The Rouge Uncovered: Community Participation, Urban Agriculture and Power Dynamics in the Creation of Canada’s first National Urban Park by Jina Gill, B.A. (Hons.) A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto © Copyright by Jina Gill 2017 The Rouge Uncovered: Community Participation, Urban Agriculture and Power Dynamics in the creation of Canada’s first National Urban Park Jina Gill Master of Arts Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto 2017 Abstract Local food production has been a defining goal of a healthy and resilient food system. In 2011 the Canadian government and Parks Canada committed to creating Canada’s first national urban park. The space in which land is used to undertake conservation efforts and develop sustainable farming is often associated with inequalities of larger society; whereby hegemonic practices of inclusion and exclusion are produced and/or reinforced. By employing an Environmental Justice framework this thesis investigates if and how small-scale farmers and community members have been included in the creation of the park, and how power, particularly in relation to the axis of difference, influences green space planning, local farming and sustainability in the Greater Toronto Area. Findings show extreme contention between farmers and environmentalists over productive parkland use and definitions of ecological integrity. This research also discloses the need for a more inclusive approach to community participation processes in green space planning and management. ii Acknowledgments I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Sarah Wakefield. There are no words to express how grateful I am for her patience, generosity and unwavering support during my program. Thank you for believing in me and always making time for meetings, discussions, informative emails and thorough feedback on all of my work. Most of all, I would like to thank you for your mentorship and friendship which have been invaluable. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Susannah Bunce and Dr. Michael Ekers, for their time, consideration and valuable feedback on my work. I would also like to add how grateful I am for their kindness and support throughout my academic journey. Thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for the Insight Grant #76166 – Unsettling Perspectives and Contested Spaces: Building Equity and Justice in Canadian Food Activism, which supported this research. I would also like to thank all of the individuals that participated in this study for sharing their time and stories with me. I could not have completed this study without having these meaningful conversations and understanding their perspectives. To the FEAST team, I am extremely grateful for your support, shared experiences, advice and solidarity. I could not imagine getting through this program without your company and everlasting friendships. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their constant support and words of encouragement when I needed it most. To my late grandmother, I thank you for teaching me the value of an education and the importance of never giving up. Further, I could not have gotten through the last two years without my furry four-legged best friend. Thank you little guy for your unconditional love, warm hugs and for staying by my side during the long nights and early mornings. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................ vii Table 1. Brief History of Rouge Park ...................................................................... vii Table 2. Number of Articles Published on Rouge National Urban Park .............. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................. viii Figure 1. Map of Rouge Park .................................................................................. viii Figure 2. Newly Identified Land Uses for Pickering Lands ................................. viii Figure 3. Fact Sheet of Pickering Lands ............................................................... viii Figure 4. Rouge National Urban Park Strategies and Objectives ....................... viii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................ ix Appendix A: Recruitment Script .............................................................................. ix Appendix B: Letter of Consent ................................................................................. ix Appendix C: Interview Guide .................................................................................... ix Appendix D: Top Ten Conservation Benefits of Rouge National Urban Park ..... ix Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Objectives .............................................................................................. 3 1.2 Outline of Thesis .................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 Literature Review .......................................................................................... 6 2.1 Framing Environmental Justice in Urban Development ................................... 6 2.2 Environmental Governance, Power Dynamics and Boundary-setting in National Parks .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Agricultural Production, Race and the Rural Imaginary in Canada ............... 18 2.4 Planning Practices and Community Participation ........................................... 23 2.4.1 Greenspace Planning ...................................................................................... 23 2.4.2 Food Systems Planning ................................................................................... 25 iv 2.4.3 Community Participation in Urban Planning Initiatives ................................ 28 2.5 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 30 Chapter 3 Methods ....................................................................................................... 32 3.2 Getting Personal: Self-reflexivity and Positionality .......................................... 32 3.3 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................ 35 3.3.1 Triangulation ..................................................................................................... 36 3.3.2 Research Design: Case Study ......................................................................... 38 3.4 Data Collection .................................................................................................... 39 3.4.1 Participant Selection, Recruitment and Semi-structured Interviews ........... 40 3.4.2 Participant Observation .................................................................................... 43 3.5 Analysis ................................................................................................................ 45 3.5.1 Limitations, Credibility and Communication of Results ............................... 46 Chapter 4 Case Study: Rouge National Urban Park ................................................. 49 4.1 Rouge Park ........................................................................................................... 49 4.2 Rouge National Urban Park ................................................................................. 52 4.2.1 Ontario’s Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan ........... 54 4.2.2 Environmental Organizations, Community Groups and Parks Canada ...... 56 4.3 Local Food Production: Farming in the RNUP .................................................. 68 Chapter 5 The Rouge Uncovered ............................................................................... 70 5.1 Textual Analysis ................................................................................................... 70 5.1.1 Framing Media Narratives ................................................................................. 70 5.1.2 Legislation: An Act Representing RNUP (Bill C-40 vs. Bill C-18) .................. 76 5.2 Agricultural Development: Local Food for Local People? ............................... 79 5.2.1 Tales of the Field: Political Conflicts between Farmers and Environmentalists ........................................................................................................ 80 5.2.2 Disputes over Land ............................................................................................ 83 v 5.2.3 Lack of Diversity ................................................................................................ 86 5.3 Community Participation and Outreach ............................................................ 89 5.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 103 Chapter 6 Conclusions .............................................................................................