Governments often invite citizens to participate in consultations, town halls, or surveys on policing and public safety. In theory, these processes ensure policies are shaped by the people most affected. In practice, too many consultations feel like policy theatre: the decisions are already made, and the public’s role is reduced to applause — or polite nods.
Signs of Policy Theatre
Predetermined outcomes: Surveys and questions framed to steer answers toward a desired policy.
Selective inclusion: Marginalized voices invited for optics, not influence.
Limited transparency: Findings are collected but never shared or acted upon.
Timing issues: Consultations launched after policy details are already finalized.
Symbolic gestures: Listening sessions without meaningful follow-through.
Canadian Context
Police reform debates: Public consultations across provinces often emphasize “listening” but end with little structural change.
Indigenous consultation duty: Legally required in resource projects, but many communities describe the process as “check-the-box.”
Municipal policing boards: Some cities allow public input, but budgetary outcomes rarely reflect community concerns.
National security laws: Often pushed through with minimal debate or rushed consultation.
The Challenges
Erosion of trust: Communities become cynical about engagement.
Wasted resources: Time and money spent on processes that don’t shape outcomes.
Disempowerment: When voices aren’t heard, disengagement deepens.
Tokenism: Involving the public only as a cover for decisions already made.
The Opportunities
Deliberative democracy: Go beyond surveys to citizen assemblies and participatory forums.
Transparency: Publish raw consultation data and show how it influenced policy.
Iterative process: Keep the public engaged through policy design, implementation, and review.
Accountability: Track promises made during consultations against actual policy outcomes.
The Bigger Picture
Consultation without impact is performance, not participation. True democratic engagement requires risk: the risk that citizens will push policy in directions leaders didn’t expect. Without that, public consultation is just another stage play, scripted to validate power.
The Question
If consultation is meant to strengthen trust, then why do so many communities leave feeling unheard? Which leaves us to ask: how can Canada transform consultation from political theatre into genuine co-creation of policy?
Public Consultation vs. Policy Theatre
The Promise of Consultation
Governments often invite citizens to participate in consultations, town halls, or surveys on policing and public safety. In theory, these processes ensure policies are shaped by the people most affected. In practice, too many consultations feel like policy theatre: the decisions are already made, and the public’s role is reduced to applause — or polite nods.
Signs of Policy Theatre
Canadian Context
The Challenges
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Consultation without impact is performance, not participation. True democratic engagement requires risk: the risk that citizens will push policy in directions leaders didn’t expect. Without that, public consultation is just another stage play, scripted to validate power.
The Question
If consultation is meant to strengthen trust, then why do so many communities leave feeling unheard? Which leaves us to ask:
how can Canada transform consultation from political theatre into genuine co-creation of policy?