"Damned if you do, damned if you don't": government and the conundrum of consultation in the environmental sector

• Published in: Canadian public administration 1998-09, Vol.41 (3), p.395-418
• Main Authors: Baetz, Mark C., Tanguay, A. Brian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Citizen participation; Citizens' groups; Environment; Environmental Policy; Government; Industrial pollution; Laws & regulations; Policy making; Pollution control; Public administration
• ISSN: 0008-4840; 1754-7121
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-7121.1998.tb01295.x

: This paper examines three separate episodes of government consultation in the environmental sector involving the activities of a chemical plant owned by Uniroyal Chemical Ltd. in Elmira, a small town in southwestern Ontario near Kitchener. The first episode involved the creation in the early 1980s of two advisory committees at two separate levels of government (municipal and provincial) in order to explore the options available for containing the spread of contaminants from the Uniroyal site. During this episode, these two advisory committees made recommendations to the provincial Ministry of the Environment (moe) that conflicted with the advice of its own officials. Ultimately, the consultative process merely exacerbated what was an already tense situation. The second episode centred on Uniroyal's proposal in 1989 to build an incinerator on its site in order to dispose of the plant's waste products. The final episode in this drama began in 1992, when yet another advisory committee was created by the moe to monitor the situation at Uniroyal. On the basis of our examination, we conclude that if a government decides not to clarify the intended role of a citizens' advisory group and not to devolve real decision‐making power to it, then it can expect to reap the unfortunate consequences of heightened mistrust and public cynicism. Attempts by a government simply to inform one of its creations (an advisory group) are likely to be viewed as manipulation by the members of a group, which inevitably becomes a bit like Frankenstein's monster, endowed with a will and a life of its own. Sommaire: Dans cet article, on examine trois épisodes de consultation government‐tale dans le secteur de l'environnement, à l'egard des activites d'une usine chimique appurtenant àUniroyal Chemical Ltd.aG Elmira, petite ville du Sud‐Ouest de I'Ontario, près de Kitchener. Dans le cadre du premier épisode, on a Créé vers le début des