The CN Rail oil spill that occurred on August 3, 2005 at Lake Wabamun in Alberta demonstrated several key "facts" about how communities react to environmental contamination and the associated risks. First, and quite obviously, community members were very upset about the oil spill. Their anger was due in part to the sluggish pace with which CN addressed the spill, and to CN's inability to identify the risks to their health and disclose this information.
Yet, despite these unknown risks, local residents were wading knee-deep into the oil slick formerly used as a lake to clean up the mess themselves. While such action seems to contract their concern about their health, it speaks volumes about how dedicated citizens are to cleaning up their surroundings.
Private corporations and government agencies have been slow to recognize this commitment. During our assessment of how the federal government has historically handled the cleanup of contaminated sites, we found that the community's role had typically been quite limited. Fortunately, the tide appears to be turning. Health Canada recently began offering training to federal staff about how to involve the public in cleanup as part of its Contaminated Sites Program, and there's a broader commitment to greater public involvement across the federal government. Now if only CN would follow suit ...
> Have your say about this topic 
| It is by no means novel to say that for well over a decade now planning academics and practitioners alike have been in a love affaire with the concept of participatory planning. There are both practical and theoretical explanations for this mutual courtship. For instance, in practice, participation and transparency underline the democratic process; it improves public support for policies and improves planning decisions and outcomes by placing emphasis on accountability and civic involvement that may garner otherwise overlooked proxy information. In theory, namely the communicative paradigm, civic involvement is a vital component to the deliberation between stakeholders and pubic and private agencies.rnrnIndeed, planning practice is more often than not participatory in nature, but how meaningful is this process? Who are the people participating? Are the voices balanced and accepted with due weight? It is vital to evaluate and learn more about how civic involvement can be more efficient, effective and inclusive.rnrnThe call should now be to explore methodically, against theoretical and conceptual criteria, the extent to which participatory processes achieve fair, equitable and sustainable results. rn rn' | Posted by: Andrew Schreyer
Posted on: August 12 2006 | |
I noticed in the statement to accompany the recent announcement of the multi-million cleanup plan for Chalk River, that the local communities (Deep River etc)were invited to 'welcome' this and support the cleanup. I saw no reference to community involvement beyond the now mandatory liaison groups etc.
Given your comments here, how should they become more involved? Is there a case for supporting development of local expertise and SME startups to get hold of some of NRCan's bounty? | Posted by: Phil Richardson
Posted on: June 09 2006 | |
 |
