It Is What It Is: Between a Rock and a Hard Place in a Northern Ontario Mining Community
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IT IS WHAT IT IS: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE IN A NORTHERN ONTARIO MINING COMMUNITY by Eva-Marie Caroline Kovacs-Kowalke A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) January 2019 © Eva-Marie Caroline Kovacs-Kowalke, 2019 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: IT IS WHAT IT IS: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE IN A NORTHERN ONTARIO MINING COMMUNITY Submitted by Eva-Marie Caroline Kovacs-Kowalke in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dr. John Wagner, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, Anthropology Supervisor Dr. Robin Dods, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, Anthropology Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Diana French, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, Anthropology Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Adam Jones, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, Political Science Supervisory Committee Member Dr. James Hull, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, History University Examiner Dr. Hevina Dashwood, Brock University External Examiner ii Abstract The discourse surrounding mining extraction, mining communities and corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies is both a local and global issue. It is a particularly Canadian issue since over seventy five percent of mining done worldwide is connected to a Canadian owned mining corporation. I conducted my research in Marathon, Ontario, a mining enclave for one of the top gold mining corporations in the world, Barrick Gold Corporation. Many of those working in the mining industry see this area as a modern-day Klondike and, in fact, it has generated ten times more income than the Klondike itself (Sudol 2014). No one can doubt that northern Ontario is rich in natural resources but, since mining communities typically become entangled in a perpetual boom-and-bust cycle of extraction, the benefits of that wealth are very unevenly distributed. Corporate social responsibility programs have been touted as one way to distribute the benefits more equitably, and to avoid or limit the social and health problems that arise during bust cycles and then worsen for those who stay on after extraction is complete and the company leaves town. The narrative of Marathon provides insight into how miners, mine workers, community members and Barrick’s middle and upper management have become entrenched in a false sense of economic sustainability due to the fact that the Hemlo mine site has been in operation for over three decades. On the basis of an eclectic set of methods and fieldwork practices, including participant-observation, interviewing, shadowing and discourse analysis, this research provides insight into how mining enclaves such as Marathon could benefit from a more common shared value approach to defining their specific needs and voices and achieving their own chosen path to an enduring future. Through understanding how corporate language silences alternative iii visions of the mining industry, places like Marathon can hopefully be empowered to take control of their future before it becomes too dependent on a resource that will one day be gone. iv Lay Summary Mining, and the policies around it, are both a local and global issue, and it is particularly a Canadian issue as seventy-five percent of mining done world-wide is connected to a Canadian owned mining corporation. This research was conducted with those involved in the mining community in Marathon, Ontario. It suggests that the community has had a false sense of economic stability due to the length of time that the Hemlo mine site has been in operation. This dissertation shows that communities can be empowered for their future through alternative visions of resources. v Preface This research project was approved by the Behavioral Research Ethics Board (BREB) of the University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus), Certificate H12-01406. I am solely responsible for the design and conduct of the research project, the analysis of the data and the writing of this dissertation. vi Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….....iii Lay summary……………………………………………………………………………………..v Preface……………………………………………………………………………………………vi Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………ix Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………x Chapter One: Introduction……………………………………………………………………...1 Importance of Mining in Canada Today…………………………………………………………..4 Corporate Social Responsibility Programs………………………………………………………..5 The Study Area……………………………………………………………………………………7 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………………….9 Organization of the Dissertation…………………………………………………………………12 Chapter Two: Marathon, Ontario and the Canadian Mining Industry……………………13 A brief history of Ontario………………………………………………………………………..13 History of Mining in Canada…………………………………………………………………….18 Stage One: Indigenous Mining………………………………………………………………...19 Stage Two: Harvest and Move………………………………………………………………...20 Stage Three: Early 1900s to the Late 1960s…………………………………………………..24 Stage Four: Late 1900s - Large Scale Exploration…………………………………………...28 Stage Five: Continuation of Large Scale Mining and the Rise of The Global Anti-Mining Movement……………………………………………………………………………………...31 Marathon…………………………………………………………………………………………33 Early Life on the North Shore…………………………………………………………………33 The Fur Trade in Northern Ontario: Peninsula Bay (today Marathon) and North Shore……36 The Railway Construction Boom………………………………………………………………37 Life at the Turn of the Century………………………………………………………………...39 Chapter Three: Corporate Social Responsibility……………………………………………41 Theoretical Foundations…………………………………………………………………………41 Social Context…………………………………………………………………………………44 Lack of Inter-Partnership……………………………………………………………………..45 Lack of Study Up………………………………………………………………………………47 Common Shared Values……………………………………………………………………….49 Anthropology of Mining…………………………………………………………………………51 vii The Corporate Social Responsibility Discourse and the Resource Curse……………………….65 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………72 Chapter Four: Methodology…………………………………………………………………...75 Study Up as Theory and Method………………………………………………………………...76 Muted Discourse Theory…………………………………………………………………………91 Shadowing………………………………………………………………………………………..92 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………..95 Observations and Shadowing………………………………………………………………….96 Interviews…………………………………………………………………………………….101 Ethical Issues…………………………………………………………………………………...103 Chapter Five: It Is What It Is – Ethnography of a Mining Community…………………..106 Me, Myself and I within the Journey of Ethnography………………………………………….106 Arrival…………………………………………………………………………………………..109 A Quick Glimpse Back in Time………………………………………………………………...112 Communities of Place, Not Communities of Interest…………………………………………..116 Working Conditions at the Pit and Underground………………………………………………121 The Implementation of CSR Programs…………………………………………………………130 The Mine Site Manager (SM)………………………………………………………………...131 Barrick’s CSR Policies……………………………………………………………………….135 The First CSR Superintendent (S1)…………………………………………………………..141 The Second CSR Superintendent (S2)………………………………………………………..154 Miners, Mineworkers and the Culture of Canadian Mining Towns……………………………163 Masculinity, Mining and Being a Northern…………………………………………………….166 Social Issues…………………………………………………………………………………….171 Drugs and Alcohol Abuse…………………………………………………………………….171 Domestic Abuse………………………………………………………………………………178 Environmental Issues…………………………………………………………………………...180 Economic Issues………………………………………………………………………………...182 Chapter Six: The Cathedral of Capitalism…………………………………………………..184 The Brief but Highly Glittered History of Peter Munk…………………………………………184 The Cathedral of Capitalism……………………………………………………………………186 The Evolution of Barrick CSR Policy………………………………………………………….195 The Global Mining Initiative…………………………………………………………………196 Corporate Social Responsibility: Sort of Working…?................................................................200 Corporate Oxymorons, Sustainability and the CSR Media Awards……………………………202 Social License………………………………………………………………………………...204 viii Chapter Seven: Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...206 Can a Mine Be Good?..................................................................................................................207 CSR and Willful Ignorance……………………………………………………………………..208 The Need for a New More Innovative CSR Model Based on Common Shared Value………...210 So Why Would a Mining Corporation Adopt a Common Shared Value Approach?..................213 Lessons from the Field…………………………………………………………………………217 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………...221 ix List of Figures Figure 1: Northern Ontario showing Marathon and other mining communities. 1 Figure 2: Pukaskwa Pits. 34 Figure 3: In the field with my note taker Kayja. 99 Figure 4: The Kowalke’s and Kayja. 100 Figure 5: Hemlo Mine Site. 110 Figure 6: Barrick S1 and S2 office. 111 Figure 7: Aerial of Hemlo Williams Mine Site. 121 Figure 8: The Hemlo Williams Open Pit. 122 Figure 9: The Hemlo Williams Open Pit. 122 Figure 10: Underground sign for where to stope. 123 Figure 11: Eva-Marie and my Underground tour guides D and D2. 124 Figure 12: Miners in the Shaft going underground. 125 Figure 13: Miners underground lights and battery packs on their recharger stands. 126