The project focuses on the regulatory processes leading to decisions to permit exploratory offshore drilling in or adjacent to marine protected areas. It aims to assess decision-making processes by drawing on comparative international cases that highlight how eastern Canadian offshore oil governance practices can be strengthened to permit more robust public engagement in the development process and curtail subsequent political conflict. The project will use a qualitative, multi-case study approach that compares and contrasts regulatory decisions where call for bids overlapped with a marine protected area in four comparable jurisdictions: Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) $165,262.

Researcher: Gail Fraser

Project Theme: Resource Management