Social acceptability in Quebec: a new normative tool for public action

Abstract

Social acceptability (SA) lies at the heart of debates and controversies about environmental public policy and major infrastructure and development projects, and it has become institutionalized in Quebec over the years, given its direct relationship to the concepts of public participation and sustainable development. As an increasingly necessary condition for public action, SA can be understood as a new normative instrument for articulating participatory democracy and representative democracy with strong implications in terms of both procedural and distributive justice. In this article, we seek to answer four questions in order to analyze and gain a better understanding of SA for public action. First, how should SA be defined and approached theoretically? We propose to conceptualize the term in line with existing research on public action instruments. Second, how has the concept evolved over time? We try to answer by analyzing a corpus of reports from the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE). Third, what do the actors involved in SA say? We report on similarities and differences in the testimony provided by public participation professionals (PPPs). Finally, what is the significance and scope of the effects of this new normative instrument, or standard, on projects and decisions? Initial findings are proposed on the basis of three recent and important case studies. By answering these four questions from different angles, we shed new light on SA based on Quebec’s experience.