Citizens’ Forum on Clean Air

Summary

The goal of this project was to inform debate by facilitating discussion amongst informed Canadians about how to improve air quality, and by reporting the results to policy-makers. The secondary goal of this project was to demonstrate to policy makers how the views of average citizens evolve when they have the time and resources to learn more about an issue, such as air quality. Public Policy Forum held four regional, weekend-long forums. A random sample of interested adults were invited to participate. Forum attendees then participated in a series of discussions, and articulated their favoured methods for addressing climate change to policy makers.

Grant Outputs

The British Columbia Regional Citizens’ Forum on Clean Air: The Public’s Voice – http://www.ppforum.ca/sites/default/files/public_voice_BC_air_quality.pdf

This report assesses the outcome of the regional forum on Air Quality held in British Columbia. It summarizes the methods used in recruiting participants and in facilitating informed discussion. The report reproduces the results of the deliberations and compares pre- and post-forum survey results, drawing some specific conclusions as to how the government could use a similar model to assess citizen’s opinions in order to help guide policy deliberations. It concludes that forum participants reached consensus about the way forward on air quality concerns. This report was used to inform government agencies and policy officials about how to effectively poll citizens in order to receive valuable feedback on policy concerns.