Since I arrived in Inuvik early this year, I've attended several public meetings and consultations held by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) with the intent to write about them for the Drum.
The purpose of these meetings is usually to inform the public of the GNWT's new plans and policy changes, and gather their opinions about said plans and policies.
Public attendance at these meetings is often poor.
The very first GNWT public consultation I attended was seeking input into the territory's recycling and waste disposal systems.
Three members of the public showed up, and one of them left 15 minutes into the meeting without saying a word.
While the opinions of the two people who did stay for the entirety of the meeting were, in my opinion, reasonable and well thought out, they certainly did not represent the concerns and ideas of the entire population of Inuvik.
This is a problem.
Residents also had the option to share their thoughts through an online survey if they were unable to make it to the meeting, but it was difficult to find and limited in its scope.
An online survey cannot gather the same quality of information that an in-person discussion can.
I think that low attendance rates at these GNWT meetings is not due to lack of public interest, but instead is a result of a lack of awareness about the meetings.
Last week, I attended a public meeting to discuss the recent review of Aurora College with GNWT Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caroline Cochrane.
I have to admit, I was surprised when I counted approximately 10 members of the public at the meeting. I was especially surprised that, as I learned after talking to several attendees, many of them only heard about the meeting hours before – most of them by fluke.
I had only heard about it myself because a concerned attendee emailed me and invited me to the meeting.
Several posters had been put up around town earlier that day, and a post was made on the Inuvik Events Facebook page, which was the extent of the meeting's advertisement as far as I've been able to tell.
This is not enough.
The meeting got pretty heated, even with just 10 participants. People in Inuvik are passionate about their Aurora Campus. But that isn't the point. Imagine if more people had been made aware of the meeting – I wouldn't be surprised to see standing room only.
The government has a responsibility to consult with the public in their decision-making process. They also have a responsibility to ensure that people are aware of public consultations.
It is not enough to hold the meeting. The GNWT must make every effort to advertise that these meetings are happening.
Posters need to be put up earlier around town and posted online on several websites in multiple groups. Emails and phone calls must be made to a variety of organizations to spread the word.
People in Inuvik want to contribute to plans and policies, as demonstrated at last week's meeting, but the GNWT must give the public enough warning about when consultations are happening in order to maximize the potential of these gatherings.