Learning, Public Involvement and Environmental Assessment: A Canadian Case Study

Policy makers and scholars have shown increased interest in the learning outcomes of resource and environmental management initiatives. This applies to environmental assessment (EA) as well as to processes that more explicitly incorporate learning-related objectives, such as adaptive management. Using a transformative framework and a qualitative methodology, in this paper we investigate learning outcomes from involvement in an EA of a major hog processing facility in Brandon, Canada. We also examine implications for EA process design, and the pursuit of key social objectives of sustainability. The extent to which the EA in this case facilitated emancipatory learning was quite limited, that is, the process deviated substantially from the ideal conditions of learning. As well, the EA was at best legitimating, and was by no means participatory, empowering, or equitable. The emancipatory potential of involvement in EA, and opportunities for mutual learning, could be increased with earlier involvement, higher degrees of participation, and more open decision-making.