In 2006 the Capital Regional District (CRD) initiated an ADR process to resolve a regional dispute that arose from a proposed Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) amendment called Bylaw 3443. The ADR process itself is a provision within the RGS in the Local Government Act, Section 860. Bylaw 3443’s ADR process began with an interest-based facilitation that identified overlapping interests; however, by the end of the facilitation the dispute persisted. Although the facilitated intervention was unable to bring the parties to resolution, the submission chosen by the arbitrator closely resembled the recommendation put forward by the facilitator. The shift in process from facilitation to arbitration, and the content of the resolution itself, led to the central questions of this research. Considering the eventual outcome of arbitration, why did this dispute remain unresolved after facilitation?
This qualitative research utilizes an inquiry-based methodology, a narrative interviewing technique and a discursive analysis. These combined methods enabled the examination of talk and text of participants. The analysis uses discursive notions of power, knowledge and agency to deconstruct descriptions and interpretation of events in the ADR process. The discursive analysis of participant’s actions supports the thesis that people’s conflict actions are shaped by discourse. In this instance, the actions of local governments in the dispute were shaped by the discourses of law, politics and facilitation. This research provides two recommendations. First, the ADR procedures outlined in Local Government Act, Section 860, should be revised to place a greater emphasis on a consensus model of ADR, such as mediation, and less emphasis on the command models of ADR, such as arbitration. Second, there is a sense in resolving political disputes through facilitation, however it recommends that those who facilitate and those that dispute need to be aware of the role discourse plays in shaping conflict and suggest incorporating discursive deconstruction as a practical tool to complement a conflict practitioner’s technique.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/3183 |
| Date | 04 January 2011 |
| Creators | Sistili, Brandy Kathleen |
| Contributors | Ney, Tara |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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