Public engagement: our promise to you
The Government of Yukon has changed the way we do public engagement. This is your government and your perspective is essential to building thriving Yukon communities and helping Yukoners lead healthy, productive, happy lives.
We promise:
- To seek your views
- To make it easy for you to talk to us and get involved
- To use communication tools suited to the scale of decision we’re making
- To explain our decisions
- To foster and respect relationships with citizens, groups and communities, and First Nations, municipalities and other governments
- To consider local solutions to problems
We encourage frank talk about how we’re doing as a government – that’s important to ensure we’re on the right track.
- We will share the input we receive
- We will publicize decisions you’ve helped make
- After a public engagement, we’ll encourage you to tell us how we did so we can improve the process in the future
Bottom line, we welcome your views and value your opinions. We respect and depend upon the diversity and equality of citizens and your cultures, heritage, experiences and languages.
This is your government and your input will inform the best possible decisions for the Yukon.
How do you get involved?
Check for opportunities to give us your input by browsing on this site and by phoning 867-667-5811 or 867-667-5812, or toll-free in Yukon, the N.W.T. and Nunavut 1-800-661-0408.
Opening the doors of government: a public engagement strategy
Supporting the government's mandate through public engagement
What's a public engagement strategy?
This public engagement strategy describes our approach to involving you, the public, in the decisions we make as a government.
We believe that involving you in our decisions will help us reach our goals of building thriving Yukon communities and helping Yukoners lead healthy, productive, happy lives.
What does the strategy do?
This strategy is our promise to Yukon citizens that we are listening to you and that we welcome your views and respect your opinions. The strategy also guides Government of Yukon staff when they're engaging the public as part of their work.
Why is it important?
Our public engagement strategy is important because a government exists to serve the public. We need to listen to citizens to ensure we're making sound decisions for the territory. We have a responsibility to involve people affected by decisions in conversations that help shape those decisions. We need to work in collaboration with others who have a stake in a stronger economy, healthy communities and people, and environmental stewardship.
What's the Government of Yukon’s approach to public engagement?
We believe that our work as a government can best be accomplished through active engagement with Yukon citizens. We want to hear from you in order to help us make the best decisions.
We'll foster strong relationships with citizens, groups and communities, and First Nations, municipalities and other governments, to seek ideas and advice to inform our decision making. We'l support local solutions to local problems and give communities a meaningful role in shaping and realizing their future.
We'll ask for public input on specific issues and projects and we'll make it easy for you to give us your views and get involved. While we probably will not always agree on the path forward, we commit to explaining why we’re making our decisions.
We'll focus on engaging the public to help us achieve results that improve people’s lives and respond to your needs. We'll monitor our progress on achieving these results and check in with Yukon citizens on this progress.
What are our guiding principles?
We've developed the following 5 principles to guide our approach to public engagement.
- We will be inclusive. We will be accessible to a broad range of voices and where we don’t hear a voice we will seek it out.
- We will be transparent and clear. We will create easily accessible processes for engagement and we will articulate our intentions when we engage the public.
- We will recognize and value the unique contribution of participants. We will demonstrate care and respect for participants, recognizing that they have valuable, relevant knowledge and experience to contribute.
- We will be accountable and act with integrity. We will articulate the goal of the public engagement and how public input will be considered in our decision-making.
- We will build skills. We will help government staff build their public engagement skills and we are committed to helping Yukoners to have conversations about complex topics in a productive way.
What are we focusing on?
We have 4 enduring priorities based on our commitments to Yukoners. Listed below, these priorities provide us with a clear focus for our work.
- Our people-centred approach to wellness helps Yukoners thrive.
- Our strategic investments build healthy, vibrant, sustainable communities.
- Our strong government-to-government relationships with First Nations foster reconciliation.
- Our diverse, growing economy provides good jobs for Yukoners in an environmentally-responsible way.
It will take commitment and hard work and engagement with our broad and varied society to realize these priorities.
Who will we engage with?
We want anyone interested in Yukon matters to have the opportunity to talk to us. We want everyone to be able to get involved in our decisions when we’re looking for help and guidance.
How will we engage people?
We will engage with you in a range of ways and to a varying extent, according to the type of decision we’re making.
We respect the diversity and equality of citizens and how your cultures, heritage, experiences and languages contribute to the social fabric of the Yukon. We want you to be able to have your say in the way that you prefer and get involved to the extent that you’d like.
We’ll use a variety of methods as often as we can to give as many people as possible the chance to participate. The sorts of methods we’ll use are community meetings, open houses, focus groups, individual meetings, discussion documents, social media and surveys. Whenever possible, we will offer opportunities to give your input in either English or French or your preferred language. We also welcome new ideas for ways to involve you.
Many of the challenges we face are complex and there are different points of view that we need to consider. Sometimes we need your views to help us with the details or to decide on the general direction we should take. We could be looking for ideas for how to improve a service we provide, or we might ask you to help us develop proposals for new legislation. We might ask you or your organization to help us work out what the problem is, generate ideas for how to fix it, and then work with us to implement the solution.
We recognize that our efforts to engage you will take time, effort and financial resources. We will endeavour to work efficiently and within our means as a government.
We'll have regular conversations with you, the public, about how we’re doing as a government and check in with you to be sure that we’re on the right track.
When will we engage?
Our goal is to engage you as early in the process as possible and not after all the decisions have been made. Our goal is to have meaningful conversations with you about the future we are building.
We'll be careful to plan engagement opportunities. We do not want to overburden individuals or groups and we want to make sure that people have enough time to respond. We'll do our best to make sure that engagement opportunities do not conflict and we'll be mindful of busy periods and holidays.
Why will we not engage the public on every issue?
We commit to being honest about when we can ask for your opinion and when we cannot. We also need to be realistic about getting things done. There will be certain topics we will not ask for your input on, such as matters of immediate public safety or when change is not possible. We might choose not to engage if there’s little or no public interest or if we do not have enough resources to conduct the engagement properly. Sometimes we might only talk to a few groups or individuals who are directly affected by a topic, rather than inviting views from everyone.
The more complex the issue, the more likely we are to ask for your input. If the issue has low impact on a large number of people, we may simply ask for your opinion. If the issue is complex and has a high impact on a large number of people, we'll ask for greater involvement from more Yukoners to help us make decisions and find a way forward.
We recognize that citizens have elected us to govern and have given us a mandate to make decisions for the next 5 years. When we are not able to engage with you, we'll use our commitments to Yukoners and the priorities we’ve established to guide our decision making.
How will we track how we’re doing?
We'll seek feedback from Yukon citizens on how well we’re listening to you. We cannot guarantee that we'll always get it right but we’re committed to learning from any mistakes and making progress.
Where will the engagements take place?
We'll make our best efforts to ensure that everyone throughout the Yukon has a chance to get involved and take part in discussions, especially when the issue is complex and could impact many people. We'll do our best to meet you in your community or make it as easy as possible for you to give us your input by phone or online, while also working within our means.
How will you know when you can get involved?
We'll use a variety of methods to help you find out when we’re looking for input. We’ll place advertisements and public notices, contact community and stakeholder groups, post details online, use social media, and we’ll let the media know so they can help us get the word out.
We’ll reach out to those of you who might not find it easy to have your say, such as those who have busy schedules, are new to Canada, have disabilities, health or literacy difficulties or live in poverty.
You'll always be able to check for opportunities to give us your input by visiting our public engagement homepage and by phoning 867-667-5811 or 867-667-5812, or toll-free in the Yukon, the NWT and Nunavut at 1-800-661-0408.
How will we let you know what we do in response to your input?
We'll communicate our decisions publicly whenever we have invited the public to take part in our decision making. We'll do this in various ways, such as sending information directly to the groups and individuals who were involved, publishing our decisions online, or by making public announcements. We'll also be available to take your calls and answer your questions about the outcomes of our engagement activities.
We'll also always offer a place for you to give your feedback after we have completed an engagement activity so you can let us know how we did.
How will we ensure the validity of survey results?
The Yukon Bureau of Statistics, which is responsible for collecting and analyzing survey responses, has a process in place for ensuring the validity of responses. The bureau’s statisticians identify and, where appropriate, remove multiple responses from the same origin as part of the process of ensuring the validity of responses to our public engagement surveys.
How will we engage with First Nations?
We engage with First Nations on a government-to-government basis and will provide focused opportunities for their involvement in the public engagement process. We also have legal requirements to consult with First Nations under the Final and Self-Government Agreements, other agreements, legislation and the common law. We're committed to working collaboratively and respectfully with First Nations to advance reconciliation and our consultation and engagement processes will reflect that.
Additionally, First Nations governments are able to provide particular insight into some decisions and we may engage with them even when no public engagement process is taking place.
How will we engage with municipal, territorial, provincial and federal governments?
We'll engage with municipal, territorial, provincial, federal and international governments to build strong, productive partnerships. We bring a strong voice to regional, national and international affairs that reflects the needs of Yukon, our citizens and communities.