Process as Power (Instant Digital Access Code Only)

Edition : 0th, 2026
Author(s) : Minh Thuy Do

Process as Power (Instant Digital Access Code Only)
- ISBN: 9780774872263
- SKU: 309138V
- Format: VitalSource eBook/ePub
$38.45

List Price: $43.69

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Description

In British Columbia, an environmental assessment is required before major resource development projects are approved, and Indigenous peoples whose territory will be affected are legally entitled to be consulted as part of that process. Projects from the Galore Creek mine to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion have involved Indigenous consultation, yet Indigenous participants have consistently regarded these efforts as inadequate. Process as Power draws on interviews and qualitative analysis of judicial decisions and environmental assessment reports to investigate the issue. The findings of the Supreme Court of Canada and the BC Court of Appeal on the duty to consult make clear that consultation is necessary to demonstrate state legitimacy in matters affecting Aboriginal rights. But Indigenous participants consistently consider BC’s decisions illegitimate because the judiciary has merely layered consultation obligations onto existing processes without compelling collaborative forms of governance. As a result, the state can unilaterally decide the degree to which Indigenous perspectives are incorporated into decisions. In evaluating these systemic flaws, Minh Thuy Do considers potential reforms that can produce a more robust environmental assessment process aimed at respecting Indigenous governance and addressing the state’s legitimacy deficits.