Local democracy in Canada is eroding from two directions at once. Voter turnout in municipal elections is shockingly low and, in Ontario, the provincial government has been steadily eroding the powers of city halls by slashing councillor seats, overriding council decisions that would improve local democracy, and appointing regional  administrators with “strong mayor” powers that could undermine the role of elected councils.

At a time when democracy is under threat in North America, provincial erosion of local governments is exactly the opposite of what we need. What we need instead is provincial investment in local democracy.

Democratic innovations that give residents the opportunity to advise governments are one remedy to the democratic malaise: forums known as citizens’ assemblies or panels, made up of residents selected by civic lottery, are tasked to deliberate on an issue when policymakers need thoughtful, deep input before they make a decision. In theory, decisions rooted in informed public opinion are more aligned with the public interest, and are thus more democratic.

By giving participants time to learn and discuss an issue before making a recommendation to councillors, deliberative approaches to community engagement do what surveys and town halls can’t – and they solve many of the problems with traditional community engagement that plague staff and participants alike, like factionalism, low quality (and often low quantity) input and unequal participation of certain demographics.

Municipalities have put citizens’ assemblies or panels to use both for contentious issues – like considering the amalgamation of Victoria and Saanich, B.C. – and for regular, ongoing engagement with residents, as has been done in Toronto and in New Westminster, B.C. Assemblies have also been useful for guiding the direction of major community plan documents in the B.C. municipalities of Burnaby and Gibsons.

In each of these cases, a citizens’ assembly helped to find a path forward on an issue that evoked strong feelings across a range of perspectives, by providing both a strong foundation of information and the opportunity to........

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