Public consultations: thumbs up or thumbs down? More often than not, I find them grossly inadequate, paternalistic and not thought through. 

I must admit, it’s quite fascinating to check in on the federal government’s public consultations website from time to time to see what Canadians are being consulted on — and it’s broad, everything from international trade controls on elephant ivory in Canada to introducing a 3-digit dialing code for mental health crisis and suicide prevention to improving community volunteer virtual income tax clinics. Sure, these are all worthwhile issues for Canadians to weigh in on, but what grade would Canadians give these consultation processes?

I participated in a local public consultation recently, which had to do with updating and revitalizing a park in my neighbourhood. I took time out of my evening to participate because