, and creativity to tackle the challenges ahead. What we lack are the structures to harness that collective wisdom and the discipline to keep our debates focused on ideas, not individuals.

Two steps would help:

• A strong public engagement policy that brings residents’ knowledge and perspectives directly into decision-making.
• A firm stand by councillors against the personal and identity-based attacks that poison debate and distract from shared solutions.

On the structural side, Ottawa should pilot a residents’ assembly: a forum where a representative group of citizens deliberate on a major issue. Citizens’ assemblies have been tested in many countries. The principle is simple: give people the time and tools to grapple with complex questions and they will generate thoughtful, workable answers.
An Ottawa pilot could both tackle a real policy challenge and show us what deliberative democracy can add to our city.

A residents’ assembly would not take power away from Ottawa City Council – it would enrich council’s work with residents’ wisdom.

On the decorum side, council must set the tone. Councillors need the discipline to stick to policy issues, in chambers and on social media alike. With the elevated platforms they hold, their words set the example. Their freedom of expression should be guided by a responsibility to foster solution-focused debate on city policy.

That is how we restore decorum – and with it, the capacity of our democracy to actually get things done.

Jake Morrison is the convenor of the Ottawa Public Engagement Group, a network of residents working toward a more collaborative city.

For You:

Plante Is Never Having To Say You’re Sorry: BENN

Leiper Condemns City Back-To-Office Order

The City Gets Work-At-Home Wrong: MULVIHILL

Plante Should Say She’s Sorry: CRERAR

Cullen Analyzes The Plante Vote At Council

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