Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 29/02) - It was a classic case of a no-show public meeting -- an expensive demonstration of failed public interest.

Last October, when the Aboriginal Healing Foundation wanted to come to town to let people know how to apply for grants. It took out an ad in the paper, reserved a room and ordered food.

The presenter flew in from Yellowknife, the coffee was on -- everything was there, except the public. No one showed up.

With increased oil and gas activity in the region, self-government negotiations in the works, and the usual flurry of public consultations for all different departments, at all levels of government, it's becoming more and more difficult to stage a successful public meeting.

In Inuvik, there seems to be at least a couple of meetings a week -- at worst, a few meetings a day. "There's more going on in town, so there's more meetings," says Peter Clarkson, Inuvik's mayor, and executive director of the Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board. "Whenever you have more programs and projects going on, there's a need to get together more." And it's the same in neighbouring communities.

A busy time of year

Charlie Furlong, chief of the Aklavik Indian Band, says it was particularly frenetic coming up to the end of the last fiscal year, March 31. "It can be hard to get some of our own people out because they're tied up with other organizations or they're tied up with work," he says. In March, the band itself was having a meeting a week. "And there's all the other organizations, too, having the same joy ride of meetings."

For industry trying to keep the public abreast of developments, getting people to attend public meetings can be a challenge.

"I really think it's a monumental problem for us," says Wayne Ross, regional manager of the seismic company Veri-Illuq and a veteran of the oil patch. "We try to do our best to reach as many people as we possibly can. We go through newspaper and TV notifications, but we still get a backlash -- people in the communities still complain they don't know what's going on."

Ross has worked for 30 years in the industry in both North and South America, and he says this region is one of the most difficult for getting regular, consistent attendance at public meetings.

"It can be a disappointment when you expect to have some fresh input. You are asking people how they feel about things so you can genuinely improve what you do. When there's little interest shown, you get frustrated. You hear the naysayers whine and cry about things and they weren't there before things started. If people want to be involved, get out, and go to the meetings. If they don't want to get involved, they shouldn't complain about what people are doing afterwards."

Like many other groups holding public meetings, Veri-Illuq has resorted to free meals, door prizes, and other incentives to make the meetings more inviting. But while those techniques have worked well, Ross says he's still seeing a general decline in interest.

"When we first came out here two years ago, we were getting 100 to 150 people at some of these meetings. Now, the best ones are 60 and the worst are five to 10. People are getting desensitized to the issues, or they don't feel anything's being done with their real concerns. (Oil and gas exploration) is no longer the novelty thing and people aren't coming out like they did."

Interest declining

John Dixon, a self-government field worker for the Nihtat Gwich'in Council in Inuvik, says he's seen declining interest in all kinds of meetings. "I started noticing when they had the special committee on the sunset clause (in February) and they had a lot of MLAs come up and members of the cabinet. I looked at the crowd and there was eight people out of the whole community, and most of those people were involved with the self-government process. I think there were only two or three members from the public. The interest is really down right now."

Dixon says as a self-government field worker, charged with the task of informing people where the negotiations process is, the lack of interest is daunting. "We have to come up with a new strategy to pass on this information. It's been going on for so long that the people are getting tired of the same information all the time."

With important workshops, some organizations pay for attendance. At the Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board, Clarkson says people at workshops are usually paid $150 per day to show up.

"That helps," he says. "Then you're getting all the council members or those people who are responsible for representing the community on that issue."

But because of the possibility of conflict of interest, honoraria are not generally paid to members of the public who are supposed to be coming out specifically to voice their concerns. Honoraria are re-served for people nominated by their respective organizations to attend.

For the biannual board meetings in the communities, the Renewable Resource Board sponsors feasts to bump up public attendance. "Even if people aren't coming out to the meetings, they'll come out for the feast, or for the lunch, and they can still get information about what the Renewable Resource Board is doing," Clarkson says.

For organizations with less experience doing business here, Clarkson says it's important to make sure meetings are scheduled at convenient times -- giving several days allow-ance around jamborees, deaths in the community, busy hunting times or other community events. Even big-ticket bingos can throw a wrench in the turnout.

"People are busy with their lives and they can't necessarily get out to everything. If there's an issue that's important to people and they see that affecting their lives, then they'll come out."

He says it's up to the meeting organizers to make sure they know their audience and target the information to specific groups that may be have more of a stake than just the general public.

"The key is to make the topic relevant to people," he says, "and to look at different ways of getting input. In some cases it may be written information or one-on-one talks. The public meeting doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all as far as public consultation."