A Case Study of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition By

The Changing Governance of Rural Regional Development: A case study of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition by Chelan Zirul B.A., University of Northern British Columbia, 2006 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (GEOGRAPHY) THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA July 2010 ©Chelan Zirul, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-75139-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-75139-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre im primes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT This case study of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition (C-CBAC) examines one regional governance organization in the context of contemporary economic and political transition. First ro what extent is C-CBAC representative of dominant trends in Canadian rural regional development? Second, what factors have assisted or impeded the formation ofC- CBAC? C-CBAC was devolved the responsibility of rural regional development planning in the Cariboo-Chilcotin and this is representative of dominant trends. C-CBAC formed in response to the mountain pine beetle (MPB) epidemic, but the history of working together and transition towards neoliberal policies supported their formation. However, the same factors also hindered its formation. First, the MPB was a crisis and was not able to sustain interest of regional stakeholders or senior governments. Second, the history of working together resulted in exclusion. Finally, neoliberal policies resulted in the lack of financial or policy control devolved to C-CBAC required for implementation. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables vi List of Figures vi Abbreviations vii Acknowledgements viii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Situating C-CBAC 2 1.3 The Cariboo-Chilcotin 3 1.4 Research Questions 5 1.5 Thesis Outline 6 Chapter 2 Literature Review 8 2.1 Introduction 8 2.2 Rural Regional Development History: Canada and British Columbia 8 2.2.1 Post WWII to Mid-1980s 8 2.2.2 Mid-1980s to Current 12 2.3 Rural Restructuring and Change 15 2.4 Neoliberalism: Re-Orienting Roles 17 2.5 New Regionalism 20 2.6 Governance, Social Cohesion, and Social Capital 22 2.7 Neoliberalism and New Regionalism in Northern BC 27 2.8 Conclusion 28 Chapter 3 Methodology and Methods 30 3.1 Introduction 30 3.2 Methodology 30 3.3 Methods 31 3.3.1 Primary Data Collection 32 3.3.1.1 'The Field' 32 3.3.1.2 Power Relations in Field Research 33 3.3.1.3 Interviewing 35 3.3.1.4 Observations and Field Notes 45 3.3.2 Secondary Data Collection 47 3.4 Data Analysis 48 3.4.1 Manifest Content Analysis 49 3.4.2 Latent Content Analysis 50 3.5 Ensuring Rigour 52 3.6 Conclusion 54 Chapter 4 Context 55 4.1 Introduction 55 iii 4.2 Study Boundaries 55 4.3 Regional Population 58 4.4 Regional Economy 61 4.5 Local Government in the Cariboo-Chilcotin 65 4.5.1 Municipal 65 4.5.2 Regional 66 4.5.3 First Nations 67 4.6 Regional Planning Processes 71 4.6.1 Commission on Resources and the Environment 72 4.6.2 Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan 74 4.6.3 Cariboo Economic Action Forum 76 4.6.4 Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Resource Board 77 4.6.5 Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition 78 4.7 Conclusion 84 Chapter 5 Results 86 5.1 Introduction 86 5.2 Governing Rural Regional Development 87 5.2.1 Autonomy 88 5.2.2 Summary 94 5.3 Assisting Factors 94 5.3.1 Impetus 95 5.3.2 History of Working Together 98 5.3.2.1 Structural Dimension: Model of Success 99 5.3.2.2 Social Dimension: Repetitive Regional Leadership 103 5.3.3 External Supports 107 5.3.4 Summary 109 5.4 Hindering Factors 109 5.4.1 Exclusion 110 5.4.1.1 Exclusive Board 110 5.4.1.2 Insiders and Outsiders of the Process 112 5.4.2 Lack of Institutionalized Regional Collaboration 115 5.4.3 Government Policies and Programs 120 5.4.3.1 Federal Jurisdiction 120 5.4.3.2 Provincial Jurisdiction 123 5.4.4 Summary 125 5.5 Sampling Framework Analysis 126 5.6 Conclusion 127 Chapter 6 Discussion 129 6.1 Introduction 129 6.2 Scale and Structure of Decision-Making: Then and Now 130 6.3 The Formation of C-CBAC: Assisting and Hindering Factors 136 6.3.1 The Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic 136 6.3.2 The History of Regional Activity in the Cariboo-Chilcotin 138 iv 6.3.3 Transition Towards Neoliberal Policies by Senior Governments 143 6.4 Conclusion 145 Chapter 7 Conclusion 147 7.1 Introduction 147 7.2 Research Questions 147 7.3 Lessons Learned 150 7.4 Policy Recommendations 151 7.5 Future Research Directions 155 References 160 Appendix A UNBC Research Ethics Approval 179 Appendix B Interview Consent Form 180 Appendix C Interview Guide 181 Appendix D Sample Frame 185 Appendix E Participant Organization Involvement 187 Appendix F Manifest Content Analysis Results: List of Words and Word-Pairs 191 Appendix G Latent Content Analysis Results: List of Themes 201 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Federal Regional Development Initiatives (Post-WWll to Mid-1980s) 10 Table 2.2 Provincial Regional Development Initiatives (Post-WWll to Mid-1980s) 11 Table 2.3 Federal Regional Development Initiatives (Mid-1980s to Present) 13 Table 2.4 Provincial Regional Development Initiatives (Mid-1980s to Present) 14 Table 2.5 Voluntary Rural Regional Development Organizations 19 Table 3.1 Sampling Frame: Sub-Regional Representation 43 Table 3.2 Sampling Frame: Urban/Rural Representation 43 Table 3.3 Sampling Frame: 'Sector' Participants 44 Table 4.1 Member Municipalities: CRD and C-CBAC 56 Table 4.2 CRD Population, 1976-2006 59 Table 4.3 CRD Population Distribution 60 Table 4.4 Employment Sector Statistics 61 Table 4.5 Record MPB Infestations 63 Table 4.6 TSA Harvest Characteristics 64 Table 4.7 Local Government Characteristics 66 Table 4.8 First Nations Government in the Cariboo-Chilcotin 70 Table 4.9 Regional Planning Processes in the Cariboo-Chilcotin (1990 to Present) 71 Table 4.10 Signatories to the C-CLUP1 75 Table 4.11 CEAF Steering Committee, July 1994 77 Table 4.12 CRRB Membership 78 Table 4.13 C-CBAC Participants 79 Table 4.14 C-CBAC's Working Group Regional Development Sector Strategies 82 Table 5.1 Results Guide: Relationship of Results/Themes to Research Questions 87 Table 5.2 Provincial Support for Regional Beetle Action Coalitions 91 Table 5.3 Sector Participation in Regional Decision-Making 100 Table 5.4 Federal Government Funding Sources, as identified by participants 122 Table 5.5 Provincial Impacts in the Region, as identified by participants 124 Table 6.1 Discussion Guide: Relationship of Themes/Literatures to Research Questions 130 Table 6.2 BC Examples: Rural Regional Development Governance Organizations 131 Table D.l Sample Frame, proposed 185 Table D.2 Sample Frame, as filled during field work 186 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 The Cariboo-Chilcotin Region 5 Figure 4.1 C-CBAC Boundaries 57 Figure 4.2 Estimated Increase and Decrease in Harvesting, Quesnel TSA 64 Figure 4.3 Interest Sectors of the Cariboo-Chilcotin CORE Process 73 Figure 4.4 C-CBAC Structure 81 Figure 6.1 C-CBAC Newsletter Headline, April/May 2006 137 vi ABBREVIATIONS AAC Allowable Annual Cut ACOA Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency BAC Beetle Action Coalition BC British Columbia C-CBAC Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition C-CIC Cariboo-Chilcotin Investment Corporation C-CLUP Cariboo-Chilcotin Land Use Plan C-CRRC Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Resource Committee CCC Cariboo Communities Coalition CEAF Cariboo Economic Action Forum CED Community Economic Development CEDI Community Economic Development Initiative CMC Cariboo Management Committee CORE Commission on Resources and Environment CRD Cariboo Regional District CRRB Cariboo Regional Resource Board DM District Municipality DREE Department of Regional Economic Expansion EDWG Economic Development Working Group EU European Union GWG Governance

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