GGRC26

Geographies of Environmental Governance

Fall 2023

Assignment 3: Research Questions and Research Sources (20% of total grade) -- Due Date:
Oct. 22nd

Overview

Assignment 3 involves developing research questions and writing an annotated bibliography of

popular/research sources that you will draw on in your examination of the infrastructure project you
are focusing on throughout the course. Popular/research sources refer to non-academic material
from various media outlets and organizations, and submissions to the relevant review panels that
evaluate the infrastructure projects. You will search for sources as you develop your research
questions. Through finding, reading and writing about popular/research sources, you will develop
your understanding of the infrastructure project you examined in Assignment 1, either: 1) LNG
Canada Export Terminal Project; 2) Enbridge’s Line 9 Reversal; 3) The Jay Project expansion; or 4)
Teck Resources Ltd. Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project. The goal of this research is for you to access a
larger number of primary and secondary sources related to the issue you are examining. The primary
and secondary sources you generate will represent the empirical building blocks of your future
research proposal and paper. The questions you pose, and the sources you discuss in this
assignment, will provide you with the perspectives of different actors, insights on particular issues,
examples, quotes and anecdotes, which you will use to richly support your thesis as developed in
Assignments 4 and 5.

Research Requirements

You should start by reading widely on your infrastructure project and you should identify the
specific angle/issue/question you want to focus on. This could involve looking at the perspectives
of a particular community (Indigenous or settler), focusing on a specific issue such as methylmercury
contamination, carbon dioxide emissions, pipeline leaks, issues related to ‘Duty to Consult’ or other
specific topics or points of focus. Narrowing down your interests and focus is key for this
assignment and moving forward.

In light of your reading, develop your research question associated with your infrastructure project.
What is the key question that has emerged for you while completing your research? In other words,
what is the key question, both topically and analytically, that you will investigate in this assignment
and in your Research Proposal and Research Paper? Your research question should be as specific as
possible.

Alongside of your research questions, you are required to find and discuss ten sources for this second
assignment. The ten sources are in addition to the five pieces you used in Assignment 1. At this stage
you should begin to think systematically about how you will take notes and manage the material you
are working with – in short, be organized! You will be digesting a lot of material so you need a
system for storing it, note taking, recalling and presenting information and for effectively quoting
and referencing material.

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Five of your sources should be secondary sources, meaning from news, journalistic, blogs or social
media sources. For these sources you should use library and web searches. Five of the sources must
be primary research materials, meaning they should be submissions to the relevant review panels or
reports/documents generated by communities and organizations directly engaged with, and/or
affected by, the infrastructure project. Below I provide suggestions about how to access primary
research materials related to each project. You will have to take initiative and time to find and
explore your primary research sources. You will notice there are an enormous number of sources
related to each research project, which is why you need to develop some focus at this early stage of
your research. When selecting your media and primary research sources you should ask yourself the
following questions: What does this source do for me? How does it relate to my topic? Does the
source provide me with relevant information? What perspectives are offered? What is the
positionality of the author(s)? Can I find a better source?

Generating Primary Sources

Read the text below and follow the appropriate link to find primary sources related to your project.

1) The LNG Canada Export Terminal Project

The British Columbia government that administered the environmental assessment for the LNG
Canada Export Terminal Project and hosts an online repository for all submissions related to
projects reviewed by the government. Sources related to the project can be found here:
• https://projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/p/588511d0aaecd9001b826192/certificates

2) Enbridge Line 9 Reversal

The National Energy Board’s (NEB) REGDOCS system provides an online repository for all
submissions related to projects reviewed by the NEB. Sources related to the Line 9 project can
be found here:
• Application for the Line 9B Reversal and Line 9 Capacity Expansion Project (OH-002-
2013). To access submissions/files go to ‘Hearing Documents’ and click ‘Folder 890819’ at
the following website: https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/pplctnflng/mjrpp/ln9brvrsl/index-
eng.html#s3 or here: https://apps.cer-rec.gc.ca/REGDOCS/Item/View/890819

3) Jay Project, an expansion of the Ekati Diamond Mine

The Mackenzie Valley Review Board conducted the environmental assessment of the Jay Project
and provides an online registry that includes a range of documents, comments, responses, panel
records and additional information related to projects being assessed. Sources related to the
project be found here:
• https://reviewboard.ca/registry/ea1314-01

4) Teck Resources Ltd. Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project

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 The Canadian Energy Regulator’s (CER) REGDOCS system provides an online repository for
all submissions related to projects reviewed by the CER. Sources related to the Frontier project
can be found here:

• Teck Resources Ltd. Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project, Reference Number 65505, To access
submissions/files go to: https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/65505?culture=en-CA

Assignment Requirements

Your assignment should include:

a) A presentation of your research questions that should be half a page in length and written in full
sentences. Use the space to provide necessary context and to fully articulate/develop your
research questions. These are very large infrastructure projects and you need to establish your
particular questions and lens into the issue so you can effectively focus your research and course
work. Your questions should reflect the specific issues, angles, conflicts or processes you want to
focus on. Whatever the focus is, it should anchor and animate your course work for the term.
Remember, you can’t do everything in these assignments, and a focused project is always going
to be better than a large unwieldy piece of research.

b) A one-paragraph summary of each of your sources, which should also include a discussion of
why each source is relevant/important to your research project. Be sure to include proper
reference information. Additionally, ensure that you are summarizing the sources in your own
words. Aim to be as substantive as possible and try to articulate why each piece is meaningful to
your project.

Your assignment should be 5-6 pages in length (approximately 1250-1500 words) not including
references. Please provide a word count of your assignment.

Additional Instructions

• Writing in the first person is encouraged

• No title page required
• Name, student number and course code in assignment header
• Page numbers (preferably at bottom of page)
• Double-spaced
• Standard 1” margins
• 12 pt (Times New Roman, Garamond) OR 10 pt (Arial) font
• Headings/sub-headings recommended
• Use APA format for citations and bibliographies. Please see resources available through the
following web site for information on this referencing style:
https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/documentation/
• Note that plagiarism (passing off somebody else’s ideas, written or otherwise, as your own) is a
serious offense