The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.
What does it mean to be “consulted?” Does it mean to give an opinion and to be heard? To have your views prevail? To exercise a veto? We don’t know, and as a result of this, much confusion surrounds public decisions, especially for projects that require this amorphous idea of “consultation” or “social licence” to proceed.
Who defines “social licence?” Interest groups such as NGOs or businesses? Courts? Public opinion, but as measured by what? Polls? Write-in campaigns? Social media comments? Street demonstrations? Elections?
The confusion about “consultation” and “social licence” deepens when it comes to Canada’s First Nations. Courtesy of court rulings and depending on their title or land claim or treaty, aboriginals have to be “consulted,” their interests “accommodated,” and, if title is demonstrated, give their assent – except in the face of a “pressing and substantial” public interest.
What might that be, the “public interest?” Take the Northern Gateway pipeline to pump Alberta bitumen oil through northwestern British Columbia to Asia-Pacific markets.
The three-person National Energy Board panel that exhaustively studied the pipeline proposal – and supported it, with 209 conditions – declared that “the public interest is the interest of all Canadians.” Except that in the next paragraph the panel said “the public interest is local, regional and national in scope.” It’s hard for the “public interest” to be both.
Even if that uneasy balance could be found between “all Canadians” and “local, regional and national” communities, no matter how exhaustive the process, how extensive the hearings, how compendious the research, groups will still insist they were not adequately “consulted.” Which means, in fact, that they did not agree with the decision.
The NEB panel – two men (one of whom was an aboriginal geologist), one woman, all highly skilled – visited 21 communities in 180 days of hearings. They held 32 online workshops, allowed presentations by video-conferencing and telephone and received about 9,000 letters of comment (mostly against the pipeline).
Not enough, some aboriginal groups said. The government of Canada, they claimed, still had a legal duty to “consult.” To which, the government pointed to the NEB process that began in January, 2010, and produced a final report in early 2014. That’s consultation.
For the rest of this column, click here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/define-consultation-and-social-licence/article21199386/#dashboard/follows/