ID: 1770
Presenting Author: Julie Reid Forget
Session: 656 - Fair and equitable outcomes through deliberative wellbeing approaches?
Status: pending
Drawing on Canadian municipal cases, this session argues for upstream deliberative land planning to address increasing conflicts that downstream deliberation is unable to contain.
Canada still represents to many this vast land of possibilities. Like everywhere, the cumulative effects, over centuries of land development, are now making each decision more strategic than before. Key questions must be asked before engaging in an impact assessment: what is the best use of this land for generations to come? Is it best to keep this land for forestry, agriculture, mining, housing, industries, tourism or conservation? Does this proposed project opportunity adequately fits our national, regional and local land development and protection plans? Are we at risk of reaching an ecological threshold? Do local communities have other resilience strategies for this land targeted by a proponent? Environmental impact assessment laws and regulations were designed in the 70s and optimized afterwards, but keeping the essence of its original idea, namely a process that lets a project proponent prepare a project, consult the public, and submit an impact assessment that is later reviewed by government officials. In this process, there is no space to engage in a strategic conversation about what is the best use of this land, and this absence of space for comparing alternatives is fueling discontent, especially with local elected officials. This session will propose an alternative deliberative land planning drawing from municipal cases in Quebec, Ontario and abroad. Land use competition needs to be addressed with more appropriate, iterative and strategic assessment tools to adequately develop, protect and restore land for future generations.
Julie Reid Forget leads a territorial conciliation practice that empowers local and regional municipalities in defining and implementing sustainable territorial strategies.