By James Gordon
After nearly a year and a half of delays and missed deadlines, the Ottawa Humane Society is no closer to implementing the public consultations that were at the core of a $19,000 report submitted in August 2001.
Several of the report’s 488 recommendations, compiled by the Humane Society of the United States, were to be put before the public for discussion before any action by the shelter.
According to Bruce Roney, the Society’s executive director, the slow pace associated with working with volunteers and a re-evaluation of possible discussion formats have pushed back the date of consultations indefinitely.
“Oh God no, we’re not that far along,” says Roney, declining to set a possible start date for consultations.
He says a strategic planning committee has been assembled to assess what information the public will need to have in order to contribute to the discussion process. It is expected to report back early in the new year.
Roney maintains that although he has said several times in the past the consultations would begin before August of this year, the extra time is necessary to ensure they will be useful to the shelter.
“Initially, we thought we’d have to consult on a lot more,” says Roney.
“Because we have a lot of expertise in house however, we decided it wasn’t necessary to consult on basic things like upgrading signage.”
He says the shelter has already discussed and dealt with several issues it had planned to bring before the public.
“For example, we decided that as a local humane society, we should restrict our advocacy work to local issues,” says Roney.
“We won’t take a leadership role in lobbying over federal bills. We know who we are and what our resources are.”
Robin Jackson, president of the society’s volunteer board of directors, says the sheer size of the project and the complexity of the issues are to blame for the delays.
“It opens everything up for examination, and we can’t continue to be all things to all people,” she says.
Jackson adds that finding the right way to consult is important considering the shelter’s small budget.
She says that, due to cost, the board of directors has had to narrow its options when it comes to deciding on methodology.
Despite the delays in implementing some of the recommendations set out by the report, both Jackson and Roney maintain it was worth the cost.
“It’s good to have outsiders come in and see things with a fresh set of eyes,” Roney says. “Especially in a very busy environment . . . it’s hard for us to take a step back and evaluate.”
He says the society will continue to work on the recommendations it can, but won’t hold any consultations until it sees fit.