List of articles and other resources on corporate regionalism.

List of articles and other resources on corporate regionalism.

By Sasha Izard

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While writing articles for CRD Watch, I came to find a much recurrent theme, something that I’ve come to call corporate regionalism.

This is how I defined corporate regionalism in one article:

Corporate regionalism is a corporate push that attempts to substitute local community led interests with outside corporate interests, that are typically profit-driven under the guise of broader regional efforts and initiatives.

This can and frequently includes corporate influence over regional and/or higher levels of government, as a means of pushing such an agenda over localities.

One of the key targets of corporate regionalism, is the use of land.

Corporate regionalism blurs borders, particularly local ones, as industry and government tied to it, advance its agenda over localized areas, often undermining local democracy to achieve its ends.

One of the most powerful tools that corporate regionalism appears to utilize is amalgamation as a means of assimilating and integrating local governments into centralized governance, whereby industry influence is much easier to concentrate and political access in localities is significantly reduced.

Examples of what could be considered corporate regionalism and the presence of which has been felt on the island:

The South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP), the Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly (note a top SIPP delegate provided a presentation to the assembly), Strong Towns, The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, the UDI Capital Region.

Similar in concept are the Digital Supercluster, COAST and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster.

There are many clones of the corporate regionalist approach. They exist far and wide.

Let’s not forget the North Central Local Government Association:

The proposed “Permanent Provincial Housing Policy Roundtable” is an astroturfing effort by the Real Estate Lobby in BC, with the help of a complicit media in the province. Questions must be asked about close to $100 in value gifts to numerous MLAs. – CRD Watch Homepage

Corporate regionalism blurs the line between public and private. It blurs the line between lobbying, informational exchange, education, networking, consultation and advocacy, stakeholder relations/engagement, task forces, and committee meetings; policy shaping, policy making and policy implementing – as corporations seek subtle and sometimes not so subtle regional influence, primarily through influencing politicians to do their bidding through non-governmental organizations that survive from a mixture of public and private funding.

Corporate regionalism also has a tendency to muddy the water between public relations, ‘educational’/promotional material (often glossy), studies, reports, and press releases; between the environment and organizations that make major profits from activities that damage and sometimes permanently alter it. Threats to public health by the activities of the member organizations are often overlooked. Corporate regionalism takes place almost always hand in hand with major greenwashing of industrial activity, and frequently seeks to increase such activity under the guise of pushing economic ‘growth’/expansion and increasing GDP to increase corporate profits regardless of the consequences. Unsustainability and ecological limitations (carrying capacity) are made to blur and be forgotten, being replaced instead with claims of sustainable development.

Corporate regionalism when enacted is almost always top-down in nature. The power structure of its way of operating, does not come from the ground up, although it wants the public to think it operates that way.

Corporate regionalism from the top is often enabled by diplomacy and intergovernmental relations, in some instances begging important questions regarding sovereignty and potential foreign interference. Sometimes it is forced by open and brazen executive use of power e.g. forced amalgamations/local government annexations, or legislation that forces the hand of lower levels of government on local issues/decision-making.

Although it likes to create an appearance of being grassroots, far more often than not corporate regionalism is astroturfing. As it is not driven by community, corporate regionalism will frequently attempt to blur community, e.g. rather than a local community, it will use terms like the development community.

Why is all this allowed to happen? Why is there not appropriate regulation to ensure the lines are not blurred and conflict of interest issues do not arise? It is because governments and corporations have worked together to make it happen. Corporate regionalism is fostered by a wilful blindness by government to not see such issues. It is fostered through intentional lack of regulation, deregulation, heavy handedness by higher levels of government toward lower levels of government, and heavy government funding of the entities themselves that seek to influence government in the favour of their paying corporate member organizations.