Student: Maddy Frawley
Graduation date: May 2018
Capstone type: Thesis
Capstone project:
The Risk of Resource Extraction: A Comparative Case Study of Labor and Land Legislation in Ecuadorian and Canadian Mining Industries
Capstone file(s): Show file | Show file
This thesis explores the spatial injustices in resource extraction industries. It delves into the varying rhetoric which is created by stakeholders, and compares that rhetoric to the realities faced by individuals and communities in both extraction sites and headquarter sites. It uses the contexts of Ecuador and Canada to seek to understand how the representation of resource extraction can create a cyclical pattern of spatial injustice. This research rests on participant observation, content analysis, economic analysis, spatial analysis, and informal legal analysis to understand the complexities of the mining industry. This thesis seeks to answer the question: How do labor and land regulations vary in legislation and enforcement between Vancouver-headquartered mines in Likely, BC and Zaruma, Ecuador? It ultimately suggests that systems of oppression can only be addressed through the uprooting of their roots and the amplification of the truths of marginalized voices.