Trends in environmental and resource management point to a more collaborative, integrated and regional approach, discussed in terms of concepts such as ecosystem management and collaborative planning. Such an approach has the potential to address some of the shortfalls previously encountered in environmental management and nature conservation, and has been the focus of considerable discussion in the literature. While a number of efforts are underway, there remains a need to identify how a regional approach can best be undertaken in practice. This research assessed the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), a recent regional conservation initiative in western North America, which has been the focus of considerable attention in the conservation community. This research assessed the strengths and limitations of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative in terms of its contribution to regional conservation planning, aiming to gain an understanding of implications for similar regional conservation efforts. Literature relating to regional conservation was examined to derive principles for effective regional conservation planning, as a basis for comparison with Y2Y. Drawing from needs of ecosystem management, collaborative planning, and related concepts, criteria were developed to assess the formative stages of a regional approach, emphasising capacity building measures and preconditions for success. In order to assess the strengths and limitations of Y2Y at a regional scale, this research attempted to obtain an understanding of how the Y2Y initiative was perceived by multiple stakeholders in regional conservation, as a basis for interpreting multi-stakeholder involvement and buy-in. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse range of individuals involved (directly and indirectly) in conservation planning, in two communities in the Y2Y region, Canmore and Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. These communities were selected to provide a degree of representation of areas within the Alberta portion of the Y2Y region. Perceptions of successes and obstacles of the initiative were compared with the criteria for effective regional conservation planning. Findings pointed to three recurring themes that influenced the initiative's ability to meet the criteria. These were the need to address both ecological and social components of conservation, the need to include diverse participants, and the need to operate at regional and local scales. These themes are consistent with limitations of traditional conservation and management practices critiqued in the literature, and suggest some substantial obstacles for employing a truly collaborative regional approach to conservation. Reflecting on the findings revealed that the Y2Y initiative was primarily understood as a vision. The Y2Y vision is one that has garnered a great deal of support and momentum, although there is a need to progress beyond the vision to address its potential and apply the ideals it puts forward. Recommendations of this study for Y2Y and similar initiatives included the need to build partnerships with more diverse groups, and the need for the Y2Y vision to be promoted in terms of some tangible, more specific goals. This study identified a need for biophysical, social science, and stakeholder information needs to be assessed and prioritised at the start of an initiative. Additionally, a vision was recognised as an effective rallying point from which to develop a regional conservation planning initiative.

Western Canadian bitumen is becoming a predominant source of energy for North American markets. The bitumen extraction and upgrading processes in the oil sands industry require vast quantities of energy, in the form of power, H2, steam, hot water, diesel fuel, and natural gas. These energy commodities are almost entirely produced using fossil feedstocks/fuels, which results in significant CO2 atmospheric emissions. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technologies are recognized as viable means to mitigate CO2 emissions. Coupling CCS technologies to H2 and power plants can drastically reduce the CO2 emissions intensity of the oil sands industry. The CO2 streams from such plants can be used in Enhanced Oil Recovery, Enhanced Coal Bed Methane, and underground CO2 storage. The above CO2 sinks currently exist in Alberta and roughly half of its territory is deemed suitable for geological storage of CO2. This study investigates the relationship between energy demands, energy costs and CO2 emissions associated with current and proposed oil sands operations using various energy production technologies. Accordingly, two computer models have been developed to serve as energy planning and economic optimization tools for the public and private sectors. The first model is an industry-wide mathematical model, called the Oil Sands Operations Model (OSOM). It serves to quantify the demands for power, H2, steam, hot water, process fuel, and diesel fuel of the oil sands industry for given production levels of bitumen and synthetic crude oil (SCO), by mining and/or thermal extraction techniques. The second model is an optimal economic planning model for large-scale energy production featuring CCS technologies to reduce CO2 emissions in the oil sands industry. Its goal is to feasibly answer the question: What is the optimal combination of energy production technologies, feedstocks, and CO2 capture processes to use in the oil sands industry that will satisfy energy demands at minimal cost while attaining CO2 reduction targets for given SCO and bitumen production levels? In 2003, steam, H2, and power production are the leading sources of CO2 emissions, accounting for approximately 80% of the total emissions of the oil sands industry. The CO2 intensities calculated by the OSOM range from 0.080 to 0.087 tonne CO2 eq/bbl for SCO and 0.037 tonne CO2 eq/bbl for bitumen. The energy costs in 2003 are $13.63/bbl and $5.37/bbl for SCO and bitumen, respectively. The results from the OSOM indicate that demands for steam, H2, and power will catapult between 2003 and 2030. Steam demands for thermal bitumen extraction will triple between 2003-2012 and triple again between 2012-2030. The H2 demands of the oil sands industry will triple by 2012 and grow by a factor of 2.7 thereafter. Power demands will roughly double between 2003 and 2012 and increase by a factor of 2.4 by 2030. The optimal energy infrastructures featured in this work reveal that natural gas oxyfuel and combined-cycle power plants plus coal gasification H2 plants with CO2 capture hold the greatest promise for optimal CO2-constrained oil sands operations. In 2012, the maximum CO2 reduction level attainable with the optimal infrastructure is 25% while in 2030 this figure is 39% with respect to “business as usual” emissions. The optimal energy costs at maximum CO2 reduction in 2012 are $21.43/bbl (mined SCO), $22.48/bbl (thermal SCO) and $7.86/bbl (bitumen). In 2030, these costs are $29.49/bbl (mined SCO), $31.03/bbl (thermal SCO), and $10.32/bbl (bitumen). CO2 transport and storage costs account for between 2-5% of the total energy costs of SCO and are negligible in the case of bitumen. The optimal energy infrastructures are mostly insensitive to variations in H2 and power plant capital costs. The energy costs are sensitive to changes in natural gas prices and insensitive to changes in coal prices. Variations in CO2 transport and storage costs have little impact on SCO energy costs and a null impact on bitumen energy costs. Likewise, all energy costs are insensitive to changes in the length of the CO2 pipeline for transport.

Trends in environmental and resource management point to a more collaborative, integrated and regional approach, discussed in terms of concepts such as ecosystem management and collaborative planning. Such an approach has the potential to address some of the shortfalls previously encountered in environmental management and nature conservation, and has been the focus of considerable discussion in the literature. While a number of efforts are underway, there remains a need to identify how a regional approach can best be undertaken in practice. This research assessed the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), a recent regional conservation initiative in western North America, which has been the focus of considerable attention in the conservation community. This research assessed the strengths and limitations of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative in terms of its contribution to regional conservation planning, aiming to gain an understanding of implications for similar regional conservation efforts. Literature relating to regional conservation was examined to derive principles for effective regional conservation planning, as a basis for comparison with Y2Y. Drawing from needs of ecosystem management, collaborative planning, and related concepts, criteria were developed to assess the formative stages of a regional approach, emphasising capacity building measures and preconditions for success. In order to assess the strengths and limitations of Y2Y at a regional scale, this research attempted to obtain an understanding of how the Y2Y initiative was perceived by multiple stakeholders in regional conservation, as a basis for interpreting multi-stakeholder involvement and buy-in. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse range of individuals involved (directly and indirectly) in conservation planning, in two communities in the Y2Y region, Canmore and Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. These communities were selected to provide a degree of representation of areas within the Alberta portion of the Y2Y region. Perceptions of successes and obstacles of the initiative were compared with the criteria for effective regional conservation planning. Findings pointed to three recurring themes that influenced the initiative's ability to meet the criteria. These were the need to address both ecological and social components of conservation, the need to include diverse participants, and the need to operate at regional and local scales. These themes are consistent with limitations of traditional conservation and management practices critiqued in the literature, and suggest some substantial obstacles for employing a truly collaborative regional approach to conservation. Reflecting on the findings revealed that the Y2Y initiative was primarily understood as a vision. The Y2Y vision is one that has garnered a great deal of support and momentum, although there is a need to progress beyond the vision to address its potential and apply the ideals it puts forward. Recommendations of this study for Y2Y and similar initiatives included the need to build partnerships with more diverse groups, and the need for the Y2Y vision to be promoted in terms of some tangible, more specific goals. This study identified a need for biophysical, social science, and stakeholder information needs to be assessed and prioritised at the start of an initiative. Additionally, a vision was recognised as an effective rallying point from which to develop a regional conservation planning initiative.

Western Canadian bitumen is becoming a predominant source of energy for North American markets. The bitumen extraction and upgrading processes in the oil sands industry require vast quantities of energy, in the form of power, H2, steam, hot water, diesel fuel, and natural gas. These energy commodities are almost entirely produced using fossil feedstocks/fuels, which results in significant CO2 atmospheric emissions. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technologies are recognized as viable means to mitigate CO2 emissions. Coupling CCS technologies to H2 and power plants can drastically reduce the CO2 emissions intensity of the oil sands industry. The CO2 streams from such plants can be used in Enhanced Oil Recovery, Enhanced Coal Bed Methane, and underground CO2 storage. The above CO2 sinks currently exist in Alberta and roughly half of its territory is deemed suitable for geological storage of CO2. This study investigates the relationship between energy demands, energy costs and CO2 emissions associated with current and proposed oil sands operations using various energy production technologies. Accordingly, two computer models have been developed to serve as energy planning and economic optimization tools for the public and private sectors. The first model is an industry-wide mathematical model, called the Oil Sands Operations Model (OSOM). It serves to quantify the demands for power, H2, steam, hot water, process fuel, and diesel fuel of the oil sands industry for given production levels of bitumen and synthetic crude oil (SCO), by mining and/or thermal extraction techniques. The second model is an optimal economic planning model for large-scale energy production featuring CCS technologies to reduce CO2 emissions in the oil sands industry. Its goal is to feasibly answer the question: What is the optimal combination of energy production technologies, feedstocks, and CO2 capture processes to use in the oil sands industry that will satisfy energy demands at minimal cost while attaining CO2 reduction targets for given SCO and bitumen production levels? In 2003, steam, H2, and power production are the leading sources of CO2 emissions, accounting for approximately 80% of the total emissions of the oil sands industry. The CO2 intensities calculated by the OSOM range from 0.080 to 0.087 tonne CO2 eq/bbl for SCO and 0.037 tonne CO2 eq/bbl for bitumen. The energy costs in 2003 are $13.63/bbl and $5.37/bbl for SCO and bitumen, respectively. The results from the OSOM indicate that demands for steam, H2, and power will catapult between 2003 and 2030. Steam demands for thermal bitumen extraction will triple between 2003-2012 and triple again between 2012-2030. The H2 demands of the oil sands industry will triple by 2012 and grow by a factor of 2.7 thereafter. Power demands will roughly double between 2003 and 2012 and increase by a factor of 2.4 by 2030. The optimal energy infrastructures featured in this work reveal that natural gas oxyfuel and combined-cycle power plants plus coal gasification H2 plants with CO2 capture hold the greatest promise for optimal CO2-constrained oil sands operations. In 2012, the maximum CO2 reduction level attainable with the optimal infrastructure is 25% while in 2030 this figure is 39% with respect to “business as usual” emissions. The optimal energy costs at maximum CO2 reduction in 2012 are $21.43/bbl (mined SCO), $22.48/bbl (thermal SCO) and $7.86/bbl (bitumen). In 2030, these costs are $29.49/bbl (mined SCO), $31.03/bbl (thermal SCO), and $10.32/bbl (bitumen). CO2 transport and storage costs account for between 2-5% of the total energy costs of SCO and are negligible in the case of bitumen. The optimal energy infrastructures are mostly insensitive to variations in H2 and power plant capital costs. The energy costs are sensitive to changes in natural gas prices and insensitive to changes in coal prices. Variations in CO2 transport and storage costs have little impact on SCO energy costs and a null impact on bitumen energy costs. Likewise, all energy costs are insensitive to changes in the length of the CO2 pipeline for transport.

Recent studies of labour have clearly established that the capitalist state is very involved in the recruitment, relocation and retention of migrant labour forces. Most of the literature tends to analyze migrant labour within the broader social, political and economic context of expanding capitalism. Consequently, studies tend to focus on how the use of migrant labour is profitable to capitalism because it is cheap and easy to exploit. Such studies, however, neglect the ways in which the state actually intervenes in the labour market in order to facilitate the flow of migrant workers to places of employment. Therefore, this thesis explores the relationship between the migration of labour, the state and the reserve army of labour through an analysis of the Native migrant work force in the sugar beet industry in southern Alberta.<p> Through the use of archival material, which includes various federal and provincial documents, annual reports of the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers' Association, newspapers and other materials, the circumstances underlying state intervention in the economy of the southern sugar beet industry became clear. While analyzing the structure of the sugar beet industry in southern Alberta, it was found that throughout much of the history of the sugar beet industry, farmers received low returns for their beet crops. Moreover, farmers also suffered financially from the high cost of machinery and, more recently, from the increased costs for fertilizer and chemical weed controls.<p> An examination of government documents on the FederalProvincial Agricultural Manpower Committee, whose mandate was to recruit workers and move them to areas of need in agricultural sectors throughout Canada, revealed that the federal part of the committee was represented by officials from the Department of Manpower and Immigration and, beginning in the early 1950s, officials from the Department of Indian Affairs, who represented Indians on reserves.<p> When the working conditions in sugar beet industry were examined, it was found that they were very poor for beet workers. In general, the weeding and hoeing of the sugar beets was difficult and the housing accommodations inadequate. Moreover, because of the low return on their beet crops and the high costs of machinery, fertilizer and weed control, the farmers had to keep the cost of labour as low as possible, which, meant paying low wages to beet workers. Moreover, it was found that throughout much the history of the sugar beet industry in southern Alberta, agricultural workers were unprotected by labour laws, which, was very conducive to reproducing conditions for cheap labour. Consequently, few wanted to work in the beet fields of southern Alberta if other employment could be found.<p> Prior to the 1950s the state recruited immigrant workers and even prisoners of war from internment camps to supply farmers with the needed labour for their beet crops. However, in the early 1950s unskilled immigrant labour could no longer be procured for beet work. It was at this time that the sugar beet industry, through the Federal-Provincial Agricultural Manpower Committee, turned to recruiting Natives, particulary northern Alberta and northern Saskatchewan reserve Indians, to perform their labour requirements. In order to maintain this needed work force, the state helped organize Native migratation to southern Alberta at the start of the beet season and also helped ensure that they stayed there for the duration of the needed period.

The novel Salve Creek tells the story of Xavier Creed, a young man murdered in a small industry town in contemporary Northern Alberta. When Xavier goes missing the night of a large bush party, no one notices his absence. Having spoken for months about leaving for Edmonton, his friends and even his own mother assume that he took the Greyhound. Told through the close-third person narration of three main characters—Penelope, Dean, and Westley—the novel takes place over the duration of a year. With the discovery of Xavier’s remains, the narrative moves forwards and backwards in time, pushing against perceptions, as well as both the reader and characters’ understanding of events. Salve Creek is a non-linear narrative told primarily in fragments to reflect the shattered status quo of both town and characters. Penelope, who felt a desire bordering on obsession for Xavier, is particularly affected by his death and finds herself unable to sleep. Her dreams bring her closer to Xavier and repeatedly to the neighbours’ empty field. Dean, who met Penelope the night of the bush party, struggles to communicate his attraction to her. As the novel progresses, his frustration takes increasingly violent shapes. Westley, ten years older than both Dean and Penelope, is a stranger to them both and his actions affect them in ways they cannot see or understand. Salve Creek is a rural noir, written in the new gothic style.

In the spring of 1998, a closed end gravity flow pipeline was installed in the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District. The pipes ranged from 900 mm to 300 mm in diameter. / Manholes were placed at several locations along the pipeline and were used to install velocity meters and pressure transducers, which recorded data every second. Pressures and velocities during periods of steady state were used to calculate the head loss, Re and the Hazen-Williams friction factor, "C", along lengths of constant diameter. / The results were compared to the industry design standard of C = 150 (used for the design of rigid PVC pipe installations) and to the theoretical hydraulically smooth line developed from the Moody diagram and the Darcy-Weisbach equation. Since the maximum and minimum calculated values of C came in the 750 mm and 900 mm diameter pipes, respectively, and all other C values, including those from the 300 mm and 650 mm diameters, fell between these, pipe diameter was assumed not to be a variable. Therefore all the field data was averaged. The average value of Re for the range studied was 9.73 x 105 . The corresponding best-fit C value is 147.7, which is 6.0% lower than the derived theoretical maximum. Since the derived theoretical maximum is the ideal condition and the recorded data was slightly lower and therefore determined be a good representation of what can be expected in true field conditions.

A Christian reformational perspective is introduced and adopted. A critique of modernist, industrialising agriculture is constructed, drawing partly on the work of contemporary agrarian writers. The notion of a regenerative agriculture is advocated. The two ways in which stewardship has been used as an environmental ethic is reviewed: as resource development and conservation, and earthkeeping. The earthkeeping definition is used to formulate the normative concept of agricultural stewardship. The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO) was established by Dutch neo-Calvinist immigrants in the early 1950s, the Christian Farmers Federation of Alberta (CFFA) by the same community in the early 1970s. The history of these two small general farmers' organisations is detailed against the backdrop of separate Christian organisations in the Netherlands and North America. Direct links are traced back to the Christelijke Boeren- en Tuindersbond (CBTB), the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Union, established in the Netherlands in 1918. CFFO and CFFA (which changed its name to Earthkeeping in 1992) are presented as institutions reflecting a "transformational" approach to Christian social action, existing within the mainstream of modern society and agriculture, seeking to transform them. The role of stewardship and the significance of the family farm in the policies of the two Federations are analysed, along with their efforts to protect agricultural land from urban and industrial encroachment. Both Federations have become leading farmers' organisations in environmental issues. An analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews with CFFA members and non-members in two areas of central Alberta in 1986 shows the significance of stewardship in the beliefs and farming practices of CFFA members. An ecological stewardship index is constructed to explore the use of land management practices. In general, the CFFA members interviewed were using practices that were more environmentally responsible than their neighbours, although there were differences between the two locales studied. It is concluded that the mode of institutional organisation of the two Federations has enabled their members to have more influence, to articulate their views more clearly, and to promote agricultural stewardship more widely.

The Lake Minnewanka area is one of Banff National Park's most scenic and highly visited regions. Impacts such as the loss of significant montane habitat (characteristic of the Lower Bow Valley ecosystem) and social implications like crowding led to the need to develop a strategy for managing the area. The author worked with a planning team from the Canadian Parks Service(CPS) in Banff National Park (BNP) to develop the Minnewanka Area Plan. The primary purpose of the thesis is to evaluate the Minnewanka Area Plan to determine whether it effectively serves to maintain and enhance ecological integrity. A theoretical framework based on integrated ecosystem management was developed to evaluate the plan. Normative criteria from literature on recreational carrying capacity management and meaningful public participation were defined and applied to the plan. Overall, the plan was rated as successful according to the normative criteria. All of the criteria for an effective approach to carrying capacity management were considered and the plan reflected a fair and efficient public participation process. Stakeholder input influenced plan decisions to a high degree and several partnerships were developed through the planning process. Several inadequacies in the plan were identified through the evaluation. The adoption of an approach to ecosystem management called the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) was recommended as a guiding principle within the plan. The step-by-step LAC model was seen as overly complex in the context of the case study. Indicators and a monitoring program which are central to the LAC process were not defined as part of the plan. The evaluation of the public participation process indicated that stakeholder participation was high early in the planning process and reflected a partnership relationship where stakeholders shared the power of decision-making. During completion of the draft and final plan, the process became one of public consultation where the level and frequency of participation was lowered. Recommendations for improving the efficacy of the Minnewanka Area Plan are made within the thesis. A simpler approach to visitor and resource management which maintains the essential criteria of the LAC approach is suggested. Measures for maintaining a high level of public participation and improving the accountability of the CPS in decision-making are proposed. The normative criteria based on carrying capacity management and meaningful public participation processes are presented as a model for facilitating integrated ecosystem management in area planning within national parks.

This Thesis Project is about remembrance and its embodiment in the retention of the physical history of place. That history is both individual and collective, oscillating through time, admitting the present into the past and the past into the future. The Project reflects upon the physical artifact and the circumstances of place which are its own history. Projected upon this reflection is the human experience of that artifact and of that place. In addition, within the realm of the artifact, exists the systemic, an interrelationship between and within which induces a conceptual and physiological layering. The systemic, in turn, has a temporal aspect which engages both of the focal ideas, memory and history. The figures which follow record the transformation (or remembering) of an existing Hotel structure, known as the Commercial Hotel, located in the Old Strathcona district of Edmonton. The program reinvents the existing hotel, bar, restaurant and retail components into a more intensive layering, or system, of variable accommodation, pub, micro brewery, restaurant and performance venue. The existing artifact is an armature for this reinvention, woven into the project additions, reassessing relationships to wall, vertical separation, and inside versus outside. The Project configures itself as having a strong street edge along the main thoroughfare of Strathcona, Whyte Avenue, consistent with the morphological history of this place, which is penetrated by a formal passage through the site. The passage opens up into a performance court, previously a parking lot, which is an extension of the pub and restaurant, and an opportunity for the site to intimately engage the variety of festivals which the Old Strathcona neighbourhood annually hosts. The site becomes a destination of multiplicity, beyond the established renown of the Commercial Hotel as a Jazz and Blues venue. In addition, this multiplicity is embodied by the opening up of the internal system of the existing building, through the vertical penetration of the brewery component. Thus, the systemic of relationships is continuously engaged within the memory of the artifact.