The Right to Public Participation in Resources and Environmental Decision-Making in Alberta

Abstract

This article examines the right to public participation in resources and environmental decisionmaking in Alberta. The only reasonable conclusionfrom the analysis in the paper is that there is currently no legal right to public participation in resources andenvironmental project decision-making in Alberta.Project decision-makers have no obligation to hear organized public interest groups or members of thepublic at large who are unable to demonstrate how aproject may personally affect them. The public interest character of resource development decisions has thus far had no identifiable impact on the consideration of participatory rights by Alberta courts. Resources and environmental project decision-making is thus not necessarily subject to public scrutiny and it becomesmore difficult to hold officials exercising public power over resource development legally accountable for their actions. The role of public participation as anaccepted means to influence the exercise of state power over matters concerning the public interest deserves more critical and focused attention from Albertacourts.

Association Between Residential Proximity to Hydraulic Fracturing Sites and Adverse Birth Outcomes

“…In the US context, many households own the subsurface minerals, which means they have the choice of whether to allow drilling on their properties, a choice that could be correlated with factors also influencing health outcomes . Crown ownership of minerals in Alberta means that households do not have the choice as to whether a well will be drilled on their property . Third, the high density of drilling in Alberta provided unique variation in the extent to which mothers were exposed.…”

The Effect of Community Participation and Supervision on the Effectiveness of Village Fund Policy Implementation in Indonesia

“…Moreover, participation is a particular form of interaction and communication related to the distribution of authority, responsibility, and benefits. The improvement of interaction and communication is based on community awareness of the unsatisfactory conditions that must be corrected or the belief that these conditions can be improved through community activities [8]. Apart from that, it can be encouraged by their ability to participate in activities that can be carried out or even their self-confidence where the community can provide a valuable contribution to the activities being carried out.…”