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FAQ

Engagement

Why is the City doing engagement?

Check out Why We Engage!

Why is the City using an online engagement platform?

We are trialing use of an engagement platform to enhance our engagement approach with the community, further our reach, and understand who is and who is not engaging with our with community policies, plans, programs, projects, and initiatives.

"Online community engagement enables more people to have their say, at their convenience whereas traditional, face to face engagement has limited participants and is often geographically confined. A dedicated digital engagement space beyond the limitations of social media – with strident measures of data security that combat increasing community mistrust of social media – ensures everyone has safe access to make meaningful contributions to issues impacting their everyday life.

Online engagement in the planning stages of a project can facilitate more focused outcomes. It can also minimize budgets that confront geographical confines particular to face to face engagement. And, unlike traditional engagement methods, it provides unparalleled opportunities to dive deeper into conversations beyond the immediate issue at hand.

It also brings diverse groups together, including hard to reach communities, providing access to often neglected perspectives and bringing marginalized voices into the conversation."

Please see Benefits of Online Engagement.

Will online engagement replace in-person community engagement activities?

Online engagement is not intended to be a replacement for in-person engagement activities. Rather, online engagement is meant to supplement and enhance our overall engagement approach. 

The selection of engagement approach and engagement activities (online, in-person, both) is ultimately dependent on the policy, plan, program, project, or initiative objectives and scope, schedule, and budgetary considerations. We may still do in-person engagement activities, but it will likely be supplemented and enhanced by online engagement.

Feedback

How are discussion forums moderated?

All public comments within discussion forums, guest books and questions and answers are moderated 24 hours a day 7 days a week, for inappropriate language, comments that disrespect other participants and for comments that are off topic.

All moderation is carried out by Bang The Table, which is independent from the City of Whitehorse. The moderators do not edit or alter any comments and will only remove comments deemed to be significantly off topic, offensive or malicious, in which case they are removed from the site immediately and the person who posted the comment is advised by email. Please refer to the moderation guidelines.

How do I submit my feedback?

Your feedback can be submitted in different ways depending on the policy, plan, program, project, or initiative. This platform allows us to have online discussion forums, quick polls, forms surveys, and more.

What happens to my feedback? 

Feedback is provided to the project manager to inform the development of policies, programs, plans, projects, or strategies. Online feedback is usually used in conjunction with other engagement activities.

Depending on the policy, plan, program, project, or initiative, your feedback may be aggregated and/or anonymized prior to being compiled into a report and/or presented to Council. All feedback during the engagement process will be considered; however, this does not mean that every suggestion can be adopted as proposed.

Please note, all comments you make through Engage Whitehorse will be public.

Personal Information and Self Identification Questions 

What personal information am I being asked to provide?

To register, you will be asked self identification questions to provide the following personal information:

  • Email address (required by the site)
  • Year of birth (required)
  • Gender identity (optional)
  • Postal code (required)
  • Your connection to Whitehorse (optional)

To participate in engagement activities (online discussion forums, quick polls, forms surveys, and more), you may be asked self identification questions to provide personal information that relates to any of the following:

  • Disability
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Ethnicity/race
  • Indigenous identity
  • Household income

Choice of self identification questions and personal information being asked of you will depend on the requirements and objectives of the policy, plan, program, project, or initiative.

I am not comfortable responding to self identification questions. What should I do?

For most self identification questions asking for your personal information, please select the "I prefer not to say option."

Why am I being asked to provide my personal information?

You are being asked self identification questions to provide personal information so that the City can broadly understand who is engaging with City and so that the City can develop policies, plans, programs, projects, and initiatives that meet the needs of all residents. Your personal information will also help the City monitor the equity performance of policies, plans, programs, projects, and initiatives, and design new measures that achieve greater equity, diversity and inclusion. 

How will the City use my personal information?

Your personal information may be used for the purposes of policy, plan, program, project or initiative operations, planning, performance measurement and monitoring, evaluation, and audits. Your personal information will be in aggregate form to report to Council. Statistics involving personal information will always be reported in aggregate form, to ensure the protection of the identity of any individual. 

How was the terminology for self identification questions chosen?

The wording in the self identification questions is based on current approaches to obtaining personal information. The terminology and approach to self identification questions seek to balance inclusion, respect for privacy, and reportability. The City recognizes that, for certain information and identities, terminology is not universally agreed upon and continues to evolve. Your feedback is welcomed. 

Privacy

Can I use this site anonymously? 

Yes, you can use this website anonymously. If you wish to use this site anonymously, select a screen name that is not personally identifiable to you. That way, even when you register and post comments, your anonymity is protected because you are identified by your chosen screen name.

What is your privacy policy?

As local government, we are compliant with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which helps promote good city governance by balancing the following principles:

  • The public has the right to access government information.
  • Whenever possible, information held by the City should be available to the public. 
  • Individuals have the right to have their personal information protected. 
  • The City should not improperly collect or disclose personal information.

Registration

Why do I have to register?

We ask that you register for a few reasons, most importantly: 

  • It allows us ensure information is accurate and make certain that responses are from residents, not spam. This means we can use your feedback to help shape City policies, plans, programs, projects, and initiatives.
  • It allows us to follow up with you about your feedback, or let you know about project changes.
  • It allows us to implement verification measures more consistently.

To participate for the first time:

  • Select the "Register" button in the top right.
  • Follow the simple prompts on the registration form.
  • You will receive an email to validate your email address.
  • Done!

Why do I have to validate my email address for registration?

Your email address needs to be validated to ensure that real humans are using the site. Email validation is a common requirement for registration for many online accounts.

Requirements

What operating systems are supported by this site? 

Engage Whitehorse is supported by Windows 7 and newer and MacOS 10.6 and newer.

For more information on technical support, visit Technical Support.

What internet browsers are supported by this site?

If you're experiencing difficulty, please try the following: 

  1. Check what browser you're using at: whatismybrowser.com 
  2. If you're on an older version of the browsers listed above, we highly recommend you upgrade to the latest. Not only will you have a better Engage Whitehorse experience, you'll have a much better (and safer!) general web experience, too. 
  3. You can update your browser here: browsehappy.com 

For more information on technical support, visit Technical Support.

Contact

Who can I contact about Engage Whitehorse?

Engage Whitehorse is maintained by the City of Whitehorse's Strategic Communications department.

If you have specific questions or concerns regarding a policy, plan, program, project or initiative, please contact the corresponding Project Manager. The contact details can be found in the "Who's Listening" section of each project.