Public consultation is fundamental to the LCO’s approach to law reform. To that end, the LCO is committed to involving stakeholders and the public in its projects.
The LCO’s consultation methods are flexible and evolving. The different types of projects that we undertake mean that a wide range of stakeholder communities are affected by our work, including government, the legal profession, academics (both in law and other disciplines), advocacy and community organizations, service providers, business and commercial interests, and the general public, among others. Whenever the LCO undertakes a new project, a consultation approach and plan is developed specifically for that project.
Depending on the nature of the project at issue, consultation may take place through written submissions, individual interviews, online or teleconference meetings, focus groups and roundtables, surveys and questionnaires, public fora or other methods as appropriate.
The LCO is committed to accessible consultation and to designing consultation processes that include all parts of Ontario society, regardless of gender, disability, age, citizenship, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other factors that may lead to marginalization and exclusion.
The LCO also respects the privacy and confidentiality of individual information gathered through the consultation process, subject to the requirements of law.
The LCO welcomes your participation in our public consultation processes. You can find out more about participating in our public consultations on particular projects by clicking on the links below.
For more information about our consultation process, see Dr. Patricia Hughes' article, "Competing Rights Policy: The Law Commission of Ontario Approach" on Page 54 of Canadian Diversity (Volume 8:3)
