Too little, too late for this city council: time to transform the public engagement process

Calgarians are fed up.

Everywhere I go, people tell me they don’t feel safe — especially downtown and on public transit, where even our bus drivers have been assaulted. Taxes keep climbing while services decline. Unwanted developments are pushed into communities despite opposition, thanks to blanket rezoning. Small businesses are shuttering, with some resorting to suing the City over poor planning and construction delays.

It’s no surprise that trust in city hall is eroding. Only 41 per cent of residents expressed confidence in municipal leadership in an independent risk assessment last fall. That lack of confidence is a direct reflection of how this council “engages” the public: with a tweet, a survey designed for a predetermined outcome, or consultations framed to justify a preferred na