Re: Consultation on assessment changes was ‘tremendous’: Leef, Yukon News, Nov. 12
Yes, please, let’s define “meaningful consultation” or “sufficient consultation.” Ryan Leef hazards a couple of guesses which, in my opinion, miss the mark.
It’s not about percentages or number of hours. It’s about hammering out compromises and making decisions together.
It’s not “meaningful consultation” if one party, even after sitting at a table with another party and politely taking notes about the concerns brought forward, goes away and makes a decision behind closed doors.
Both, or all, parties must be present during the final stages when what to keep, what to adjust and what to throw out are determined.
Leef is correct when he says, “either or both sides have to recognize there may be a decision made that doesn’t please everybody.” However, if the sides have made that decision together, at least everyone has had the opportunity to say, “I can live with that,” or “I can’t live with that.”
Making decisions as the Conservative government tends to do is a holdover from the colonial era when Europeans ran roughshod over other peoples, without consideration for the dignity, wisdom and human rights of those affected. It’s time for them to develop 21st century sensibilities.
Dianne Homan
Whitehorse