Community engagement sessions

As community engagement is vital to the success of the provincial approach, the ministry worked with its inter-ministerial, policing and community partners throughout 2013 to organize and facilitate over 30 engagement sessions in urban, rural, remote and Aboriginal communities across the province. Ministry staff travelled as far north as Eabametoong, as far south as Kingsville, as far west as Kenora and as far east as Cornwall.

As this booklet is based entirely on information gathered from the community engagement sessions it is important to note that the information included is a reflection of some of these community voices, and is not intended to represent the perspectives of all Ontario communities, or the policy or position of the ministry or Government of Ontario. In addition, the locally-identified promising practices highlighted in this booklet have not been evaluated by, and are not endorsed by the ministry or Government of Ontario.

Structure and design

The community engagement sessions were structured to provide an opportunity for the ministry to inform participants on the Framework for Action and initiate open-ended dialogue to learn about community safety and well-being needs, challenges, gaps and locally-identified promising practices. The sessions were intended to engage community members about their roles in community safety and well-being, and identify the shared benefits that can be realized from undertaking multi-sectoral approaches. The ministry’s local policing and community partners volunteered, through various methods, to host a multi-sectoral community engagement session. Further outreach was conducted locally to allow for a wide variety of perspectives and feedback. Individuals in attendance included, but were not limited to, representatives from municipal governments, police services and police services boards, community and social services, schools and school boards, the academic community, health and mental health, corrections and youth justice, Band Councils and First Nations, the private sector and the general public. The number of participants varied from community to community, and ranged from 15 – 80 individuals, with an average of approximately 30 community members per session.

Collecting and selecting information

The local challenges and promising practices identified by participants at the community engagement sessions were documented. Information regarding local challenges was reviewed and analyzed to identify common occurrences across sectors and communities. The promising practices were also reviewed and validated by community leads. Practices (including programs, strategies and initiatives) were qualitatively assessed for alignment with the following six foundational principles to achievecommunity safety and well-being, and those highlighted demonstrate strengths with at least one:

  • diversity
  • community leadership
  • integrated, multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary partnerships
  • knowledge and information sharing
  • evidence and evaluation
  • sustainable responses

Methodological limitations

The sample is limited. The locally-identified challenges and promising practices highlighted within this booklet are self-reported, time-limited and the amount of local information communicated at each community engagement session varied. The comments made by those in attendance at the sessions are not attributed to specific stakeholders, sectors or communities; rather, the information gathered is a reflection of some community voices. The information received and validated by community leads on their locally-identified promising practices varied in detail and complexity, and the qualitative assessment was based on this information.