Same Means- Different Ends

Thursday, November 16th, 2006
I have been in Montreal at the International Association of Public Participation conference (thank you to Price Waterhouse Cooper) for the past 4 days. Most of the participants represented big government or big business. They were used to formal public consultation processes like the ones needed to build a sewage treatment plant or to close a school. I was one of only two voices ( about 500 delegates)that would have consistently been on the other side of the public participation. In a session on “use of key interviews” I heard one participant say that these were important because it was great to hear different perspectives on the project and importnat to hear all concerns. A second opinion from a represenative of a electricak distribution company felt they were important because you could quote supporters in your reports and press releases. The former used interviews to gather information, the latter to serve as evidence to prove their case. Which/or both are ethical?