Wilson, Gary

Beyond the devastating effects on a community, deindustrialization can present an opportunity for change by highlighting the perilous effect of over-dependence on a single industry and motivating local stakeholders to enact change by building social capital and cohesion as well as engaging in local economic development. In small, historically resource-dependent communities, de-industrialization has shifted the focus from staples-based development to a more diverse economy rooted in place-based development. At the same time, the shift from FordistKeynesianism toward Post-Fordist Neoliberalism has limited companies’ obligations toward resource towns as they work through these transitions. Focusing on the case studies of Valemount and Tumbler Ridge, this thesis draws upon a comparative case study approach, key informant interviews, and analysis of documents for a deeper understanding of the processes, strategies, and outcomes regarding this transition. The thesis offers the following findings: First, the shift from a single industry to a diversified economy provides a clear case of a transition towards place-based development. Second, the emerging place-based development trajectory emphasizes the importance of local empowerment and management, strategic investments, social capital/cohesion, local capacity and planning, and government support in transitioning resource towns. Third, the shift from Fordist-Keynesianism to Post-Fordist Neoliberalism has resulted in retrenchment in corporate community development. Additionally, these findings support policy coordination to scale-up social and economic infrastructure, service support, and resources to help maintain place competitiveness and adaptability to future changes. Community transition must be restructured according to local context and needs. Integrating social impact mitigation into the existing BC Environmental Mitigation Policy and permitting process will help foster community sustainability and economic development.

This qualitative inquiry focuses on Canada’s environmental assessment (EA) of the controversial—now defunct—Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline as a case study. Adapting Fairclough’s (1992) approach to critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a methodological framework, I investigated how Northern Gateway’s environmental effects were discursively framed and rationalized in relation to climate change, and how these discourses are connected to statutory interpretations and institutional norms. Using frame analysis and argumentation analysis as methods, I examined a corpus of publicly available Joint Review Panel (JRP) documents, federal statutes and official decision statements related to Northern Gateway’s EA. Findings suggest that the convergence of particular discourses, ideologies, institutional power relations, and entrenched discretionary practices tended to marginalize and depoliticize climate change considerations in Northern Gateway’s EA. These dynamics provided a foundation to rhetorically legitimate contentious project-related governance decisions, and arguably expose areas of potential concern in the contemporary EA and climate change context.

Malaysia and Ghana are two countries that both experienced European colonial rule and shared similar socio-political settings prior to independence. Both inherited underdeveloped economic and political systems from the exploitative colonial administrations. For both countries, the post-independence era saw the implementation of ambitious programs for national development, mainly through the adoption of the Developmental State model, which involves state-led macroeconomic planning for economic development. Currently, however, the two countries present contrasting levels of economic development, with Malaysia outpacing Ghana on several economic indicators. This study explains the differential levels of development by using the Applied Thematic Analysis Approach and concludes that Malaysia’s economic success has its basis in a relatively conducive socio-political setting, stable political environment, viable institutional and bureaucratic structures that engendered efficient harnessing of resources, and continuity in implementing development plans.

This thesis documents and examines recent changes observed in anadromous Arctic char (Iqalukpik) (Salvelinus alpinus) in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada, including how these changes are being experienced and responded to by community members. Ulukhaktomiut identified a need to document their knowledge and observations of Arctic char to help inform comanagement. The analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews with Ulukhaktomiut revealed six main concerns about Arctic char linked to changes arising in the local environment: (1) presence of salmon, (2) increasing temperature, (3) inconsistent sea and lake ice conditions, (4) changing weather patterns, (5) fluctuating water levels, and (6) the recent presence of tunicates in the ocean. Ulukhaktomiut respond to these changes at the individual and community levels, including altering fishing practices and temporarily halting commercial fishing. The results show that Ulukhaktomiut are astute observers of their local environment and are able to share highly detailed knowledge and observations of Arctic char. Environmental changes are emerging quickly, and there is a great deal of uncertainty among Ulukhaktomiut about why these changes are occurring and what impact they may have on Arctic char. Fisheries management structures will need to be flexible and responsive to ongoing local observations and the best available science to sustain a viable Arctic char fishery now and into the future.

The Highway of Tears is a term that is known across northern British Columbia. Since 1969, women and girls have gone missing and been found murdered along the 724 km stretch of Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, British Columba. Many of these women were trying to get from one destination to another when their safety was compromised. These individuals were from communities with few transportation options available and where hitchhiking is a common form of transportation. Using an interdisciplinary perspective including northern studies, political science, and women’s studies I will analyze the issues of transportation in the north in connection to the Highway of Tears case. In particular I will examine how the Highway 16 Transportation Action Plan developed in order to determine what happened and why it took ten years for a policy response to emerge that addressed safety concerns and transportation gaps in the north.

Democracy serves as a governing philosophy where decisions are made by a vote of the population. Due to the large numbers of citizens who live in modern democracies, this is mainly done through elections to legislative assemblies as a form of representative democracy. But representative democracy does not always ensure policy alignment between citizens and elected representatives. Citizen initiatives serve as a means of promoting greater policy alignment by allowing citizens to propose their own legislation, to be voted on by the electorate. This thesis investigates why British Columbia chose to enact citizen initiative alone among Canadian provinces, and also why British Columbia’s policy was written with the provisions and constraints that elected representatives chose to include. The research shows that key individuals in power used their influence to advocate for citizen initiative in the province, and that British Columbia’s citizen initiative process was written to accommodate constitutional requirements and public opinion on what citizen initiative should look like.

In Russia’s largest region, the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Indigenous (KMNS) leaders and communities representing five different cultural groups have succeeded in preserving traditional ways of life, and particularly nomadic reindeer husbandry, through the enormous political, social, and environmental changes of the past century. To ensure continued cultural survival, Indigenous leaders have developed a wide range of political and legal instruments, processes, and bodies within and without Russian governance structures. Key among these instruments is the “Territory of Traditional Nature-Use” (TTP), a geographically bounded legal-cultural landscape within which dozens of normative republican and federal acts, constitutional laws, and codices regulate and protect traditional land-use, socioeconomic organization, and ways of life.