ID: 1669
Presenting Author: Mario Gauthier
Session: 762 - FD2 Innovating to restore public trust; Transforming practices and tools to inform audiences
Status: pending
This presentation aims to examine the relationship between public participation in environmental assessment and government decision-making, based on the experience of Quebec's Bureau d'audiences publi
The climate emergency, the urgent need for energy transition, and the recent surge in criticism of participatory democracy raise questions about the relevance of public participation in environmental assessment and its impact on decision-making. Public participation: what does it achieve? In other words, how can we measure the influence of participatory mechanisms on public action and major projects? This presentation aims to examine the relationship between public participation in environmental assessment and government decision-making, based on the experience of Quebec's Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE). Based on an analysis of data from a database of more than 400 projects, several variables are studied to identify what matters in the decision-making process. The BAPE represents an institutional innovation that has been part of the daily landscape of Quebecers for more than 45 years. It is regularly called upon by civil society and embodies public participation and ecological democracy. The BAPE is an independent public body with an international reputation. Established under the Environment Quality Act (LQE), it conducts investigations and public hearings on environmental, energy, resource extraction, and land use planning issues. The conference will highlight the institutional conditions put forward by the BAPE to promote the search for quality information, strengthen public confidence, and support meaningful citizen participation in environmental assessment processes, thereby influencing decision-making.
Mario Gauthier is a full professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Quebec in Outaouais. Louis Simard is a full professor at the School of Political Studies at the University
Coauthor 1: Louis Simard