MEDIA ADVISORY - What Is A "Social Licence"? And Does It Cause More Harm Than Good?

CALGARY, Oct. 6, 2014 /CNW/ - "Social licence" is a relatively new term that some interests use to create a different, non-regulatory standard for the approval of projects –especially energy projects. Exactly what a "social licence" entails remains a mystery, as even its advocates seem unable to provide a definition.  Nonetheless, corporations are increasingly being expected to meet the murky terms of social licence in order to proceed with developments.

Over the last few years, pressure for corporations to obtain social licence has skyrocketed, hammering projects like Keystone and the Northern Gateway. But is social licence a meaningful addition to the regulatory process, or is it just a tool being used to slow down regulatory processes, delay project implementation and frustrate energy infrastructure expansion?

Media are invited to join The School of Public Policy for a symposium on social licence, where policy experts from all sides will gather to define social licence, and discuss whether it is real, needs to heeded, or should be ignored.

A program and list of speakers for the symposium can be found here

What:	Symposium on "Social Licence"
When:	Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Open Symposium from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. (all times mountain) Media Scrum to sum up conference findings with Prof. Michal Moore and Jennifer Winter at 2:15 p.m.
Where:	Hotel Arts 119 12th Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2R 0G8

SOURCE: The School of Public Policy - University of Calgary

Media contact: Morten Paulsen, 403.399.3377, [email protected]