The Alberta Land Use Framework is one of the most important and eagerly anticipated public policy initiatives in Alberta in a long time. OK maybe saying it has been eagerly anticipated is a stretch for most Albertans but it is true for those of us who live in the public policy and political world.
I was involved in the early stages of the process and even had a small hand in some of the process design and participated in some of the stakeholder consultations and workshops and did some briefings for senior officials on the outcomes of the discrete choice modeling values based research we did on forestry stewardship and oil sands development. That involvement adds to my sense of anticipation obviously. I have not had the time to read the document in detail but let me share some initial impressions.
IT IS ALL ABOUT MANAGING GROWTH:
This document is a thoughtful response to growth pressures in Alberta. Don’t be naïve. It will have an impact on the pace of growth and even the purpose and place of growth in some instances. It is going to be an effective “touching of the brakes.” Be careful how you interpret that comment. Touching the brakes tends to slow things down. You have to “hit the brakes” to stop things. This is not about hitting the brakes but it is definitely going to have the effect of touching them. This slowing down of the pace of growth will give us time to get growth right instead of rapid as has been the case so far.
A QUALITY EXAMPLE OF PUBLIC POLICY DEVELOPMENT:
This document has been a long time coming and for good reason. It is the result of a comprehensive and intensive series of explorations and consultations and activist citizen engagement. It is the product of an intelligent policy design process. The last time complex and intricate policy was developed in such a positive way was the Water for Life Strategy. That policy was left unfunded so it has not lived up to its promise – at least not yet but I am hopeful that will change as it integrates with the Land Use Framework policy.
TYING LAND USE TO WATER CAPACITY IS BRILLIANT:
The brilliant move in the Land Use Framework is tying land use to water use as the defining element in regional planning. If the water capacity can’t sustain a land use development – it should not happen. There limits to our ecological capacity for growth that are atmospheric (GHG) water and land use. There is a focus on cumulative impacts now and not each project being looked at on its own “merits.” The integration of land, air and water, with cumulative impacts, consideration of habitat, fragmentation, urban sprawl and a host of other growth pressure elements will all come into play now. This means there will not be a one-size-to-fit-all approach going forward. More design intelligence is obviously at work here in this document.
WE HAVE TO DO BETTER IN CONSERVATOIN AND STEWARDSHIP:
This auger well for us now avoiding turning the entire province in to the same mess we created in Fort McMurray caused by delays and the disasters due to the personal political agendas of incompetent and neglectful former key Ministers who are no longer around.
The other really reassuring strategy in the Land Use Framework is the commitment to develop a conservation and stewardship ethos on public and private lands. This issue, especially around preserving and protecting wildlife habitat has shown up as top of mind for Albertans in our research but had not registered in the political agendas of the province – until now.
Congratulations Dr. Morton for making these policy considerations central to our land use ethic going forward.
There is a lot more meat in this document and policy process that I will have to read and reflect on before I comment further. I see this as a great day for Alberta with the release of this draft. It impacts every one of us and ought to be as catalytic for public engagement as the Hunter Royalty Review Panel document was last fall. Now the real work begins!
There is a lot more meat in this document and policy process that I will have to read and reflect on before I comment further. I see this as a great day for Alberta with the release of this draft. It impacts every one of us and ought to be as catalytic for public engagement as the Hunter Royalty Review Panel document was last fall. Now the real work begins!
Excellent post on an important topic, Ken.
ReplyDeleteThe Land Use Framework is an overdue acknowledgement that we have to limit the impact of our activities and development to what can be sustained by nature. While this may be common sense, it has been uncommonly ignored in Alberta the last couple of decades.
You have pointed out many of the most important aspects of the LUF, but let me mention a few more:
- the commitment to integrate land use decision-making between all provincial departments and between the Province and municipalities.
- the commitment to develop a mechanism for cumulative effects management on a regional scale.
- the setting of provincial outcomes to guide regional decisions, including the maintaining or enhancing of the "life-supporting capacity of air, water, land and biodiversity".
- the linking of land management to the mangement of water, air and biodoversity.
- a recognition that we need new policy tools to enhance stewardship on private and public lands, including such welcome innovations as transferable development credits, and lease-swapping to remove existing dispositions from environmentally sensitive areas.
This is powerful stuff, and very welcome. The question which it invites, however, is how it will be implemented. It will require massive structural change in several provincial departments, and some more minor ones perhaps at the municipal level. There are plenty of empires to be deconstructed and oxes to be gored.
We can only hope that Dr. Morton has the backbone, the political smarts, and the support of others, at the cabinet table and in the community, to pull it off. It's what Alberta desperately needs.
Thx for the comment OAV - you make a lot of good points. I presume you will be an activist in the consultation process on this DRAFT.
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear this mentioned during the campaign. Did the Tories make this up over the pasy few weeks?
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 12:50 If you did not hear it mentioned in the election campaign you were not paying attention. This project has been in open public and deeply involved stakeholder consultation and engagement for over 3 years.
ReplyDeleteThere is a GOA website dedicated ot LUF and it has been around for years. Check it out.
Some of us have seen this all before .. . Eastern Slopes Policy etc. Right now it's all just more talk. When we actually begin to see strong supporting legislation and regulation, and the use thereof, perhaps it might then be time to hand out some praise. Until then, it's all just window dressing - something the Alberta Govt has been good at over the ears and never moved beyond.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fatal error to think tomorrow will be a mere extension of yesterday in politics. Ralph went golfing and fishing for 10 years.
ReplyDeleteYour comments then were legit. Not today...and ideally not tomorrow. I see a new leader who has faltered on the royalites but he has done lots of good things...in addition to cleaning up Ralph's mess.