EVENTS AND WEBINARS

Canada’s economic and social well-being relies on infrastructure to facilitate mobility, transportation, trade, communication, utilities, and a host of social services. However, there appears to be a large and growing infrastructure deficit, estimated to be about $600 billion. Surveys show that most Canadians are increasingly dissatisfied with the adequacy and quality of our national infrastructure.

At the same time, Canada also appears to have developed a reputation as an unattractive destination for infrastructure investments necessary to address the growing deficit from the issue of regulatory and policy uncertainty, delays, and burdens that have increasingly become substantial impediments.

Join Drs. Kent Fellows and Robert Mansell of the School of Public Policy's Canadian Northern Corridor Research Program for a discussion regarding Canada's current capacity, and future potential, to attract investment in the context of the growing infrastructural gap between Canada and its international peers. This event will take place on Wednesday, March 15 from 8:30 to 10:00 am MST. It will be held in-person at the School of Public Policy's downtown Calgary location as well as online via Zoom.

Mineral and energy development in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and the Central Queensland Coalfields over 50 years has transformed these regions into global resource powerhouses. Approaches to development, infrastructure and supply chains followed pathways that were different in several ways, resulting in contrasting outcomes.

Recent shifts in government policies, however, have resulted in a closer alignment of development strategies between the two regions. The experience of these Northern Australian regions holds lessons for development in Canada’s North and elsewhere.

Join Ian Satchwell, Adjunct Professor, The University of Queensland, on Zoom, Wednesday February 1 at 16:00 (MST) to discuss the conclusions of his new paper in the Canadian Northern Corridor series examining the development experience of these two Australian regions and making recommendations for development in other resource-rich regions.

Community-Based Environmental Monitoring (CBEM), if done properly, can be more effective in incorporating ILK than environmental impact and monitoring based only on Western science. It is very useful to identify the environmental, health and social impacts of human activities in ecosystems, as well as to identify the potential cumulative effects of these activities.

Join Dr. Evgeniia (Jen) Sidorova, Canadian Northern Corridor Research Partner, and Dr.  Luis Virla, Research Fellow at TU Delft and the University of Calgary, and Co-Director of InnoLab Space, as they present their latest research and discuss how to design comprehensive CBEM policy for large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) concept.

This event will take place in person at the CNOOC North America Technology & Conference Centre (5^th floor), School of Public Policy (906 8th Ave SW, Calgary), on Tuesday, January 10 from 8:00-10:00 am.

The School of Public Policy, in partnership with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is delighted to invite you to a special event: 'Transcontinental Town Hall: Northern development in Australia and Canada'.

Lack of infrastructure, weather extremes, population density, and geopolitical strategic significance are similar characteristics shared by the northern regions of our two countries. A vast store of expertise and knowledge could and should be shared to contribute to securing a safe and prosperous future for both the Australian and Canadian north. Our speakers will provide a comprehensive overview of the similarities in the policy challenges facing both northern Australia and Canada.

This event will feature a keynote address from His Excellency Mr. Scott Ryan, Australia's High Commissioner to Canada; and His Excellency Mr. Mark Glauser, Canada’s High Commissioner to Australia, followed by several brief mini-lectures presented by subject matter experts from both Australia and Canada, and a panel discussion moderated by Canadian Senator Vernon White.

We are pleased to invite you to this exclusive in-person event on Tuesday, June 7 at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary, AB from 4:30-6:00 PM MST. We will be joined virtually by speakers in Canberra, Australia, and the panel presentation will feature speakers in both countries.

Infrastructure corridors are among the most complicated undertakings in Canada, requiring transactions related to everything from property rights to maintenance to finance. One way to reduce these transaction costs is by making Indigenous stakeholders partners, not just participants in negotiations. In this presentation, we will examine the barriers and costs for greater Indigenous participation in and ownership of infrastructure corridor projects.

Join author Dr. André Le Dressay for this discussion of how transaction costs in large infrastructure projects can be reduced, ensuring fiscal and economic benefits generated from them are available to Indigenous communities as well as other Canadians and governments.

The Canadian Northern Corridor would be a network of access connecting north and south, and three oceans.  The corridor is an attempt to overcome the challenge of complex regulatory approvals and decisions makers for each project – do them all at once. However, the corridor would face its own jurisdictional issues.  So, is the Canadian Constitution the solution to these? It provides a structure for multi-jurisdictional projects that could facilitate the development of the Corridor – but the Constitution also ensures that issues of Aboriginal jurisdiction must also be reckoned with. 

Join legal expert Dwight Newman for a discussion on how the Canadian Constitution could facilitate the Canadian Northern Corridor, bearing in mind the obligations it presents.

Presenter: Dwight Newman QC, DPhil, Professor of Law & Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Rights in Constitutional and International Law, University of Saskatchewan

Moderator: Marcia Nelson, Board Member, Alberta Blue Cross, and Executive Fellow, The School of Public Policy and Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

Shipping in the Canadian arctic is mainly driven by fishing, mining activities and community resupply. Combined with the accelerating pace of ice melt, navigation season has lengthened and we are seeing a trend toward increased traffic in Canadian arctic waters.

Join Dr. Frédéric Lasserre for a discussion of some of the trends shaping the shipping industry in Canada’s arctic, and what these changes might mean for the construction of a Canadian Northern Corridor. To what extent could expanded shipping in the Canadian arctic be supported by a corridor, and what are some of the economic trends from a commercial perspective? Given the remote and extreme conditions, what are some of the most realistic scenarios for economic, industrial and other drivers for northern marine development in Canada?

Series Moderator: Marcia Nelson, Board Member, Alberta Blue Cross, and Executive Fellow, The School of Public Policy and Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

A Canadian northern corridor would directly impact Canada’s northern and Arctic security and defence agenda. It will increase the presence of valuable infrastructure and could attract the attention of competitors in the Arctic. That means any planning for a corridor must include strategic defense and security elements.

Please join Drs. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Katharina Koch as they discuss the implications of a northern corridor for Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and defence strategies.

The benefits of increased pipeline access for Alberta’s economy are well known. The benefits of infrastructure corridors, however, go far beyond pipelines. By reducing interprovincial and international trade costs, multimodal infrastructure corridors of road, rail, utilities, and communications can potentially create large economic benefits.

Join Drs Trevor Tombe, Kent Fellows and Alaz Munzur for a panel discussion on the contribution a multimodal corridor could make to Alberta’s economy.

Series Moderator: Marcia Nelson, Board Member, Alberta Blue Cross, and Executive Fellow, The School of Public Policy and Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

Transportation infrastructure corridors have the power to increase Canada’s competitiveness and access to regional and global markets — especially for communities in northern and remote areas. However, physical, geographical, political and financial constraints threaten the ability to realize them.

Join Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue as he outlines the most salient constraints impacting the Canadian transportation infrastructure grid, such as physical and environmental restrictions, the level of transport demand, financial capabilities, construction and maintenance capabilities and costs, and regulatory oversight.

Series Moderator: Marcia Nelson, Board Member, Alberta Blue Cross, and Executive Fellow, The School of Public Policy and Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

For such a mammoth undertaking as the proposed Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) to be successful requires development of an accompanying governance framework in which private and public stakeholders and Indigenous rights-holders co-operate in decision-making.

Join Mr. Andrei Sulzenko and Dr. Katharina Koch as they examine the distinct but interconnected stages of CNC development and implementation that will require decisions on governance structures and processes. To what extent are different stakeholders involved in each stage, and in which capacity? The researchers will discuss their study of existing Canadian and international infrastructure corridors, and identification of specific factors, such as stakeholder involvement and time-lines, that potentially impact the development of a governance framework for the CNC.

While the law is increasingly clear with respect to Crown consultation and accommodation obligations, the context-dependent nature of the legal framework presents significant challenges for pursuit of the corridor project, given its linear and relatively abstract natures. Further, this area of the law is evolving, particularly as governments move toward implementing UNDRIP.

Join Prof. David Wright to hear about his recently published research paper which explores the diverse contexts of Indigenous rights and interests present in Canada today, provides clarity with respect to the concept of “meaningful consultation” in contemporary Canadian jurisprudence, and relates this body of law to the corridor concept.

A proposed Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) would require an assembler that assembles the land rights and grants use rights to specific infrastructure providers within the corridor.

Join us to hear Drs. Anthony Boardman, Mark Moore and Aidan Vining discuss their work examining alternative means of financing and funding a CNC, and have a chance to pose your questions.

Join Dr. Tristan Pearce, Dr. James D. Ford, and Mr. David Fawcett to better understand how climate change impacts may affect the feasibility and costs of some infrastructure, creating on-going challenges to operations of a proposed Canadian Northern Corridor. Their paper examines how climate change impacts including permafrost thaw, sea ice loss, extreme weather events, and changes in coastal processes, among other impacts, could threaten the construction, maintenance, and operation of infrastructure within the proposed Canadian Northern Corridor. They’ll also discuss further research that is needed in this area.

To undertake such a vast project as a Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC), significant expertise is needed to examine the many facets of the corridor concept including financial, legal, geographical, socio-economic, environmental, regulatory, governance and policy dimensions.