ID: 2262
Presenting Author: Carmen Holschuh
Session: 594 - Communicating Truths: EA Practitioner Professional Ethics and Roles
Status: pending
The collision of science, diverse agendas, and political dynamics means that building trust through regulatory EA can feel like a paradox. Maintaining professional ethics and conduct is foundational.
Building trust through regulatory EA practice can feel like a paradox, however, maintaining professional ethics and conduct in EA is foundational. Consulting EA Practitioners develop regulatory applications that meet the requirements of relevant legislation. Regulatory EAs are highly technical documents with nuanced methodology, underpinned by studies, predictions, and evaluations of the potential risks, impacts, and uncertainties. The requirements are ever evolving, resulting in long, complex documents that are often confusing to stakeholders. Regulatory EAs involve deep levels of engagement by Indigenous nations and stakeholders by government and the proponent, resulting in diverse perspectives, concerns, and agendas. In Canada, regulatory decisions are often made by elected officials at the conclusion of an EA process, and these decisions weigh the impacts of the project with the public interest. Alongside the conclusions of an EA, political context and priorities inevitably inform decisions for regulatory approvals. This collision of science, diverse perspectives and agendas, and political dynamics are often at the root of controversy surrounding regulatory EAs and the practitioners behind them.
Carmen Holschuh is the Vice President of One-eighty Consulting Group. She brings over 20 years of consulting EA experience on energy, mining, transportation and infrastructure projects across Canada.