PROCESS OF PUBLIC SURVEYS

Montrealers who have recently participated in a public consultation may have noticed a website called Réalisons MTL. What is it, how does it differ from the Office de consultation publique de Montréal, and how does Montreal conduct its public consultations anyway?

While the city council or its executive committee mandate the OCPM to conduct consultations, it’s an independent organization whose members are not municipal employees. The city’s charter lays out the OCPM’s functions.

The organization has criteria for implementing a consultation, including how it issues public notices, the phases of a consultation and how to hold public meetings.

The OCPM can receive mandates on urban planning processes, changes to bylaws and modifications to the city’s Master Plan. The council or executive committee can also choose to give the office any mandate they want on any topic in Montreal.

The OCPM gives a report analyzing what was shared during the consultation and makes a recommendation to the city council, which then makes a decision.

“We have a process with public hearings, public information sessions and also the possibility for the citizens to table a brief before the commissioners. We have commissioners, we have a commission that is appointed for every consultation. It’s a more formal process than Réalisons MTL,” said Luc Doray, secretary general of the OCPM.

Réalisons MTL is a “digital tool” used by the city of Montreal or its boroughs to carry out public consultations by themselves, said Audrey Gauthier, a spokesperson for the city. These consultation processes can include in-person activities.

“It must be part of a global public consultation process and be spread out over a specific period of time,” Gauthier said in an email.

The city of Montreal conducted the Ste-Catherine St. redevelopment project, including the parts specific to Phillips Square, using Réalisons MTL.