Applying a health lens to the Environmental Assessment process: a British Columbia case study of the Ajax mine proposal

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dc.contributor.authorYehia, Erin Jade
dc.contributor.supervisorHayes, Michael
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-02T23:41:52Z
dc.date.available2020-01-02T23:41:52Z
dc.date.copyright2019en_US
dc.date.issued2020-01-02
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Geography
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science M.Sc.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis presents a case study of an open pit mine proposal in Kamloops, BC. During an integrated Environmental (Impact) Assessment (EA) process mandated by the Provincial and Federal governments, stakeholders addressed the mine’s environmental, social, heritage, economic, and health-related impacts. At the end of a 7-year process, the application was denied. My research sought to examine how health was conceptualized in the EA, and, specifically, had the mine been approved, how would the permit conditions have protected the public from adverse health effects. To that end, I conducted a review of health-related documents incorporated in the EA and studied the results through a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) lens based on guidance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). As well as reviewing and analyzing the EA documents, I conducted interviews with participants in and outside the formal stakeholder group, as prescribed by the IFC HIA Guidance. Specifically, my analysis was based on the scoping phase of the assessment, and the baseline health profile that was included, using this internationally recognized HIA framework. My results show that the social determinants of health were not factored into the EA as per HIA best practice. Many in the formal stakeholder group, and outside of it, felt that institutional barriers prevented inclusion of the social determinants of health in the assessment. That finding raises questions about the reality of EA processes to protect public health.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/11437
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectHealth Impact Assessmenten_US
dc.subjecthealth impactsen_US
dc.subjectInternational Finance Corporationen_US
dc.subjectbaseline health dataen_US
dc.subjectscopingen_US
dc.subjectminingen_US
dc.subjectAjax mineen_US
dc.subjectsocial determinants of healthen_US
dc.subjectEnvironmental Assessmenten_US
dc.subjectBritish Columbiaen_US
dc.titleApplying a health lens to the Environmental Assessment process: a British Columbia case study of the Ajax mine proposalen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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