Ottawa, ON, Oct. 3, 2016 – The days of centralized decision-making must make way for genuine community engagement if Canada is to move beyond energy project gridlock, a leading Canadian energy expert says.
Michael Cleland, a Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa, will be among the speakers at ENGAGE, a conference in Ottawa examining the evolving role of communities in energy decision-making. The Canada West Foundation and University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy project are bringing energy leaders from the public, private, academic, Indigenous and NGO sectors to Ottawa for the event on October 5-6.
Cleland led recent research by the Foundation and Positive Energy involving six case studies of proposed energy projects in communities in six provinces, including interviews with a range of local citizens and leaders. The research gets to the heart of what is driving powerful local opposition to energy development, revealing it is often not what decision-makers have assumed. It shows that energy project decision-making processes would be more accepted if they are rethought – a process that will take time, money and real engagement.
Join us in Ottawa at ENGAGE: Canadian communities & energy decision-making as we present research findings and discuss how to address the challenges to Canada’s energy decision-making systems
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Evening reception |
Conference |
KEYNOTES:
The Hon. James Carr, Minister of Natural Resources
Perry Bellegarde, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations
Registration is required for this event.