ID: 2245
Presenting Author: Matt Hammond
Session: 615 - Public trust in regulatory systems and environmental assessment.
Status: pending
The relationship between the complexity of a regulatory system, public trust in decisions and cumulative effects management will be examined, highlighting opportunities for change.
A complex, fragmented governance system will always struggle to gain public trust in its decisions and to manage cumulative effects. If people don’t trust the system, outcomes that matter to people suffer, and both point back to incoherent regulatory systems.
How are decisions impacting land and water made in the Province of BC, Canada? Unfortunately, the answer is: a complicated regulatory system composed of various laws and policies used by many different agencies following different rules that often change and differ depending on the type of land use proposed, leading to siloed, uncoordinated decisions. How can the public be confident in decisions when something they value is affected in so many different ways with little coordination?
The lack of public trust is a symptom of an unhealthy governance system that can’t manage cumulative effects in a convincing way. The Yahey v British Columbia (2021) court decision highlighted the inadequacy of the provincial regulatory system to consider treaty rights and the cumulative effects of development. Transformative governance changes are needed, not patchwork repairs.
Erosion of public trust and a poor ability to address cumulative effects are two problems of an incoherent governance system, but they have solutions in common which might help to guide the transformation needed.
How can the governance system be re-structured to build public trust? Could public trust building be a pathway to also figuring out how to effectively manage cumulative effects?
Matt Hammond is a consultant with PGL Environmental in Victoria, BC, Canada. He advises clients in EA, land use planning, and regulatory process throughout Canada.