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. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

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. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This study was concerned with analysis of the habitat of beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl). The hypothesis that an animal's condition reflects the adequacy of its environment was used as a basis for the evaluation. The growth rates of beaver on two different habitat types in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, are compared and the habitats are classified accordingly. Beaver were raised under experimental conditions at the University of British Columbia and the growth rates and feed consumptions were recorded. The bioenergetics of the beaver are calculated and the results, combined with qualitative and quantitative measures of the habitats on the study areas, are used to elucidate the energy relations of the natural colonies of beaver under study. The relative growth of some organ weights and body measurements are described. Unsuccessful attempts are made to derive a condition index for beaver by using all measurements available and subjecting them to various analyses. Finally, the sequential measurements of beaver on the study areas are compared for both summer and winter seasons. These studies indicated that the condition of a beaver, whether measured by growth rate or relative growth, accurately designates the value of its habitat. Differences in condition of beaver occurred most prominently during the winter as a result of the strict limitations in the quality and quantity of available food. Fourteen beaver livers were analyzed to determine whether a chemical change of liver tissue accompanies a change in the condition of the animal. Over the period studied, May 2 to October 15, no progressive change could be found. The reproductive rates of beaver from Elk Island National Park, Alberta, and Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, are compared. Beaver from the former park showed a significantly higher reproductive rate. This was correlated with habitat differences between the two areas indicating that the reproductive rate is another attribute of the animal which will reflect the adequacy of the environment. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

River regulation imposes direct changes on flow and sediment delivery, producing a suite of downstream responses in channel morphology. On the Peace River in northern British Columbia and Alberta, the W.A.C. Bennett hydroelectric dam has reduced peak flows while leaving sediment load effectively unchanged. My research aims to identify systematic, regulation-induced patterns of channel gradation in the mainstem Peace and its tributaries below the dam. The significance of regulation within the natural variability of basin hydrology is assessed by comparing actual regulated river flows to simulated flows based on reservoir level fluctuations. Mainstem bed elevation changes are assessed from repeatedly surveyed cross-sections and specific gauge records, supplemented by analysis of channel planform change. Results show degradation to be minimal, due to the naturally armoured gravel bed and elimination of competent flows. The predominant pattern in the upper regulated reaches is one of aggradation below tributary confluences and other sediment sources. In the long term, the Peace River may be raising its proximal bed to compensate for a loss of sediment transport capacity since regulation. Backchannel abandonment and other planform changes appear to be occurring more slowly, and may be less important to river slope adjustment. Data from the lower river are few and inconclusive. Tributary gradation was investigated by means of air photo, field surveys and dendrochronology of young floodplains. These methods reveal a range of responses to regulation, including degradation, aggradation and no apparent change. Degradation due to reduced tributary base level appears to attenuate downstream as the Peace River flood is restored by unregulated tributary flows, though this trend is complicated by other factors such as tributary sediment supply, flood timing between tributary and mainstem, and ice activity. Aggradation due to tributary fan growth may mitigate degradation; it is a less prominent response, though it appears to predominate in the lower Smoky River. Regulation is a secondary effect in the tributaries, and its influence on gradation has been limited. On the mainstem, however, it is a primary change, and the resulting channel gradation will take a long time to complete. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

This study examines and compares two well-established private universities in their provincial environments: Trinity Western University (TWU) in British Columbia, and Augustana University College (AUC) in Alberta. Three questions were addressed. First, what were the conditions that enabled TWU and AUC to take root and flourish in their environments? Second, in what way and to what extent are TWU and AUC "private"? Third, how have TWU and AUC survived in their public environments on issues related to achieving degree-granting status, quality control, academic standards and public acceptance? The main finding to the first question is that both universities were established by the faith, perseverance and volunteer action of supporting memberships whose philosophy and beliefs were mainly incongruent with those of the public environment. Both universities were given recognition by politically conservative governments whose ideology extolled the virtues of private initiative. The main finding to the second question is that both universities were not "private" to nearly the same degree. While both universities are recognized for their academic quality by the postsecondary environment, TWU exhibits characteristics that are more distinctive and incongruent with the public environment in its faith-affirming beliefs, governance, financing, missions, academic frameworks, faculty, students and ethical standards. AUC, on the other hand, is far more "public-like" in these aspects, and is formally accountable to and part of the postsecondary education system of Alberta. The conclusion to the third finding is that TWU has depended on maintaining its distinctiveness and financial autonomy whilst maintaining recognition and acceptance by its environment in order to remain viable. AUC, by contrast, has depended on relinquishing much of its distinctiveness and autonomy in order to receive provincial support and recognition. These two cases illustrate that the idea of "private" as opposed to "public" universities should be viewed as a matter of degree rather than in absolute opposite terms. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Seven provinces in Canada have entered tax collection agreements with the federal government whereby that government collects corporate income tax on their behalf. Quebec, Ontario and Alberta have not entered such agreements and levy and collect corporate income tax pursuant to their own legislation and within their own administrative systems. This thesis will examine the problems resulting from the independent approaches taken by Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, as they affect the corporate taxpayer. The problems fall into three categories. First, provincial adoption of the Income Tax Act (Canada), while assuring some similarity between the federal and provincial systems, can have adverse consequences for the corporate taxpayer. Secondly, differences between the legislation of Canada, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta create inconsistencies that present difficulties for the corporate taxpayer. Thirdly, differences in the administrative systems of the three provinces and the federal government increase the cost to the corporate taxpayer and create compliance problems for it. The thesis concludes that the future of the Canadian corporate income tax system will involve even more provincial independence and, therefore, measures to alleviate some of the problems are discussed. These include a new approach to co-operative federalism, an examination of the efficacy of more provincial autonomy and tax harmonization. This analysis shows that the corporate taxpayer would benefit from more cooperation between the federal and provincial governments together with a degree of harmonization of the tax bases. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

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. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Biodiversity has been heavily impacted by anthropogenic landscape changes associated with natural resource extraction. Terrestrial mammals, which disproportionately maintain ecosystem functions, are among the species most affected by anthropogenic landscape changes. In turn, it is important that we incorporate mammal conservation into natural resource extraction to mitigate biodiversity change, for which we must better understand the dynamics of mammal communities. I used data from motion-activated camera traps deployed in the northwest Nearctic to investigate two aspects of mammal communities: how the environment shapes fine-scale mammal diversity and how mammalian predator species coexist. In my first study, I compared how well natural and anthropogenic landscape features explain fine-scale mammal diversity within and between six variably industrialized landscapes. I found that anthropogenic landscape features explain fine-scale mammal diversity better than natural features in heavily industrialized landscapes, where they may increase or decrease diversity. In my second study, I examined whether prey partitioning facilitates the coexistence of mammalian predator species in an industrialized boreal landscape. My findings suggest that sympatric predator species only partially partition prey, as some predator species had identical prey associations. Strikingly, though, I also found that all predators were positively associated with white-tailed deer, an invasive prey species made abundant by industrial landscape changes. Together, these findings reveal that industrial landscape changes significantly alter both the spatial distributions and predator–prey dynamics of mammal communities. This work can inform conservation and restoration strategies for slowing biodiversity change. / Graduate

Entre 2013 et 2017, le projet d’oléoduc Énergie Est a été l’un des plus importants enjeux économique, politique et environnemental des années 2010. Initié pendant le gouvernement conservateur de Stephen Harper et annulé sous le gouvernement libéral de Justin Trudeau, c’est le plus ambitieux projet d’oléoduc de l’histoire du Canada. S’il n’a jamais traversé les provinces d’ouest en est, il est passé au travers de deux gouvernements fédéraux différents ayant leur discours environnemental propre. Or, avec la croissance soutenue de l’exploitation des sables bitumineux et l’édification de nouveaux oléoducs au pays, c’est à se demander si leurs discours sont réellement distincts. Pour réaliser cette étude du discours environnemental fédéral, il a fallu combiner l’analyse du discours avec un cadre théorique permettant de rendre compte de l’impact de l’exploitation des sables bitumineux sur le gouvernement à Ottawa. C’est ainsi que nous en sommes venus à une élaboration conceptuelle combinant une analyse de l’espace, de l’État et de l’histoire canadienne jointes à l’approche de l’analyse du discours. Le résultat de cette thèse est qu’il existe à la fois des similitudes et des dissemblances entre les discours des deux gouvernements. Malgré qu’ils s’amenaient au Parlement en se présentant comme une alternative environnementale sérieuse, les libéraux ont été contraints par des facteurs économiques et politiques hérités du précédent gouvernement conservateur lui-même influencé par une histoire économique canadienne particulière. Énergie Est est un cas éclairant sur la problématique du développement économique au temps des changements climatiques.

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