A stake in the future

the long version

A Stake in the Future looks at the Whitehorse Mining Initiative (WMI), an effort by the Canadian mineral industry to forge new alliances with other groups who have an interest in the continuing viability of mining in Canada. The WMI's goals were to revitalize the mineral industry, attract new investment, and create agreement among major stakeholders such as the government, environmental groups, First Nations, the mining industry, and labour. It was unique in that it developed a consensus-based approach to resolve the land- and resource-use disputes that inevitably arise between various stakeholders. A Stake in the Future describes the process of implementing the WMI from its conceptual beginnings to the working group stage to the signing of the final accord. The book also explores the efforts of the signatories to implement the vision of the agreement after its signing. Based on extensive interviews with many participants, Mary Louise McAllister and Cynthia Alexander discuss the changing public policy environment, the growing use of alternative dispute resolution, the challenges posed by consensus-base processes in developing a common vision, and the implications of such processes for representative democracy.