How social licence came to dominate the pipeline debate in Canada
VANCOUVER — When Canadian mining executive Jim Cooney coined the term social licence in 1997, he was talking about building support for mines in developing countries, not resource projects at home.
But nearly two decades later, the phrase is regularly invoked by industry, politicians and environmental groups in the Canadian pipeline debate. Some observers say it’s a sign of progress, but others say the ill-defined term is undermining legal and regulatory processes.
“I’m sometimes praised and sometimes blamed,” said Cooney, now an adjunct mining professor at the University of British Columbia, with a laugh. “I wish now I had trademarked the term. I didn’t think it was that significant. I thought it was just a way of sort of explaining a reality on the ground.”
Cooney first used the phrase at a mining conference in Washington. He had noticed the power of local communities to derail projects was growing, in part because the Internet was enabling them to form alliances with non-governmental organizations and academics.
He said he realized companies faced a “two-track approval process,” in which they had to obtain both a government permit and what he called a social licence.
“Local communities have concerns, which from their point of view, are not and cannot be adequately addressed by higher levels of government,” he said. “Companies, to satisfy local concerns, need to go beyond regulatory compliance sometimes.”
How social licence came to dominate the pipeline debate in Canada - Macleans.ca
VANCOUVER — When Canadian mining executive Jim Cooney coined the term social licence in 1997, he was talking about building support for mines in developing countries, not resource projects at home.
But nearly two decades later, the phrase is regularly invoked by industry, politicians and environmental groups in the Canadian pipeline debate. Some observers say it’s a sign of progress, but others say the ill-defined term is undermining legal and regulatory processes.
“I’m sometimes praised and sometimes blamed,” said Cooney, now an adjunct mining professor at the University of British Columbia, with a laugh. “I wish now I had trademarked the term. I didn’t think it was that significant. I thought it was just a way of sort of explaining a reality on the ground.”
Cooney first used the phrase at a mining conference in Washington. He had noticed the power of local communities to derail projects was growing, in part because the Internet was enabling them to form alliances with non-governmental organizations and academics.
He said he realized companies faced a “two-track approval process,” in which they had to obtain both a government permit and what he called a social licence.
“Local communities have concerns, which from their point of view, are not and cannot be adequately addressed by higher levels of government,” he said. “Companies, to satisfy local concerns, need to go beyond regulatory compliance sometimes.”
How social licence came to dominate the pipeline debate in Canada - Macleans.ca
