Sand in the cogs? Power and public participation in the Alberta tar sands

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4329342
AutoresEvan Bowne (0000-0001-6038-960X, University of Manitoba), Mark Hudson (0000-0002-7435-0084)
Año2014
Volumen23
Número1
Páginas59-76
Fecha de publicación2014-01-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEnvironmental Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0964-4016 • E-ISSN: 1743-8934
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09644016.2013.821825
OpenAlexW2036651137
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas25

Public participation in natural-resource management has been theorised as a potential means of slowing or halting the 'treadmill of production'. We examine the institutional processes for citizen participation in bitumen development proposals in Alberta, Canada, home of the tar sands – one of the world's largest reserves of fossil fuel. Within the context of economic and ecological impacts of fossil-fuel resource development in Alberta, we chart the active treadmill forces, and examine the legal framework that enables public involvement in the province. We also provide a detailed account of the extent of public participation through the available avenues to date. We conclude, in line with the expectations of the treadmill of production, that the institutionalised processes of participation have been restricted to the point of nullifying the possibility of effective, democratic control over the expansion of the tar sands. Keywords: oil sandspublic participationenvironmental policytreadmill of productionenergynatural-resource management Acknowledgements We thank Dean Bavington, Reade Davis, John Sinclair, Chris Powter, Sasha Russell, Clint Westman, Gilbert VanNes, and three anonymous reviewers for invaluable feedback and advice on an earlier version. Any errors remain our own. Notes 1. This is in contrast to the 'weak' version of ecological modernisation, which is characterised by elite-dominated, corporatist, and scientised forms of environmental governance (Bäckstrand Citation2004, p. 697; Christoff Citation1996, pp. 490–491). 2. The technical term for deposits of bitumen in the Athabasca region is 'bituminous sands'. However, the past 20 years have seen a polarisation of those who call this resource 'oil sands' on one hand and 'tar sands' on the other. We opt here for the term 'tar sands', since the two were widely and interchangeably used up until the 1990s, and because both the province and the oil industry have attempted to control the terminology since the 1960s, when the government of Alberta adopted a formal policy on it. These efforts became more aggressive in the 1990s and 2000s, with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers insisting on the 'accuracy' of the cleaner-sounding 'oil sands', while proponents of development connected the term 'tar sands' to environmental extremism (see Dembicki Citation2011). 3. Specifically, 'Section 109 (of the constitution) grants the province proprietary rights over all the lands and minerals it owns ... Implicit in the ownership rights protected by section 109 is the general authority to manage and dispose of provincial lands and minerals, subject to legislative and constitutional constraints ... Subsection 92(5) grants provinces exclusive jurisdiction over the management and sale of public lands. Subsection 92(A) confers exclusive jurisdiction on the provinces to make laws respecting the exploration for non-renewable resources in the provinces and the development, conservation, and management of non-renewable natural resources in the provinces' (Vlavianos Citation2007, pp. 4–5). 4. Lukes' 'third dimension' of suppressing potential conflict through the shaping of preferences is also active through organisations such as Ethical Oil, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Fraser Institute, and the Alberta provincial government. The third dimension of power is 'the power 'to prevent people, to whatever degree, from having grievances by shaping their perceptions, cognitions and preferences in such a way that they accept their role in the existing order of things' (Lukes 2005, p. 11). However, as our focus is on the institutionalisation of avenues through which conflict may occur, we are not concerned with the ways in which dominated groups come to accept, or even naturalise their domination, as is Lukes' primary concern. 5. Maps, descriptions, and images of the Alberta tar sands are plentiful online, including at http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/energy/oilsands/index.html 6. The Alberta fiscal position has deteriorated significantly since the 2012 budget estimates, and it now faces an estimated $6 billion deficit for 2013–2014. The government's proposed solution to this, in true treadmill fashion, is to encourage construction of more pipeline capacity in an effort to diversify the market and capture a higher price for its bitumen exports. 7. Here, we take the most limited political community conceivable as having a stake in the determination of tar-sands development. Following Nancy Fraser's (Citation2005) 'all affected principle', which suggests that 'all those affected by a given social structure or institution have moral standing as subjects of justice in relation to it', this political community could justifiably be extended well beyond Albertans. 8. In November, 2012, the Alberta government passed the Responsible Energy Development Act, which will create a single-window application and approval process for oil and gas development. This is expected to become operational by June 2013. 9. The Oil Sands Conservation Act (s. 3(g)) states that one of the purposes of the Act is to consider public interest. The public interest test (s. 10(3)(a) and s. 11(3)(a) of OSCA) states the Board may grant an approval to a project if it is in the public interest. 10. In this case, the Canadian government interprets its obligations to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, which includes those of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis heritage, as the duty to consult. Aboriginal peoples construct their rights as those to prior, free, informed consent, and claim that the lands and waters threatened by oil transport are unceded. That is, affected First Nations suggest that without their consent, there will be no pipeline. The Government of Canada sees it otherwise

Archaeology · Asphalt · Corporate governance · Democracy · Economics · Elite · Geography · Management · Modernization theory · Natural resource · Oil sands · Political science · Politics · Public participation · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Global Energy and Sustainability Research · Law · Mining and Resource Management · Public Administration