Policy paucity? Oil development and habitat conservation in Manitoba

Abstract

Oil development has recently increased in the southwestern corner of Manitoba due to a combination of technological adaptation and lower oil prices. This oil production increase has produced an additional impact to an already imperiled landscape, bringing invasive species, contamination and further fragmentation to the southwestern corner of Manitoba. Using a qualitative case study strategy, I found several gaps at the intersection of Manitoba’s habitat protection and oil and gas law and policy. While the province has many habitat conservation policies, there are several issues with the placement of oil and gas activity within the framework, government oversight, private governance, government resources, lack of regional land use planning and cumulative impacts assessment. I ultimately conclude that these gaps stemmed from an overall neoliberal environmental governance model that has predictably, as neoliberal governance does, facilitated short-term economic gains over long-term environmental concerns like species at risk, water quality/quantity and surface habitat protection.