By: Nathaniel Tok
A series of cross-country citizen dialogues launched by Simon Fraser University wrapped up with a consensus on recommendations for Canadian energy policy earlier this month. The SFU Centre for Dialogue hosted the initiative which sought to encourage discussion between ordinary citizens on the future of energy and advise the federal government on energy policy.
The regional dialogue events were hosted in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax last month to help capture the diversity of Canada. A final national forum aiming to create a set of recommendations for government policy-makers was held in Winnipeg from October 11–13 and attended by 35 participants from the regional dialogues.
The events were funded by the federal Department of Natural Resources Canada, but were designed and facilitated by the SFU Centre for Dialogue.
“Making good policy decisions involves both consulting citizens and convening experts,” said Robin Prest, a program director at the Centre for Dialogue. “Experts provide critical evidence-based information and can help to frame trade-offs for decision-makers. Citizens add to this by bringing their values into the discussion, and by providing a feedback loop for understanding what actions are ultimately in the public interest.”
Canada’s energy future, deliberated until late last night by representative group of Canadian citizens for #GenEnergy @NRCan @RNCan pic.twitter.com/UASHNfKF52
— CDN Energy Dialogues (@CDNenergyfuture) October 13, 2017
The final recommendations were presented at the close of the event, but a report on the outcome is forthcoming. However, the organizers have compiled the themes from each of the regional dialogues.
The takeaways from the regional dialogues included a country-wide call to transition to green energy and the vast majority of participants were in support of investing in technologies that would make the transition possible. The participants also discussed how to mitigate the impacts to citizens as the economy shifts and introduce new forms of governance and oversight.
“The outcome will be to produce concrete policy recommendations that will be received by the federal government,” explained Prest. “These dialogues are important because they provide a deeper level of public judgement than conventional public engagement.”
According to a statement by the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr in a press release, the government will take the recommendations into consideration.
“Decision stemming from these discussions will set the course for Canada’s energy future for generations to come,” said Carr. The minister was informed of the outcomes from the regional dialogues and will be briefed on consensus of the national forum when it is released, Prest added.
SFU was chosen to convene the series because of its experience in facilitating such dialogues. The event brought together randomly-recruited citizens with different views on energy to find common solutions, some of which included a drastic refocusing of Canadian approach.
Energy makes up around 6.5% of Canada’s gross domestic product and contributes to 80% of our greenhouse gas emissions, according to federal data. Long-term energy policy will help address issues such as sustainability, affordability, jobs, climate change, and human health, according to Prest.
The final report will likely be released sometime next month.
