Lake Winnipeg in a different light: Re-imagining environmental politics in a small-scale Canadian inland fishery. By Sölmundur Karl Pálsson A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright © 2021 by Sölmundur Karl Pálsson UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA Lake Winnipeg in a Different Light UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ***** COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Lake Winnipeg in a different light: Re-imagining environmental politics in a small-scale Canadian inland fishery. By Sölmundur Karl Pálsson A Thesis/Practicum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ©2021 Permission has been granted to the Library of the University of Manitoba to lend or sell copies of this thesis/practicum to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis, and to lend or sell copies of the film, and University Microfilms Inc. To publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and resesarch, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. 2 Lake Winnipeg in a Different Light Abstract Research for this thesis was carried out between 2016 and 2020, a period which was exceptionally politically and ecologically volatile for the small-scale commercial fishery on Lake Winnipeg. Politically, the Province of Manitoba initiated major policy changes, including quota buy-backs and the rescinding of provincial endorsement of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act. Ecologically, a major flood in 2011 and detrimental impacts following from the consequent construction of the emergency channel between Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg had a major impact on the lake’s habitat and fisheries. In hindsight, the period was a unique opportunity to witness the negotiation of values and the shape of governance among Lake Winnipeg’s fishers and between them and government representatives of the Province of Manitoba. The research included interviews with over 40 fishers and other Lake Winnipeg stakeholders and hundreds of informal conversations with commercial fishers from Fisher River Cree Nation, Gimli, Riverton, and Winnipeg. I engaged in participant observation in meetings between commercial fishers and the province of Manitoba and Freshwater Fisher Marketing Corporation, and in-depth analysis of Hansard records from the House of Commons and the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. I conclude that: (1) analytical tools such as Sen’s capabilities approach and Interactive Governance (IG) Theory are insufficient alone to analyze and understand the complexity of critical debates and negotiations in fisheries and environmental governance. Both approaches leave limited space for critical environmental politics since both approaches still rely heavily on the division between society and Nature. Additionally, both approaches are insufficiently sensitive of disparities of power and do not pay enough attention to arbitrary power of ministers who can circumvent critical debates with fishers in the determination of policies. (2) Recent years on Lake Winnipeg illustrate a serious deficit in democratic decision-making in Manitoba. The space for fishers to disseminate their knowledge is highly circumscribed and their views on fisheries and the environment as a whole were ignored. Decisions were made without proper consultation, which undermined communities’ and fishers’ ability to protect their livelihoods. These, instead, were sacrificed for what the Province of Manitoba deemed to be a sustainable fishery or broader provincial interests. Overall, I argue that decision-making processes need to be more power-sensitive and receptive to fishers’ knowledge. The only way to do this is to allow fishers to participate from the beginning, when facts are created by scientists and bureaucrats. Instead of discussing ethical issues after facts are created, they need to be discussed simultaneously. Before such an idea can be realized, hierarchical politics need to be abandoned in favor of more decentralized politics. This more truly democratic approach might be comparatively difficult and messy from a governance point of view, but would be more inclusive, legitimate, and, likely, effective in matching the interests of the fishers of Manitoba with those of the province as a whole. Key words • Lake Winnipeg * Co-management * Power * Democracy * Well-being * Freedom * Co- production of Nature * Traditional ecological knowledge * First Nations * Sustainability 3 Lake Winnipeg in a Different Light Acknowledgement This work is an accumulation of over 15,000 km driven around Lake Winnipeg, reading over a couple of thousands of pages in the hansards of both Manitoba Legislative Assembly and House of Commons, over 60 hours of interview material along with countless informal conversation and email exchanges with people who share the same passion for Lake Winnipeg as I do and many hours of meetings. The past 7 years have been very challenging as I had to do all the work I mentioned but also survive very uncertain times on Lake Winnipeg as the powers of Manitoba forced changes that ultimately changed my research to what you are reading here. It happened a few times along the way that a seed of doubt started to grow in my mind that I might not be able to finish with the project I had undertaken. Whenever I began to doubt myself, people along the way pulled me up and helped me through it and it is with those people who I want to share my graditude in this short acknowledgement. First I would like to thank my family and friends for their continious support for the past 7 years. Angela, my partner, was one of my biggest supporters for the last 3 years. She tolerated my long working nights as I was writing until 2 or 3 am, and we could not take a proper vacation because a large portion of my energy was directed towards the thesis. Angela also kept me grounded and helped me to stay focused and I doubt that I would have finished this work without her. I also need to thank my parents, Margrét and Páll for their continious support over the years, and the same goes for my grandmother, Ólöf Pálsdóttir who always wanted to make sure that I was doing well and was always ready to give her support. The same goes for my siblings, Dagbjört and Snævar, and my nieces and nephew, Margrét, Elín, Jón Páll and Hólmfríður. I must include our family dog, Castro who unfortunately is no longer with us but I am sure he would like to know how much of a big help he was. My long walks with him during my visit in Iceland in 2019 helped me formulate chapters 4, 5 and 6. My friends played a crucial part in this process as well. Back home in Icleland, my good friends Helgi and Krisjtan helped me a lot; with their long conversations about everything kept my mind sane. I also have to thank Deland Wing for all the nights we spent together, eating good food, watching sports and talking politics. I know your time in Winnipeg was not always easy, but our hangouts meant a lot to me and helped me keeping my sanity during a very challenging time. I also must shout out to Amanda who drove me to Gimli a few times when I did not have a car available and those trips were crucial to meet my research objectives. Lastly, I would like to thank my old roomate and friend, Kristjan Mann for everything. It was fun to share a house with you and it was always good to know that I had a room available in the city of Winnipeg when I needed it. I would also like to thank Elin Thordarson for her help. She spent countless hours reading over my proposals to make sure the language was good. I will always appreciate your help! Of course, this thesis would have never happened without the help from Elva Sigmundson and Jerry. Elva spent countless hours in 2020 proof reading my chapters, making sure the chapters were up to the standard of the english language. Moreover, Elva and Jerry allowed me to stay in their house in Gimli whenever they went to San Fransico during the winter, and they always had 4 Lake Winnipeg in a Different Light a room available when I decided to stay in Gimli to do some work there. A few words will never be sufficient enough to express my graditute for everything you two have done for me. Thank you! This research would have never happened without the fishers of Lake Winnipeg. All those conversation with fishers, not only from Fisher River Cree Nation, Gimli or Riverton but all the other fishers whom I spoke to during co-management meetings and other meetings helped me greatly and I will always appreciate how welcoming you were and how enthusastic you were towards my work. I would like to thank the Gimli fishers for their continous support for my MA thesis and I really enjoyed working with them. However, special thanks goes to Fisher River Cree Nation Chief Crate, councillor Crate and Sam Murdock. All of them welcomed me to Fisher River Cree Nation and without their openness I would have not gathered the valuable data that made my work ethnographically richer. I did really enjoy working with Fisher River Cree Nation and I hope we can continue working together on issues regarding Lake Winnipeg. That in fact goes to all the fishers on Lake Winnipeg. I hope we can continue working together towards the goal of designing a governance framework that is beneficial, not only for the province but for the fishers on Lake Winnipeg.