Public Consultation in a Frantic World

Public Consultation in a Frantic World

Douglas FordCommunica Public Affairs Inc.

Douglas FordCommunica Public Affairs Inc.

EDAC 2005EDAC 2005Presented toPresented to

Communica Public AffairsCommunica Public Affairs

• Public consultation and strategic communications company – headquartered in Calgary

• Primary focus is public consultation in support of capital projects

• Strategic communications counsel

• Wide range of experience

• Over 45 federal / provincial pipeline regulatory

applications

Questions to Ponder - Effective Stakeholder Engagement

Questions to Ponder - Effective Stakeholder Engagement

• What are the unique challenges of engaging stakeholders in today’s environment?

• How do we manage expectations in such an environment?

• What does consultation really mean to stakeholders & communities?

• What does the mega-project environment look like in Western Canada going forward?

• What does the future hold for communications/ consultation planning?

• Can there be a balance between effective consultation and timely regulatory approvals?

• What are likely to be the main impediments to project development?

Questions to PonderEffective Stakeholder Engagement

Questions to PonderEffective Stakeholder Engagement

Massive DevelopmentMassive Development

• Some $54 billion worth of projects planned for the Alberta Oil Sands over the next 10 - 15 years

• Multitude of well sites, forest operations and utility corridors

• Many significant pipelines in various stages of development:– Mackenzie Valley – Gas - $4 billion (Cdn)– Alaska Producers – Gas - $9-15 billion (US)– Enbridge Project Gateway – Oil - $4.0 billion (Cdn)– Terasen BC Option – Oil - $3.5 billion (Cdn)– Enbridge Waupisoo – Oil - $600 (Cdn)– Terasen Corridor – Oil - $900 million (Cdn)

• Pace of infrastructure and project development puts increasing stress on stakeholders’ capacities

– Private landowners

– Environmental interest groups

– Government representatives & officials

– Aboriginal stakeholders

– The broader public

– Regulatory bodies

Unique Challenges Unique Challenges

• Municipal, provincial and federal regulators or permitting bodies - struggling to regain public confidence

• In the face of multiple projects – regulators / agencies have limited resources to apply

• Trying to modify and upgrade consultation requirements to meet new stakeholder expectations

• End result is regulators / permitting bodies potentially overwhelmed by number of projects coming forward

Unique Challenges – Managing Expectations Unique Challenges –

Managing Expectations

Regulatory ExpectationsRegulatory Expectations

• Pendulum shift from notification to much more interactive, participatory consultation

• Regulators sending strong signals that consultation is a critical element of project applications

• Typical notification programs acceptable only in the most benign project applications – almost never adequate for new pipeline construction

• “Lifestyle interventions” on the rise

• Concerns regarding effects on land valuation / quality of life

• How much development is enough?

• “Don’t waste my time”

Municipal concerns Municipal concerns

Aboriginal ExpectationsAboriginal Expectations

• Aboriginal interests growing in power and influence - court decisions and regulatory input

• Individual communities increasingly working with tribal councils and treaty areas

• Power of networking evident - environmental interests aligning with Aboriginal communities

• Aboriginal communities are increasingly insistent upon developing relationships first – accords second

Consultation Means … What?Consultation Means … What?

• Divergence of opinions

• Regulators establish a process

• Proponents or industry interpret legislation

• Communities and stakeholders dictate if and how they want to be consulted with

• Brave new world

Balancing ActBalancing Act

• Usually engineering, budgeting and project considerations dictate project schedules – at first

• Community relationships work at a much different pace

• Efforts to build relationships prior to projects pay big dividends

• If you really want to save money – focus resources and efforts on consultation

Planning for SuccessPlanning for Success

• Issue Identification a critical element

– Ideally conducted prior to initiating any consultation program

– Increases opportunity for issue resolution

• Integrate consultation planning with project development

– Critical project decisions based on engineering design & business

reasons before consultation specialist input

– Need to get inside of box for planning purposes to avoid “silo”

planning

Project ScopingProject Scoping

• Scoping is designed to identify and propose mitigation of potential issues of concern

• Project scoping serves to identify and quantify risk and in so doing – is critical to issue resolution and reducing or limiting opposition

• ROW activities are central to scoping

– Consultation planning and ROW acquisition should

work in unison

• If no project scoping undertaken - essentially the project is planned in the dark

– Potential for conflict is high

• Thinking of projects as mine fields and scoping as mine detectors

Project ScopingProject Scoping

• “To do or not to do ... that is the question”– Depends on how much a gambler the project manager is

• Need increases with complexity of project– Site specific projects may entail less risk and therefore less engagement

• Everything changes with acquisition of new lands– Impacts are personal

– Concerns may be inevitable – quality of life, future land use, compensation

• Risk identification identifies areas of concerns which can guide the ROW acquisition program– Assists in choice of tactical tools

Project ScopingProject Scoping

Impediments to watch forImpediments to watch for

• Balancing stakeholder expectations with project economics – fine art of

managing expectations

• Consultation fatigue – how much is enough

• Internet brings everything together

• Defining traditional territories

• Role of cumulative impacts

• Labour and resource availability

• Compressed schedules – brought on by energy crisis

Future Trends / ConclusionsFuture Trends / Conclusions

• Consultation programs will require greater substance and

timeframes in the future

• Effects of multiple projects will definitely strain the

resources of regulators and the capacities of impacted

stakeholders

• Aboriginal and landowner engagement will continue to

remain the single biggest challenge for new resources

from a consultation perspective

• Defining consultation and community expectations critical

• Early engagement will become the model – not the exception

• Capacity funding (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) will become more and more prevalent

• Potential backlash from other stakeholders if their treatment is perceived as inequitable

• Some means will need to be found to coordinate multiple projects

Future Trends / ConclusionsFuture Trends / Conclusions

Questions?Questions?