OCPM seminar: Major projects, prime times for public consultation

MONTREAL, June 7 /CNW Telbec/ - It is tomorrow, June 8, that Office de consultation publique will hold a one-day seminar entitled "Major projects, prime times for public consultation." The meeting will take place at the Centre Saint-Pierre, 1212 Panet Street, at 9:00 a.m.

It will bring together some 150 participants from a great variety of fields. Registrants include municipal elected officials, public servants, community group representatives, experts, developers, and a number of citizens interested in relevant issues.

At the seminar, Office president Louise Roy will present a formal update on Office activities over the past four years, from the perspective of their contribution to a number of values shared by Montrealers.

A number of models for public consultations held as part of the evaluation of major projects, both here and abroad, will also be examined. Mr. Gérard Claisse, vice-president of the Communauté urbaine de Lyon, will present an overview of consultation mechanisms established in his area, while Ms. Laurence Bherer, a professor at the Université de Montréal, will describe current practices for the redevelopment of the shores of Lake Ontario, in Toronto.

Three local projects will also be examined in the workshops: the Bassins du Nouveau Havre, the Radio-Canada site, and the redevelopment of the Namur Jean-Talon area. A debate will follow on ways to improve the consultation process for major projects, with four analysts: Ms. Léa Cousineau, former chair of the Ville de Montréal executive committee, Mr. Henry Aubin, a columnist for The Gazette, Mr. Michel Gariépy, a professor with the planning and development faculty of the Université de Montréal, and Mr. Daniel Peritz, senior vice-president at Canderel and past-president of the Institut de développement urbain du Québec.

The seminar will be closed by Mr. Michael Applebaum, vice-chair of the Ville de Montréal executive committee and mayor of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

The OCPM organized this meeting as a result of increasing demand on the part of urban players for the implementation of new ongoing public participation systems for major projects. Such processes would allow communities to become involved upstream, in the formative stages of the development vision for an area, as well as downstream, when decisions are made concerning projects to be carried out, making it possible to take into account public concerns throughout the development of major projects.

The Office is therefore conducting a reflective exercise on consultation procedures and new perspectives in the field, in keeping with one of its mandates defined in the Charter of Ville de Montréal, which provides that the OCPM is responsible for proposing a regulatory framework for public consultations.

Please visit the OCPM Web site, www.ocpm.qc.ca, for more complete information about the seminar.

For further information: Luc Doray, [phone], Cell: [phone]