Pursuing Alignment: A Comparison of Public Officials and Citizen Perception of Mine Development

Abstract

Maintaining legitimacy is a crucial objective for public officials to ensure effectiveness. Without legitimacy, political costs rise as the trust in government decreases and policy implementation is delayed; thus, officials handling resource development are encouraged to improve the acceptability of their processes. Therefore, it is essential for the government to understand the values and expectations of the citizens affected by resource development. Such an understanding assists the government in accomplishing its goals. This paper examines two cases, Norrbotten, Sweden, and Saskatchewan, Canada, both of which have established mining operations and similar regulatory frameworks and, during the commodities boom, experienced increased foreign investment and applications for new mines. While most mining projects in Saskatchewan faced little public opposition, some Norrbotten mines met contestation and protest. This paper utilizes survey data that focus on the perspectives of the residents close to the proposed mining operations, as well as interview data from public officials responsible for mine permitting, to examine the relationship between stakeholder influence and trust in government on the acceptability of mining.