A new era of industrial development is unfolding in resource-dependent regions. In Canada, the local government context in these regions, however, is very different now than when industrial resource development expanded in the s and s. Drawing upon our case study in Kitimat, British Columbia, we highlight transformations associated with neoliberal policies that have affected rural governance.
Neoliberal public policy shifts include wider changes where the state has become less involved in program and infrastructure investments in resource-dependent communities. Even as this political economy continues to evolve, past neoliberal policy responses continue to restrict local supports, while also failing to provide a comprehensive strategy to guide rapidly changing communities.
In Kitimat, this has prompted a variety of responses emblematic of a shift from government to governance. The town has become more entrepreneurial and innovative to strengthen and diversify their economy. The abandonment of top-down policy levers has prompted community groups to pursue a greater voice in decision-making by opening up public participation in new planning and development processes.
While new rural governance arrangements have provided positive and proactive contributions to emerging pressures, concerns persist about the long-term viability of these structures without a renewed vision, and accompanying policy, from senior governments to support rural communities and regions.
The scale of these investments has the potential to transform these communities. In Canada, the context of resource-dependent community development, however, is very different now than it was when industrial resource development expanded in the s and s. In the immediate post-war period, a high demand for resources and limited competition prompted a long boom that was led by significant state investments to expand resource-producing regions Halseth, Investments to develop new highways, instant towns, facilities, and services were put in place, all with the goal to improve the quality-of-life needed to attract a workforce to these remote regions Scarpa, ; Sullivan et al.
Following the recession of the early s, senior governments and industries reduced their role in resource-dependent regions. Rising costs, lengthier approval processes, and a desire to reduce government expenditures all supported this policy transition McDonald et al.
Communities now receive fewer job benefits, and the removal of supportive state policies has left these places more exposed to the vulnerabilities of resource commodity markets. Even as this political economy evolves, past neoliberal policy responses continue to restrict supports while also failing to offer a comprehensive strategy to guide rapidly growing communities.
This has prompted local governments to pursue more entrepreneurial and innovative pathways to strengthen and diversify their economy. The abandonment of top-down policy levers has also prompted community groups to pursue a greater voice in decision-making by opening up public participation in new local governance arrangements Markey et al. As the presence and capacity of senior levels of government to respond to rapid change has waned, these new arrangements are seeking to implement processes and mechanisms that widen the scope of participation and ensure that local resources and capacities are deployed in the most timely and effective way to address the pressures and opportunities emerging in these places.
These changes are characterized in the literature as a shift from traditional top-down government to co-constructed governance Cheshire et al. Drawing upon the case study of Kitimat, British Columbia BC , Canada, we explore how one small town is coping with rapid change in the face of three conceptual shifts that are reshaping resource-dependent communities. These include 1 broader shifts in the neoliberal policy environment, 2 the shift from managerialism to entrepreneurialism in local government, and 3 the shift from government to governance in local planning processes.
It is approximately 62 km south of the regional centre of Terrace. By air, it is km north of Vancouver. Global competition and restructuring pressures prompted the closures of both Methanex formerly Ocelot and Eurocan — a direct loss of jobs.
Industrial investments that Alcan set in place were also aging and losing their competitive edge in the global marketplace. However, its actual population has never exceeded an official count of more than 13, people. In , shortly after construction of the Alcan smelter, the census population was 8, Between and , however, out-migration in response to job losses reduced the local population to 8, As construction began in , it required roughly 3, construction workers, reaching peak construction in , and would lead to approximately 1, permanent jobs in the new smelter.
This project, however, is just one component of a new era of industrial investment proposed for the area. Since , our research team has conducted five field research visits to Kitimat to better understand shifts in rural governance structures as stakeholders coped with rapid change.
During each visit, we conducted between 37 and 45 interviews, for a total of interviews over four years.
Interview participants included residents, service providers, local government leaders, industry representatives, business leaders, and members of community groups based on a stratified purposeful sampling approach Suri, The interviews tracked changes in the community from a variety of perspectives: as a result of large-scale industrial development projects; with community engagement and capacity; in collaborative working and governance relationships; and any new strategic actions and investments.
During each interview, comments were recorded in order to generate a detailed file that could be sent and reviewed by each participant. The research team conducted latent and manifest content analysis Krippendorff and Bock, to identify, code, and categorize patterns and themes that emerged from the data. These conceptual shifts include the neoliberal public policy environment, the shift from local government managerialism to entrepreneurialism, and the shift from government to governance in local planning and decision-making, all of which occur in a reflexive relationship.
In its place, state intervention has assumed a secondary role of seeking to facilitate or manage development and service delivery through various community and regional programs, or simply to rely on de regulation and market forces to determine the level, format, and location of services and programs Klein et al. Reinvestments in resource-industry communities also became more limited in the posts as successive senior governments chose instead to run down previous assets.
The reductions in spending and investments limited support for community renewal and transformation processes. As is common for small towns in BC, the local government council and staff in Kitimat is relatively small. The six local councilors and the mayor are each elected directly by the population living within the town boundaries. In , a staff complement of approximately 35 is distributed across nine departments including general administration, finance, economic development, leisure services, building inspections, engineering, planning, fire department, and public works.
Police and the ambulance services are provided on a contract basis by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the BC ambulance service respectively. The size and structure of the local government has remained relatively unchanged for decades. The role and functions of all local government in British Columbia is directly legislated by the provincial government 1 Bish and Clemens, One of the continuing challenges for small towns is the failure of the provincial government to revise the jurisdictional authority and financial powers of local governments commensurate with the needs being generated by social, economic, and demographic restructuring at the local level Halseth and Ryser, Prior to the new period of rapid growth in Kitimat, cuts were made to community services during previous periods of economic recession.
Once community groups lost provincial funding, it was difficult to re-establish since provincial and federal government contracts to non-profits were not adjusted to respond to rapid growth. As the provincial minister responsible for both natural resource development and social housing, Minister Rich Coleman preferred to let the market react to local housing pressures during the KMP Hoekstra, As one stakeholders noted,. This was a council initiative to create a level playing field. This got the attention of provincial ministries.
Suddenly, there was money for the action plan as long as we postponed passing this bylaw. By , Kitimat had the third lowest vacancy rate 1. With an increase in homelessness and displaced residents in the community, the Child Development Centre CDC and the local government were only able to obtain a three-month federal government grant from the Homeless Partnering Strategy to support a temporary housing support worker to assist displaced residents.
The local government felt it had a responsibility to act, which caused them to allocate funding to hire two housing support workers until additional funds could be secured. Local government staff also worked with community service providers, church volunteers, and BC Housing to develop an emergency cold-weather response shelter in The shelter was located in the local fire hall and was initially operated by local government staff who volunteered during the evenings and weekends.
Some stakeholders we spoke with, however, felt that the provincial government had not been proactive enough to manage housing pressures during the early stages of rapid growth. And although their average levels are higher than most in B. But the government allowed them to not install them. Yet the community did respond. Then in , sulphur dioxide emission concerns were taken seriously. A mediated settlement in court required there to be a more robust air quality monitoring network, and to the delight of Pam, Steve and other KTCAC members, an independent airshed group was formalized and continues to be consulted with on a regular basis.
The Kitimat Airshed Group facilitates communications and collaboration on air quality between local stakeholders and is composed of many representatives including members of the KTCAC as well as surrounding communities, First Nations, the local union, multiple government ministries, and industry.
But I would like to think that because of our perseverance and commenting on emissions, they know we are not going away. I think they started to listen more. The World Health Organization estimates seven million people die each year due to air pollution.
And health researchers are finding that in countries where air pollution is highest, deaths from diseases like pneumonia, asthma, and Covid are more common.
And while these emission levels are undoubtedly better than what people living in poorer, more populated countries like India and China have to contend with, there are costs to Canadians, too. For every 1, people who live in Kitimat — just over 8, people live there — Keeping air clear and clean saves lives and money. Today, three air monitoring stations surround Kitimat. They monitor the current levels of particulate matter and chemicals like sulphur dioxide, produce hourly air quality reports, and will alert residents if and when sulphur dioxide concentrations exceed 36 ppb.
It is a tiny portrait of multicultural Canada co-existing with the Haisla people, who are also working at Alcan, Methanex and Eurocan. Unlike every other small town in BC, Kitimat was built as a planned town with the houses located North and East of the smelter and mill sites. No house is within 50 metres, or even two miles of Alcan, Eurocan, or Methanex, as your article implies.
While living there, the families whose "menfolk" hunted fed their families with what they shot. There aren't any steroids or growth hormones in free range moose, geese or bear. The local grizzly bears are still fat and wary of humans and they don't need to visit the town site - perhaps you were thinking of Rivers Inlet - miles south - where the local salmon run has been fished out and the grizzlies are starving?
After returning to "civilisation" the Lower Mailnland in I lost my sense of smell for a year thanks to the sulpher particulate from car exhaust and diesel exhaust in the air.
My eyes burn here in the Lower Mainland like they never, ever did when I lived in Kitimat. Access, customize and download sub-provincial population estimate data by age and sex for various administrative areas. Looking for more data? Explore the B. Government's extensive collection of datasets, applications and web services.
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