* * *

The music in her ears was the perfect accompaniment for the raindrops rolling down the window to her right, just inches from her face. Staring out from the moving train car, she could see her reflection, transparently floating above the passing landscape. David Gray was singing in her ear about empty pictures frames, while the individual drops splashed on the other side of the glass, sliding down and merging with others into streams, which in turn became pools before they overflowed.

Having boarded the train five hours ago, Carissa was now resigned to her fate. The idea of drastic life change had settled in as reality, and she sat silently, lost in thoughts about what to do next; where to go from here. Her own reflection was suddenly blocked; her eyes distracted then focusing on a dark moving shape at the back of the train car, still a reflection – but an interesting one. Not daring to tear her eyes away, Clarissa watched as the indistinct shape became a young man, shaking off a wet umbrella as he walked down the aisle, coming nearer. He passed in front of her row and their eyes met briefly in the glass. He settled into the seat facing hers. “Oh god. Here we go,” Clarissa thought. “Another horny weirdo.”

* * *

‘God, it’s really coming down out there,’ Nick thought as he tried to ignore the dampness that had crept into his pants from the rain, cold legs and a sticky crotch. As he walked down the aisle, he raised his head, noticing the emptiness of the train, before noticing the beautiful woman he was just about to pass. He noticed that she was staring out the window, so he continued past her and sat down in the next one, across the aisle from her but still able to be looking at her.
“Now I just need some kind of conversation starter to break the silence,” he thought his mind racing for a conversation topic to strike a casual acquaintance. She had yet to look at him, but he could still see her pale reflection in the glass. Their eyes locked in the glass for a second time and he blurted out, “so, where are you going?” He had second thoughts about it the minute it escaped his lips, realizing he had not even introduced himself. In fact, she looked mesmerized by the passing hillsides and power lines.

* * *

She turned her head away from the window and towards him. A suspicious look in her eye made it obvious she did not appreciate the effort. “Are you talking to me?” Carissa asked as she sized him up for the first real time.

“Uh-h yea, I guess so, since in case you didn’t notice, there’s no one else here. We are practically the only one in this car.” Richard replied. “My name is Richard, but my friends call me Nick for some reason, and I’m heading up to Thunder Bay. You don’t need to be worried.”

She hesitated before speaking, sizing him up. After all, she thought defensively. “He could be a secret agent or some stalker-rapist like from Law and Order on TV. He did have kind of a cute dimple, she thought, and a really shiny watch. “My name is Charlotte” Carissa lied, thinking ‘Why not get started on the right foot. To him, I can be whomever I want and he will never know about any of that other shit, that past life. I could leave that all behind and start over; no more threats, no cheating glances, no more never-ending frustrations.’

* * *

‘She doesn’t seem very happy,’ Nick thought, while admiring the ringlets in her hair. They looked natural, bouncy and… wow. He realized he was truly distracted, while he watched as she raised her left hand and pulled an ear bud headphone from her ear. “At last,” he thought, “a crack in the armor and an opening moment.”

“What are you listening to?” he asked, thinking it a good question; open ended with no room for yes or no answers, effectively leaving the conversational ball in her court.

* * *

“Well…” Carissa started, with a strange mischievous look in her eye. “I guess I’m listening to you now. I was listening to David Gray – a guy from England,” she sniped grinning mischievously. “I was listening to David Gray. He’s mellow,” she trailed off. “I was daydreaming.”

“David Gray eh,” Nick said, “kicking himself for sounding so…. Canadian. “I’ve never heard of him but he sounds appropriate for a miserable day like this. I think I still have water in my ear,” he added, putting a finger in his ear to emphasize the grievance.

She made direct eye contact and her smirk disappeared, replaced by that stern look that her reflection has displayed minutes earlier. “I like the rain,” she said slowly. “It washes everything away – makes it all fresh and new, washes all the dirt away. And it smells good afterwards, I think.” Blushing slightly, as though she had revealed something sacred, she glanced away and adjusted the strap of the bag she was clinging to. The train suddenly began to slow; an intense de-celeration occurring. The whole train car gyrated with a rhythm, and the piercing squeal of brakes was almost overpowering. “What the heck?” Nick asked aloud, as he looked out the window. “Where are we?”

Pressing his cheek against the glass, he looked out the window, peering down the side of the train, looking towards the lead engine. The landscape was slowing, trees coming into focus and three black jeeps appeared in the distance, pulling out of a dirt road that ran parallel to the train tracks that had just become visible, emerging from the trees. The windows of the jeeps were all tinted black, and there were three tall antennas rising from the roof of each one. Glancing back at Charlotte across the aisle, Nick whispered, “I think I see something weird going on up there. There’s a bunch of jeeps that look military… like from Fringe or the X-Files or something – para-military even.”

“Shit.” Carissa thought. “Here we go again,” she thought, wondering how those bastards kept finding her so quickly. Reaching across the empty space, she grabbed Richard’s wrists and spoke firmly – her eyes drilling into his. “You seem nice, and you’re pretty good looking. You can come with me right now and we both might die. Or you can sit here and continue on your journey to Thunder Bay, forever wondering about that girl you met on the train that time.”

She confronted him with it so quickly that Nick had no time to think. There was a fire in her eyes; a gleam that was otherworldly.

“What do you know?” he asked, in a higher voice than he have liked. “What’s going on? What’s happening? Are those trucks here for…. where are you going….”, his questions trailed off, as she stood up and starting heading down the aisle toward the back of the train. His thoughts were racing, mulling over this unexpectedly tantalizing offer. “She’s really pretty,” he heard his body say, “but what the hell was going on…” His mind wandered, and he briefly imagined her curls bouncing on the pillow of his bed back home. This arousing thought was quickly interrupted by the sound of the train car’s emergency doors being pried open. “Something’s up,” he mumbled under his breath, “I should just be cool,” he feared, suddenly worried that there was a criminal on the train somewhere. He started thinking about the expired parking tickets he had been putting off paying for three months, these thoughts still mixed with the possibilities presented by the sudden invitation she had thrust upon him. He’d become so entranced with thoughts of this beautiful stranger with delicious curls, that he had not noticed her exit. He snapped out of his thoughts just in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of this girl’s nicely shaped behind, dashing down the aisle of the next train car, heading for the exit at the end of the next car.

He was getting up to follow her when the door at opposite end of their train car burst open, revealing two men in black military clothing. He tried to get a look at them, but his vision was drawn to the weapons they had just raised. One of them grabbed a communicator from his hip and started speaking a strange language. “Their guns look German or something,” Nick pondered, “with barrels that are twisted or something’.” Nick suddenly realized the fragile position he was in. She had left him here out one way, and these guys just came in the other. He had to make a choice – torn between two open doors on a train in the middle of lake country Ontario. One of the soldier types put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him meekly back into his seat. Hearing a muffled cough, Nick looked back over his shoulder, startled by a silent man wearing a blue suit and strange sunglasses with a red sheen. The sunglasses had a weird red sheen. Nick wondered what video game these guys had stepped out of. First the funny guns, now the ridiculous eyewear, not to mention this beautiful mystery woman – Charlotte.

Sitting down, Nick watched as the two soldiers started to run down the aisle, heading in the direction that she had bolted. “She’s probably five cars down by now”, he figured, noticing that he had unconsciously crossed his fingers for her. He thought back to 30 minutes earlier, when he had board the train, and could picture her making her way through the luggage compartment.

“Where is she?” Red Glasses asked Nick suddenly, with steel determination in his voice and one of those funny guns pointed into the side of Nick’s neck. It was like that cyborg from the Terminator movie was standing before Nick, he thought, fearing his pants might get a little bit wetter.

Raising his hands over his head, Nick said honestly, with an appropriate level of conviction: “I swear to you man… I thought she was cute and I flirted with her – but she took off and went that way when the train stopped. I was just about to give her my phone number and now…“, his voice trailed off, lest cowardice begin to make it tremble. His eyes told the entire story.

Red Glasses poked Nick in the chest with his twisted rifle barrel. The gun seemed to be made of a kind of metal unlike any other that Nick had ever come across. More aggressive weapon handling by Red Glasses forced Nick back into his chair. “Sit and stay,” Red Glasses boomed, his authority unquestionable.

“I’m not going anywhere – trust me – I just want to be in Thunder Bay by Saturday, there’s a big hockey game at the -” he was cut off, noticing that Red Glasses had taken off in the direction that Charlotte had gone, the two soldiers having already followed. Red Glasses was moving quickly, a stiff gait in his walk.

Alone now for first time since he had boarded the train in Winnipeg, Nick quickly slipped his watch off his wrist, flipping it over before using his fingernail to pry the back panel off, revealing a glowing green bar within.
The watch was actually a satellite transponder, now set to record; providing detailed location information of the subject, Carissa. He was assigned to protect her. Nick thought it was kind of cute that she had picked the name Charlotte when she had been asked. “It’s like she really wanted to try something new and have a fresh start,” he thought, before his mind wandered to the name Charlotte and its relation to a childhood story about a spider and a pig. He hoped that ‘Charlotte’ would appreciate the incoming backup. Nick was sorry he had to miss it, and wished that the boss had allowed him to carry his .45 on this mission. At least he knew he could always catch the backup SAT-feed recordings in a few hours. He closed his eyes and sent a mental wish to this pretty target – praying she would be safe for just a few more minutes. The train sat motionless, until the gunfire started.

* * *

After entering the luggage compartment Carissa grabbed a dozen duffle bags off from the racks, stacking and piling them to create a makeshift ladder, tall enough to reach the rooftop fire escape. Climbing up the stack awkwardly and trying to keep her balance, she extended her arm, her fingertips stretching to reach the small lever that would release the catch. She had flipped the hatch up and was just pulling her feet up through the opening when she heard the first shots.

The soldiers were shooting at her feet as they dangled. She could not let them disable her, Carissa thought – staying immobile would mean certain death. The thought was fleeting, and Carissa was off and racing down the train towards the last car – maintaining her balance and leaping over the gaps between as she went.

The universe of stars above her made her head spin, suddenly filled with paranoid delusions about satellites and being under observation. She thought briefly about what to do next, and then saw that the train was currently resting over a small ravine filled with snow. The snow sparkled in the late night air. She jumped.

* * *

The air was suddenly filled with the tremendous buzzing sound of helicopter rotor blades, and Carissa identified two aircraft fast. Moments later, troops of men wearing black combat gear began to rappel, sliding down ropes and landing on top of the train. Guns raised, the men swarmed over the train, blowing open hatches and dropping inside. Carissa took advantage of the moment, keeping one eye on the helicopters overhead while she crawled on her belly towards the next clump of bushes. She could see the beginning of a forest that stretched for miles, only 100 yards away. Keeping her head low and sprinting toward the trees, she kept expecting to hear gunfire and be hit in the back by a cannon round.

She dove into the woods, rolling and coming to a crouch behind a large tree trunk.

Breathing heavy, she thought about that nice guy on the train, who seemed so kind and harmless, even with his wet pants. She smiled at the memory of the dimple on his cheek, then remembered that she didn’t even know his real name. Taking a deep breath, she listened carefully for 30 more seconds, and then backed away into the dark to disappear again. She wondered how they kept finding her and how long she could stay free. She still half-wondered why they wanted her so bad; why they had been after her since she escaped that institute with all those other freaky experiments. Wishing one more time that Nick would have joined her on the run, she shook her head and muttered to herself, “Nah… Come on… he would have just slowed ya down – you know Carissa – you’re fast as hell.”

Then she was gone.

Curtis Matwychuk-Goodman

—

The highest expression of friendship has been described as being love based in marriage and that which is based in virtuous moral character.  It has been articulated as being based within action, where certain expressions make true friendships possible for humanity.  When friendship exists, an individual is able to develop morally, intellectually and spiritually.  Since all individual actions are aggregated within society, when there is a greater occurrence of true friendship between the self and others, there is a type of intellectual and moral transcendence that society itself experiences.  In turn, engaging true friendships can be thought of as beneficial to humanity.

I will argue here that true friendship is based in recognition of others, spirituality, intellectual acuity, and first begins with knowing oneself.  True friendship is made possible by distinct expressions of human action and feelings.  This paper will provide perspective on true friendship by utilizing texts written in the enlightenment and ancient periods of thought.  Specifically this paper will compare and contrast the writings of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard on marriage from Part II of “Either/Or” with the writings on ethics and virtue friendship by ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle as found in Books VIII and IX of the “Nicomachean Ethics.” The idea of marriage and true friendship will be used somewhat interchangeably.

The structure of this paper will first focus on the main argument of Kierkegaard from the first chapter, “The Esthetic Validity of Marriage,” from Part II in Either/Or.  This discussion will center on interpreting Judge William’s letter to a younger friend and his understanding of marriage as true friendship.  True friendship for Kierkegaard is based within a strong relationship with God.  His discussion is predicated on the belief human nature is either – to conquer, or to possess.  In marriage one is able to possess and has no need to conquer which seems to indicate a transcendence of human nature.  Such a relationship allows for the concrete development of humans because it is a process of internal and external self-realization.  In this way, Kierkegaard believes a marriage builds a relationship with God which makes it eternal, historical and morally correct.

Following Kierkegaard’s main argument a brief review of relevant secondary literature will be discussed as the second part of this paper.  In particular this paper will review: Amy Hall’s “Kierkegaard and the Treachery of Love;” Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Command and Moral Obligation by Stephen Evans; and Graham M. Smith’s “Kierkegaard from the Point of View of The Political.”  This portion will attempt to dissect each article’s main interpretation of Kierkegaard’s understanding of marriage.  In doing so it will broaden this paper’s understanding of Kierkegaard’s true friendship and will seek to answer the question – is friendship based in marriage really the ultimate form of transcendence for humans?

The third section of this paper will present Aristotle’s understanding of friendship.  The Nicomachean Ethics (NE) provides a discussion for which to compare and contrast Kierkegaard’s position.  Aristotle’s main argument is that virtue friendship is the culmination of human experience and is truly the pathway to happiness.  Friendship actively engages the intellectual and ethical self; such realization of ethical and intellectual being is good because of itself.  Therefore Aristotle implies friendship, like justice, is both a means and an end to happiness.  By connecting the idea of justice and the practice of friendship, Aristotle contends that friendship is necessary for a functional society.

The fourth section of this paper will include a brief review of secondary literature interpretations of Aristotle’s true friendship.  The secondary literature argues that Aristotle’s discussion of ‘means’ does not account for the vicious persons of the world and is prone to failure in interpretation.  It questions whether Aristotle correctly addresses the proper way in which to attain the ideal type of friendship?

The fifth section of this paper will compare Kierkegaard and Aristotle’s understandings of true friendship.  It will be clear that marriage and virtue types of friendship are compatible but not fully because of their relative scope and pretenses.  Both philosophers’ ideas of true friendship are rooted in common world perception and are thought to be developed with proximity and openness among people.  Friendship as a natural expression of humanity is also an idea shared by both philosophers.  Although, each philosopher differs on the exact form and meaning of true friendship – a difference entrenched in their respective positions on the means and ends of true friendship.  Kierkegaard’s argument seems heavily centered upon the spiritual ends of friendship; while Aristotle’s argument seems to offer a more applicable and balanced understanding of the means and ends of friendship.

The philosophical perceptions and principles presented within this paper will finally be applied to recent controversy between obtaining public services in Quebec and the Muslim tradition of wearing a niqab.  This paper will try to rationalize the state of affairs and will explain the relevance of true friendship as presented in Kierkegaard, Aristotle, and the secondary literature.  Ultimately this paper will attempt to provide clues as to why such an absurd public debate has ensued and what it may mean about the current state of friendship.

Kierkegaard – Marriage as True Friendship

The “Esthetic Validity of Marriage” by Søren Kierkegaard is the first chapter in Part II of the Either/Or collection of works.  The text is written under a pseudonym and in the form of a letter: from Judge William to the younger Johannes, from The Seducers Diary found in the latter of Part I in Either/Or.  In this way, the Either/Or series should be thought of as a dialogue between the aesthete and the ethical, Johannes and the Judge respectively, and provides the reader with contrasting perspectives available in choosing their own life’s path.

More or less representing the ‘Or’ side of Kierkegaard’s debate, the Judge explicates the ethical significance of marriage and the related importance of forming a true friendship with another person.  This is accomplished by comparing the rightness of an ethical approach to life with that of the aesthete.  More specifically, the Judge outlines the shortfalls of the aesthete, citing concern with immediate pleasures and an overly passive approach to life.  The tone of the Judge’s letter is best described as being admonishing towards Johannes.  The Judge is specific in describing the importance of an up-building process Johannes must undergo.[1] The Judge advises Johannes, based on his seniority and personal experience in life, that he should start to consider marriage.

The Judge criticizes Johannes, the ‘seducer,’ for being too cavalier in his personal relations with others.  Johannes is described as being a virtuoso of romantic and erotic love and because of this he is encouraged to establish better forms of friendship and to take life more seriously,

Just consider your life is passing… when you are no longer shown any further possibilities in life, when recollection alone is left, recollection, but not in the sense in which you love so much, this mixture of fiction and truth, but the earnest and faithful recollection of your conscience.[2]

The Judge explores the dangers of Johannes’ lifestyle; whereby it is to be pitied to pursue the ‘abstract’ through moods and living in illusion because it achieves nothing.  In a way Kierkegaard is also criticizing the light-mindedness of his era.  He is critical because of the debauchery he sees with increasing instances of unethical practices within society.  The ‘Either,’ is erotic and romantic love, which are presented and criticized as the aesthete.  The seducer is associated with immorality and illusionary egotism.  Described as a conquering type of behaviour, these forms of relations are considered detrimental to one’s character because it takes the individual further away from a relationship with God.  It is worth noting that both ‘either’ and ‘or’ are intended to represent the extreme instances of perspective one could have.

The Judge compares the physical dispositions of human nature which he believes are to conquer versus to possess.  The superiority is obvious, “It is not the given that is great, but the acquired.”[3] The judge states that true greatness lies in possessing because it focuses on recollection which develops humility, contentment, patience and prayer.  Recollection provides ability for self growth and helps to realize the temporal realities of humanity.  The Judge recognizes that although it is sad to grow old there is a “much more profound sadness that comes over a person if he cannot grow old.”[4] One can surmise that living without concreteness and reflection does not allow one to fully develop as a person.   Furthermore a “healthy individual lives simultaneously in hope and recollection – only thereby does his life gain true and substantive continuity.”[5] To live concretely is to be historical; to be historical is established through true concrete friendships such as marriage.

The Judge argues marriage is superior to romantic love because it is a transfiguration of romantic love; in the same way that romantic love is a transcendence of mere erotic love.  Marital love acquires meaning over time through ‘concentricity’ and because it is both ethical and religious.[6] This depicts a hierarchy of love where marital love is the human ideal because it engages the spiritual self.  Kierkegaard understands that the ethical and religious implicitly positions marriage backwards in time and forwards in time.  The Judge qualifies marital love as the “infinite moment of love.”[7] Furthermore the Judge describes marital love as concentric which implies an inward motion that opens a spiritual dialogue where “it will fight together with God for itself, will gain itself in patience;” which also implies a historical nature inherent to marital love.[8] The Judge also indicates a change of individual identity in the motion of marital love, where a “person who loves… has lost himself in another, but in losing and forgetting himself in the other he is open to the other and in forgetting himself in another he is remembered in the other.”[9] This perspective is further reinforced by the way the text is presented, as a conversation of three minds within one dialogue.  The main voice is represented by the Judge which also includes the secondary perspective of his own wife, while the tertiary perspective is that of Johannes, as anticipated by the Judge.  The fact that the Judge speaks for both him and his wife represents a belief that marriage is an integration of identity and an expansion of personal disposition.

A spouse is described as a friendship of the highest kind because it expands an individual in an external and internal sense.   Marriage is this way because of the close connection that is forged with another human and with God.  It contributes to internal expansion because it is described as reflective love that begins “with a kind of doubt that there was no possibility of loving anyone else.”[10] It is also understood as an active condition based in openness, described as an “absolute awakening” rooted in intuition, or an irresistible force of attraction towards the other.[11] In being open one is giving wholly and transparently which the Judge says is the mark of the ethical.  Openness is accepting actuality, hiding nothing and taking responsibility for each other’s being.  Confident self-assurance exists through one’s openness; a conception of freedom of self helps to overcome any doubt and is equivocal to accepting God’s will.[12] Reflective love is also based in choice or a sense of self-resignation; best described as the willingness to engage in self-denial for the express interest of the other.  Such sacrificial self-interest leads to the external expansion involved in marriage.

Kierkegaard, by way of the Judge, views marriage as “truly a state well-pleasing to God” that embraces faith, oath, humbleness and freedom.  Together these virtues allow a person to understand and strive for the ideal in life in relation to God’s will.  In this way, Kierkegaard understands marriage is a life calling and therefore the pure existence of it is bound in duty.  Kierkegaard has three specific reasons why marriage is important: it ennobles and cultivates character; it enables procreation of the human race; and it creates family and a sense of home.  Marriage is said to rescue an individual from habits, described as the “tyranny of one-sidedness,” and instills character traits like patience, collaboration and understanding.[13] Children are important because God commands “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”[14] Children also are the “greatest and most significant thing in the world” because they teach us about ourselves through an opportunity to once again experience the whole of life through another.[15] Furthermore, children allow for a comprehension of one’s own life and in having a child one creates a sense of home and is able to begin acquiring possessions.  A sense of home is like a sense of concreteness in life.  By fulfilling all three duty-bound reasons with love and truth, one is truly being Christian and is therefore capable of achieving infinite harmony and wisdom.[16] The rationale is that when many people fulfill the duty of marriage they join and contribute to building a permanent sense of human community or a type of Christian society.   This indicates that a proper marriage is a journey of personal transcendence guided by ethics and morality that contributes to an overall societal betterment.

By being ethical one is able to overcome the human condition of doubt and despair and allow their true personality to show, exposing a concrete self.  The Judge depicts this as a moment of choice, whereby “turning one’s face towards the other you choose yourself absolutely.”[17] Using a gentle stream as a metaphor, a marriage is

…quiet, modest, humming.  It does not have many changements (variations), and yet it is like that water, running, and yet like that water, it has melody, dear to the one who knows it, dear to him precisely because he knows it.[18]

That is to say, being ethical creates a stable sense of self, in agreement with God, and it is because of this that each proper friendship will lead one to choose the good and always make the right choice in their own self becoming.  Such transcendence occurs in a hierarchal fashion; first one’s being is aesthetic, then one becomes ethical, and finally by being spiritual one forges a connection with God, akin to the human pinnacle of life.  “Just as nothing is impossible for God, so nothing is impossible for the religious individual either.”[19] In the journey to know oneself, a spouse is a person’s truest and closest friend that helps elevate oneself to a spiritual level, in connection with God.  Together marriage partners gain courage and strength in their love and spirituality and with God can overcome any challenge in life.

The wedding ceremony is of particular importance for Kierkegaard.  He describes marriage as a uniquely human ceremony that blesses the relationship with a higher unity and connection with God.  Marriage is a union of the universal and particular, “you are also a couple just like them; the same event is being repeated here in you, and you also are standing here alone in the infinite world, alone in the presence of God.”[20] The express intention and the concreteness of the declaration that constitutes a marriage ceremony allows each person in the relationship to be free and Kierkegaard believes that “the freer the individual the more aesthetically beautiful the marriage.”[21] This indicates that Kierkegaard’s motive for marriage is more concerned with appearance and perspective of those from outside the marriage.  Although this is balanced by the statement, “It takes courage to be willing to appear as one really is; it takes courage not to want to buy oneself off from a little humiliation when one can do this by a certain secretiveness…”[22] The concern with outsider’s perception is overcome by the personal development that takes place as a result of the marriage ceremony.  In this way the ceremony of marriage should appeal to the esthetic while fulfilling and bringing the individuals closer to God.

So far this paper has interpreted the main argument of Kierkegaard where the truest form of friendship is experienced through marriage.  Marriage is depicted as an existential reality.  Marriage is a condition for achieving the best form of human existence.  That is, marriage is the means to happiness as experienced through closer spiritual connection with God.  Kierkegaard has provided a spiritual foundation to connect with another person which will be instrumental in my final understanding of true friendship.  Let the discussion now shift to secondary interpretations of Kierkegaard.

Secondary Interpretations of Kierkegaard

This paper will now examine three relevant secondary literature sources in an attempt to expand the understanding of Kierkegaard’s argument.  Is friendship based in marriage really the ultimate form of transcendence for humans?

In his article “Kierkegaard from the Point of View of the Political,” Graham Smith interprets Kierkegaard’s understanding of the political as best understood as being grounded within the spiritual self.  Smith understands Kierkegaard’s main argument as shedding light on selfhood and how it relates to humanity.  The article suggests that any of the varying forms of human political community, be it facism or democracy, have relative shortcomings when compared to the potentiallity of spiritually connected beings.  Since Kierkegaard is considered devoutly Christian there is a recognition that in existence everyone has an implicit responsibility for one another’s wellbeing.  Smith understands Kierkegaard’s perspective as being a concern for society’s overall well-being; the politics of the Judge’s era is depicted as suffering from despair.  Despair is “the failure of the self to relate in the correct way to God (and from this point to others).”[23] To have faith in God is the correct relation with God and will free one from despair.  In this way, Smith interprets Kierkegaard’s self as being either animal or divine in nature – Kierkegaard presents the dichotomy of human nature as a choice.

Smith interprets Kierkegaard’s understanding of the modern political subject and arena as being harsh and pessimistic.

For Kierkegaard modern political subjects veer towards a mistaken sociality: a sociality that manifests in a self-interestedness and anonymity which undermines selfhood. Such a sociality does not take the task of selfhood seriously… Therefore, political life is empty because its participants are empty.[24]

Smith argues that Kierkegaard’s view of his era was that most people do not comprehend the task before them and are unable to relate to the ideal in life.  This is worrisome for Kierkegaard because these people are are therefore incapable of spiritual and moral transcendence.  This brings about the questions, is Kierkegaard’s standard for true friendship set too high for the average person?  Afterall, many people appear to find happiness in life without marriage including devoutly religious priests and monks.  Kierkegaard himself writes from a religious perspective but does not account for his form of true friendship being too exclusive, which it may be.

The chapter “Married Man as Master Thief in Either/Or,” from Amy Hall’s book Kierkegaard and the Treachery of Love, provides a basis to examine Kierkegaard’s fundamental argument of Either/Or.  Hall describes the fundamental necessity of choosing one’s ideals in life as a responsibility – as almost a paradoxical expression in choosing to achieve the self and the ideal self in harmony together.  She understands the Judge’s version of aesthetic interest as being “obtusely cheerful” and that “his domesticated salvation preys upon the solicitous work of his wife.”[25] The dutiful life outlined by the Judge is described as being muscular and implicitly characterizes a woman’s subservient role within the domestic order.[26] In this way, Hall provides a feminist perspective which attempts to expose Kierkegaard’s viewpoint of the ethical as not being transcendence of the human soul.  Hall understands Kierkegaard’s marriage as simply a socially accepted extension of the aesthetic; which should not be viewed as ethical because he implicitly advocates for the subjugation of women.

Hall understands the love for woman exists as a source of pleasure for both the Judge and the seducer.  The fundamental difference is that the Judge’s ethical love is deep and prolonged whereas Johannes’ aesthetic love is shallow and sporadic.[27] Hall interprets the Judge’s marital love as being portrayed as supreme because it is taken into higher concentricity when conferring with God.  In this way, the Judge advocates eroticism that is “enabled by Christian marriage [which] vindicates Christianity as the ‘highest development of the human race.”[28] Hall questions who is really loved in such a three-way relationship between man, woman and God; the answer is that the Judge “continues to use woman as the intercessor who connects him with the finite.”[29] She argues that in much the same way the seducer seeks a pure virgin woman the Judge is also involved in a parastic relationship that is more subtle and based upon a more complex end.

Hall’s interpretation of Kierkegaard questions the stability of his interpretation of the friendship of marriage as really the truest form of friendship.  Hall suggests Kierkegaard’s understanding of marriage as a relationship where the wife “belongs solely to God,” should be considered sacreligious for the Judge claims he is “everything to (his) wife.”[30] This hints that the Judge himself has a contradictory understanding of his own true love.  Hall interprets Kierkegaard’s marital relationship as not about intimate human connection but instead a vehicle for gaining spiritual acceptance among the Christian community.  This begs the questions – is Kierkegaard’s marital love really the truest form of friendship?  If one is not a Christian is Kierkegaard’s model of true friendship at all applicable?  Is true friendship different for men and women?

Chapter two of Stephen Evans’ book Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations, provides an account of the ethical as a stage of existence.  The basis of Evan’s argument rests on the fact that as a whole Kierkegaard’s writings did not really add much to the understanding of human nature but instead consistently called into question human systems.[31] He notes that Kierkegaard does hold traditional stereotypes of the role of men and women in society and contrary to Hall, he does not recognize Kierkegaard as misogynistic.  Evans argues that taken from the highest level of spirituality there is a “fundamental equality between men and women.”[32] Evan’s chapter focuses on Either/Or as being a presentation of the ethical and aesthetic as competing viewpoints on how to live.

The key argument of Part II, as understood by Evans, is that a person’s ideals have direct role in determining the actions undertaken by an individual and are deeply rooted in the ethical.  In consciously choosing the ethical, a person will choose that which is right and will find meaning in their life.  Evans believes the fundamental question at stake for Kierkegaard is whether to “take choice itself seriously, to seek ideals for which a person can live or die” in order to overcome desires by establishing and living up to commitments.[33] Evans believes that the aesthetic and ethical are stances of “existential spheres which can define a person’s life as a whole.”[34] In this way, the aesthetic is based in desire and want, where the ethical is based in commitment and self-sacrifice.  In rejecting the fundamental choice of ideals, the ethical, a person is subject to meaninglessness and a boredom wrought life, which ultimately leads to despair and depression which is understood as the lowest form of human existence.  Evans interpretation indicates that the suffering brought on by guilt sparks a change within a person towards becoming religious and ethical.

Taken together, these three secondary literature interpretations add to our understanding of Kierkegaard.  However, each present some potential shortcomings in Kierkegaard’s true friendship.  Smith recognizes Kierkegaard’s belief that marriage is inherently good in and of itself.  Yet, Smith understands Part II of Either/Or as a lament of the relative shortcomings of the age and Kierkegaard is fundamentally pressing for greater ethical practice and therefore greater sprituality.  Smith’s interpretation begs the question – is Kierkegaard too exclusive in his standard for true friendship?  Hall understands Kierkegaard as a mysoginist.  Her interpretation of marriage as true friendship is not congruent with Kierkegaard.  Hall interpets Kierkegaard’s marriage as the domestication of the female in the express interest of the male’s spirituality, somewhat akin to thievery.  She rejects marriage as true friendship because the goal of spiritual connection with God incites usery for personal gain which takes away from the friendliness of the relationship.  This begs the question – is true friendship the same for both men and women?  Evans, however, rebuffs Hall’s interpretation of Kierkegaard as a mysoginist.  Although Evans argues Kierkegaard did not add much to our understanding of human nature.  Instead he believes Kierkegaard presents a choice between the ethical, and in turn a connection with God, with that of the aesthetic which offers only a meaningless life of despair without God.  In essence a choice of either a full life or an empty life.

The secondary literature brings about many questions, is Kierkegaard’s choice too Christian and exclusive, mysoginistic and unethical, or simply an unattainable standard of friendship?  Moving forward, in an attempt to expand our understanding of true friendship this paper will now examine Aristotle’s argument.  As an old-world philosopher Aristotle comprehends true friendship slightly differently than Kierkegaard; true friendship is not simply found in marriage but is an expression of virtuous moral character.

Aristotle – Friendship as Virtue

Aristotle provides a good source of reflection for Kierkegaard’s interpretations of true friendship.  It is well documented that Kierkegaard studied Aristotle’s work and wrote in reference to him.  In an attempt to establish linkages between Kierkegaard’s Either/Or and Aristotle we will specifically examine the Nicomachean Ethics (NE).  More specifically this paper will focus on Book VIII and IX, respectively described as friendship in relation to community and the self.  It will be clear that true friendship is not excluded to just marriage between a man and woman – but is possible among people of similar essence.

Utility, pleasure and virtue are the three types of friendship described by Aristotle in Book VIII of the NE.  Of the three types, friendship based in virtue is the most important to this discussion.  Virtue friendship is described as a relationship built on mutual love for one another, an attraction of those with likeness of moral character.  Such friendship is the epitome of existence, of action and feeling, in one’s quest to develop a virutous moral character.

Virtuous moral character is the ultimate goal of human life and should be thought of as the fostering of proper action and proper desire.  Described thoroughly in Book II, Aristotle’s description of human characteristics is based upon a choice consisting of means between excess and deficiency in both feelings and action.  An example of human nature described by Aristotle is that of:

Pleasures and pains – though not all of them and less so concerning pains – the mean condition is temperance and the excess is dissipation.  Those who fall short concerning pleasure don’t turn up very often, for which reason they and their sort have not happened on a name, but let them be termed ‘insensible.’[35]

Based on this, to be virtuous in pleasure one must find the mean in their action between tempering the act of indulgence in sweet treats and the suppression of such desires.  That is one must find pleasure in the right measure while avoiding the vice in extreme action and feeling like that of hedonism and ascetecism.  As with other virtues like courage, anger and truth, the NE argues it is of utmost importance to learn how to act within the unpredictability of life.  Furthermore knowing how to be properly affected by any circumstance is the path to a contented and full life.

The culmination of human life is where one knows how to act and feel and is described as one having virtuous moral character.  Aristotle understands like-mindedness of virtuous moral character among a group of people as something similar to friendship.[36] Aristotle believes that a “good person ought to be a lover of self, since he will both profit himself and benefit the others by performing beautiful actions.”[37] This suggests that a person must first love himself and in doing so will understand what is necessary to bring about his individual happiness.  Equipped with such wisdom an individual further develops a virtuous nature by means of active friendships.  Aristotle explicitly states that no happy person would willingly choose to have all good things for only himself “for a human being is meant for a city and is of such a nature as to live with others.”[38] This suggests that in addition to being virtuously beautiful, friendship is necessary for a healthy society.

The culmination of moral character within society could be thought of as the preconditions necessary for justice.  Justice is necessary for a healthy society and is based in equality and reciprocity; justice is described as being either conventional or natural.[39] Conventional justice is a common bond that exists between citizens of a polity and is most apparent in the laws of the land.  His discussion makes it apparent that friendship is an expression of the “fully developed virtue of character” and should be thought of as “more natural than justice.”[40] In this way, Aristotle links justice with friendship because it is naturally based in equality and reciprocity.  Like justice, friendship brings about happiness which is good for its own sake.

A genuine friendship is like justice because a person recognizes the inherent value of his neighbor and naturally wishes for the best in the other’s life.  “So like-mindedness seems to be friendship in a political sense, just as people mean it, for it has to do with what is advantageous and what relates to life.”[41] In virtuous relationships both parties must actively engage in loving one another.  Aristotle is satisfied believing that a good friendship is both a means and an end in achieving such goodness in life.  “Equality or similarity is friendship, and especially the similarity that comes from virtue, since such people are constant in themselves and stay constant toward one another.”[42] This means that people are attracted to one another as a result of similarities in values, habit, and intellect.  This also implies that people are attracted to constancy in such relationships, perhaps because of the predictability of behaviour that develops around friendships.

Aristotle contends human well-being is the highest good in human life to be achieved and is akin to happiness.  Such goodness is possible in the form of virtuous friendship because friendship itself develops an understanding of correct moral feeling and action.  Aristotle states that “those who give freely to one another for their own sake are free of complaints,” which seems to suggest that by engaging in the practice of friendship a life of contentment is likely to follow.[43] In this way, Aristotle believes that friendship is the greatest of external goods because together friends can develop moral sensibilities since friends engage in the exchange of favours they are obviously concerned with the welfare of fellow human beings.[44] In addition to such moral virtue, Aristotle contends that friendship also develops intellectual virtues.  Aristotle believes in order for friendship to flourish one “…ought to share in a friend’s awareness that he is and this would come through living together and sharing conversation and thinking.”[45] The preconditions for friendship exist in living together since proximity enables conversation among humans.

Conversation and shared contemplation allows people to actively engage their intellectual perception and reasoning abilities.  The intellectual virtue of contemplation is characterized by constancy or perseverance of virtuous action that includes dialectic improvements of one’s persona by way of help that only a friendship can provide.  Such close interaction of humans allows intellectual virtue to arise from commonalities that grow with greater association of one another “and they seem to become even better people by putting the friendship to work and by straightening one another out.”[46] This is to suggest that friendship by virtue actually expands the human soul and contributes to the betterment of each individual’s overall character through a type of dialectic process.

Aristotle recognizes that political community is made up of the sum of its parts.  Wherein different types of communities may be characterized by different forms of friendship – all of which together form a greater sense of political community.  The civil relationship that exists in political community both serves individuals and is shaped by an individual’s interaction within society.  Persons of the same city share the same sense of justice and a common purpose; as such, Aristotle understands the form of friendship changes based on different regimes.  The aggregation of virtuous moral character leads to the betterment of society’s overall character.  Aristotle points out “training in virtue would come from living among good people.”[47] Two examples of differences in friendship are found in Chapter 10 of Book VIII, in the regime of kingship friendship is based on beneficense and should be thought of as being similar to a father and son relationship.  Similarly, in the aristocratic regime friendship is based on merit and should be thought of as similar to the relationship between man and wife.  In the case of virtuous friendships, “friends who are equal ought, in accord with their equality, to be equal in loving and all the rest, while those who are unequal ought to give what is proportional to the superiority.”[48] Such equality in loving leads to unconditional reciprocity and a sense of other regarding which is beneficial regardless of the regime’s form.

When humans are conscious of those around them and are genuinely concerned with their well-being Aristotle describes this as the full activation of humanity; for the “highest good of human life is promoting human well-being.”[49] This type of happiness is found in true friendship, which could also be called contemplative friendship; such friendship is the end goal of human life for Aristotle because there is no further level of human satisfaction that could be hoped for.  An important distinction to keep in mind, is that friendship is based in action and constancy, therefore true friendship is never fully achieved but instead should be constantly experienced.

Secondary Interpretations of Aristotle

To expand our understanding of Aristotle’s core argument of friendship as an expression of virtuous moral character this paper will now focus on secondary literature interpretations of the Nicomachean Ethics.  This discussion will include articles from Rosalind Hursthouse, and Ian Adams and R.W. Dyson.  In order to expand this paper’s understanding of Aristotle’s contemplative friendship this paper will determine if Aristotle correctly addresses the forms of friendship and the proper way in which one is to attain such an ideal type of existence.

In Rosalind Hursthouse’s article, “The Central Doctrine of the Mean,” she understands Aristotle’s assertion that the virtuous succeed in finding the mean of action and feeling.  However, because the mean is understood as being relative to the circumstances and is determined by one’s own personal motivation, Aristotle’s standard is prone to failure because even the incompetent and vicious could behave as a virtuous person.  She gives the example:

…bent on deceiving my husband, I aim at “the mean relative to the circumstances,” being careful to avoid appearing too eager that he should go away for a week, without annoying him by appearing too indifferent, arranging to visit some of his relatives but not so many as to leave me without enough time to spend with my lover – and may well hit upon it readily enough if I am clever.[50]

This example provides context, within a marriage, where one can appear to be virtuous without having the actuality of being so.  This is a major blow to Aristotle’s understanding of virtuousness because it suggests a breakdown in his reasoning.  It suggests that it is possible to obtain a suitable and virtuous mean by employing false extremes.  If anyone can appear virtuous, then could they also appear to have the overall virutousness of character necessary for the precondition of true friendship?  If that is the case, then a clever person could deceive others into a contemplative friendship that is indeed not virtuous.

However, this fails to take into account that Aristotle argues constancy is a necessary element in virtuous being.  A vicious person is prone to extremes in action which means if they try to appear virtuous they may only be able to do so for a short time before others notice.  Aristotle argues that through practical wisdom and experience virtuous people can detect such vicious people and would not associate with them.  Therefore a vicious person is incapable of experiencing the highest and best form of friendship because a virtuous person would not engage in the act of friendship in the first place.

Adams and Dyson believe that Aristotle recognizes that although there are numerous forms of friendship there is only one true type of friendship that can bring about the greatest pleasures available in life.  Virtue friendship is most important because of the active disposition to reason.  In actively ‘being a friend’ one engages the entirety of their sense of being and shares their existence with another human being through all human experiences such as the sensations of satisfaction, pain, sadness, joy, excitement, and debate.  Aristotle’s message is that “the good of others can make an important contribution to our own good.”[51] Virtue friendship is affirmed as being supreme true friendship for Adams and Dyson because of the expansion of the self that occurs; specifically the stimulation of philosophical understanding which thereby expands individual capabilities and one’s own satisfaction of existence in this world.  Within this understanding one must question – is it possible for a vicious person to overcome their shortcomings and become a virtuous person through marriage?  Or perhaps more importantly, is it possible for a virtuous person to uplift a vicious person to virtuosity through such an exclusive friendship?

Critical Interpretation of Kierkegaard and Aristotle

Now that we have an acceptable level of understanding of each philosopher, how do Kierkegaard and Aristotle compare with each other?

First let us state the similarities between the two understandings of friendship offered by Kierkegaard and Aristotle.  In both cases the philosophers were sure to establish the rarity of occurrence of true friendship in life; in Chapter 6 of Book VIII Aristotle limits such friendship to a few good people, while Kierkegaard limits such friendship to one instance found only in the married life.  A maximum on true friendships is necessary for both philosophers because such relationships are based on stability and concreteness.  To illustrate true friendship Kierkegaard uses the metaphor of a single stream that is constant, modest and obvious only to those who understand it.  Meanwhile, Aristotle’s logic for a limit on true friendship is based on the contention that there are only so many good people naturally available to be friends with.

Both philosophers agree that proximity, openness and equality are preconditions for a successful friendship.  The concentricity of marriage for Kierkegaard leads to a special closeness of existence to the point that each individual identities become one single entity.  In a marriage, Kierkegaard understands an openness and freedom of spirit exists which leads to one’s personal transcendence.  Aristotle contends that virtue friendship is a culmination of virtue that is based within conversation with another.  Aristotle understands that uninhibited conversation in the company of a friend leads to active reasoning which enables one to become morally and intellectually enlightened.

Both philosophers can be understood within each other’s argument.  The greatest instance of similarity between how Kierkegaard understands friendship that is found within Aristotle’s framework is based within the example of the aristocratic regime.  Aristotle describes friendship in an aristocratic regime as being based on that which is right or what corresponds to what is best.  Aristotle describes this as alike to friendship between man and wife where the relationship is based on merit and actively engages what each does best, like a woman bearing children while the man provides sustenance.  Meanwhile, the greatest instance of similarity between Aristotle’s understandings of friendship within Kierkegaard’s framework of true friendship is the close parallel in forging a spiritual connection with the infinitude.  Aristotle understands happiness (a sense of the infinite) as being experienced through the benefits of virtue friendship.  A contemplative friendship enhances one’s understanding of the world through philosophy.  This is similar to Kierkegaard’s understanding of happiness that is based in marriage because it elevates one in a spiritual conversation with God that leads to one’s own acceptance of reality and finite being.

Of course, there are differences in the two philosopher’s understanding of true friendship.  The most obvious difference is found in Kierkegaard’s express doctrine-based religiosity and the lack of any such religiosity in Aristotle.  Kierkegaard advocates marriage as the means to an end, where the end goal is a closer relationship with God.  Aristotle, on the other hand, advocates a universal viewpoint where the act of friendship is both the means and the end of achieving human happiness.  That is, friendship brings about happiness and is happiness.

Kierkegaard understands true friendship in relation to the ethical and as related to the institution of marriage that is based in commitment and responsibility.  The relative success of such true friendships is preconditioned on shared ethical belief and in being Christian.  This creates a triangle of relation – between the self, the other person and God.  The spiritual connection with God brings about happiness; therefore marriage as true friendship is a means of achieving such a connection.  Kierkegaard places great significance in the marital relationship by saying the “greater the probability that something can be repeated, the less meaning… the less the probability, the greater the meaning.”[52] This is reaffirmed by his understanding that divorce is akin to being a traitor to love; a failure of the delicate nature of marriage.[53] In this way, Kierkegaard understands that since a truly great marriage comes into existence only once in a lifetime it is must be the ultimate and truest form of friendship.

Aristotle understands friendship a little differently.  He views true friendship as an understanding of the ethical that arises from within and is best developed through engaging true friends in conversation and reasoning.  Aristotle sees friendship as based within the individual as a sense of striving.  For Aristotle, one must first know how to feel and act in order to be capable of friendship; in first being a friend to oneself a capability of friendship with others is then possible.  He also understands that true friendships are not permanent, but are subject to change over time.  Aristotle understands that by experiencing true friendship, through shared contemplation and reason, one is actively being happy, which is good in and of itself.  Virtue friendship, by way of its existence, actually expands the human soul and contributes to the betterment of one’s overall character.  Aristotle is not clear as to what form such a true friendship would take; however his description seems to infer that a proper marriage would be an adequate fit.

Both philosophers have a different understanding of true friendship in relation to the self.  Aristotle understands that friendship is based in equality and a shared sense of virtuous morality that is more akin to natural justice.  Aristotle also connects the idea of friendship and the different manifestations with different types of regimes.  The connection that Aristotle draws is that friendship is relational from self to self.   On the other hand, Kierkegaard does recognize equality as a central precondition for true friendship; he does not, however, speak of justice or of friendship in relation to justice.  He fails to directly connect friendship to the larger political community and conceptualizes friendship merely as an individual connection from self to God.  Based on this we can conclude that Aristotle has more of an intellectual focus in trying to broaden the scope of his teachings to be relational to everyone within the polis.  The message of Aristotle is clear, friendship is necessary and the best form is found in actively sharing thought with others.  Whereas Kierkegaard is more narrowly focused on the spiritual and writes to prove marital love as being supreme.  He does not link true friendship to the overall political community but instead attempts to further a specific viewpoint of a tight-knit religious community that he views as superior.

This paper has so far established a foundation of Kierkegaard and Aristotle’s arguments of how true friendship should be thought of.  By comparing and contrasting the two philosophers’ arguments this paper has provided a basis for my own interpretation of the truest form of friendship.  True friendship should be thought of as a balance between the spiritual, the intellectual, the self, and another human being.  These three fundamental elements of being must be properly triangulated to provide human society with the greatest benefits of civilization.  Marriage seems to be a natural and adequate form to embody such a true friendship in its entirety.

Niqab Controversy in Perspective

The final section of this paper will apply my understanding of true friendship as a means of rationalizing the recent niqab controversy in Quebec. The recent controversy in Quebec, Canada is over group rights versus individual rights.  In particular the issue surrounds the offering of public services to people who cover their face with a niqab.  The Globe and Mail recently reported that

“Quebec’s Bill 94… would refuse government services, public employment, educational opportunities and even most medical care to Muslim women wearing the niqab.”[54]

A niqab is a garment worn by Muslim women that most often leaves only the eyes visible while covering the body, face and hair.  To wear the niqab is to adhere to hijab religious and cultural tradition.

It is reasonable to expect that such religious and individual expression would be allowable in the multicultural and religiously free nation of Canada.  However, this appears not to be the case in Quebec.  Is the decision to limit the delivery of public services to people practicing protected religious expressions basically against the democratic nature of Canadian society?  Can either side, the niqab-wearer or the province, be fully justified in their position?

The niqab garment is rooted in religious practice and conceals a woman’s body to the benefit of herself and her husband.  By concealing a woman’s identity while in public she is free from the hassle of wandering eyes and unwanted attention – it is almost a barrier against strangers.  In this way, the idea of the niqab is akin to Kierkegaard’s understanding of true friendship.  In wearing the niqab and adhering to religious practice one is able to develop a spiritual self.  Similarly, the niqab limits most personal human interaction to include only the woman’s husband, family and closest friends.  This reaffirms Kierkegaard’s triangle of relation – the self – the other self – and most importantly, God.  In Kierkegaard’s way, the niqab is very particular in establishing human connection.

If the niqab is such an important personal garment and Canada is a free nation with a history of establishing distinctness within society then why is there controversy?  Critics argue that the niqab is a misogynist instrument; a viewpoint that is, to some degree, in accord with Amy Hall’s interpretation of Kierkegaard’s shortcomings of marital friendship.  Is this congruent with the majority viewpoint of Quebecers with a strong history of Catholicism?  In this fashion, perhaps the niqab issue should be interpreted as a clash of cultures.

Aristotle, on the other hand, explains true friendship existing within the universal but his belief is preconditioned on knowing oneself first.  Wearing a niqab is a way of establishing one’s own identity in Quebec and is a direct expression of one’s uniqueness.  This should not come as being out of the ordinary in a place that has strove to create a distinct identity in and of itself since confederation.

Perhaps the majority of Quebecers seem to hold greater for support Aristotle’s universal understanding of friendship.  Society as a group seems to have a yearning to establish a connection between the self and self as a way to forge political community.  Such a perspective would argue that intellectual connections between the self and community is the best way of establishing true friendships and creating a better society.  Covering the body in such a conservative fashion eliminates any such opportunity to see facial expressions which in turn limits the extent of an intellectual linkage among common people.  The limited freedom and openness of exchange between the niqab wearer and people in society may lead to feelings of mistrust and a sense of cultural threat.

To a certain extent the niqab controversy could be thought of as borne from within extreme expression of Kierkegaard’s viewpoint of spiritual discipleship in marital love.  Similarly the controversy may be based within Aristotle’s interpretation of the need to know oneself before being capable of any form of friendship.  Since both philosophers argue the need for humans to promote the well-being of others they would most likely be equally dismayed at the subjugation of cultural uniqueness and expression of true friendship in Quebec’s attempted suppression of niqabs.  After all, Kierkegaard argues that marriage is necessary to fully develop oneself concretely and Aristotle contends that justice naturally arises from such true friendship.

Quebec please take note and be a better friend to each citizen by respecting the rights of association, intellectual and spiritual pursuit, and by recognizing every citizen as an individual.

Bibliography

Adams, Ian, and R Dyson. Fifty Major Political Thinkers. 2^nd edition. New York: Routledge, 2003.

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Edited by Albert Kieth Witaker. Translated by Joe Sachs. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, 2002.

Evans, Stephen. Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Hall, Amy. Kierkegaard and the Treachery of Love. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Hursthouse, Rosalind. “The Central Doctrine of the Mean.” In The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, by Richard Kraut, 97-115. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

Kierkegaard, Søren. Either/Or. Edited by Howard J. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Vol. II. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987.

Orwin, Clifford. “No room at the Inn for Veiled Women? Get Real Canada.” Globe and Mail, March 31, 2010: Opinions.

Pakaluk, Michael. “Friendship.” Chap. 29 in A Companion to Aristotle, edited by Georgios Anaganostopoulos, 471-482. Chichester, West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing, 2009.

Smith, Graham M. “Kierkegaard from the Point of View of the Political.” History of European Ideas, 2005: 35-60.

[2] Ibid., 16.

[3] Ibid., 131.

[4] Ibid., 87.

[5] Ibid., 142.

[6] Ibid., 36,47.

[7] Ibid., 112.

[8] Ibid., 97.

[9] Ibid., 110.

[10] Ibid., 29.

[11] Ibid., 42.

[12] Ibid., 47.

[13] Ibid., 68.

[14] Ibid., 69.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid., 148.

[17] Ibid., 177.

[18] Ibid., 144.

[19] Ibid., 20.

[20] Ibid., 90.

[21] Ibid., 94.

[22] Ibid., 105.

[23] Smith, Graham M. “Kierkegaard from the Point of View of the Political.” History of European Ideas, 2005, 39.

[24] Ibid., 49.

[25] Hall, Amy. Kierkegaard and the Treachery of Love. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, 110.

[26] Ibid., 111.

[27] Ibid., 113.

[28] Quoted from Kierkegaard, 31; as found in Hall, 114.

[29] Hall, Kierkegaard and the Treachery of Love, 121.

[30] Quoted from Kierkegaard, 81; as found in Hall, 119.

[31] Evans, Stephen. Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006, 34.

[32] Ibid., 43.

[33] Ibid., 47.

[34] Ibid., 48.

[35] Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Edited by Albert Kieth Witaker. Translated by Joe Sachs. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, 2002, II.7.1107b5.

[36] Ibid., VIII.1.1155a25.

[37] Ibid., IX.9.1169b10-19.

[38] Ibid.

[39] Ibid., V.5.1133b; V.7.1134b.

[40] Ibid., footnote 232, 144.

[41] Ibid., IX.6.1167b.

[42] Ibid., VIII.8.1159b.

[43] Ibid., IX.1.1164b.

[44] Ibid., IX.9.1169b10.

[45] Ibid., IX.9.1170b10.

[46] Ibid., IX.9.1170b12.

[47] Ibid., IX.9-1169b10-19.  

[48] Ibid., VIII.13.1162b.

[49] Ibid., IX.9.1169b10. 

[50] Hursthouse, Rosalind. “The Central Doctrine of the Mean.” In The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, by Richard Kraut, 97-115. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006, 104.

[51] Adams, Ian, and R Dyson. Fifty Major Political Thinkers. 2^nd edition. New York: Routledge, 2003, 16.

[52] Kierkegaard, 40.

[53] Ibid., 33.

[54] Orwin, Clifford. “No room at the Inn for Veiled Women? Get Real Canada.” Globe and Mail, March 31, 2010: Opinions.

Curtis M Goodman

—

This post will examine three songs on friendship by three different musical artists.  The goal is to better understand each song’s contribution to the discussion of friendship.  This post will predominantly focus on analyzing lyrical content in an effort to understand each song’s message about friendship.  The three songs and artists to be examined are: “Friends” by Led Zeppelin, which provides context from the 1970s era of mainstream English rock and roll music; “One of these Days” by Neil Young, which provides representation from Canada and a slice of country-folk song writing of Nashville from 1992; and “Bro Hymn Tribute” by Pennywise, that represents a Californian independent punk-rock context from 1991 and 1996. In addition to examining lyrical content, this post will also briefly analyze the melodies and harmonies of each respective song.  The main goal is to find meanings of friendship within the music.  The lyrics of the song will be provided before the discussion of each song.  To add to the experience, listen while you read, remember: if you like the songs be sure to buy them at your local music store.

Led Zeppelin – “Friends”

Bright light, almost blindin’

Black night still there shinin’

I can’t stop, keep on climbin’

looking for what I knew

Had a friend, she once told me

You got love, you ain’t lonely

Now she’s gone and left me only

lookin’ for what I knew

Ah-ahh, ah-ahh, ah-ah-ahh, ah-ahh

Mmm, I’m tellin’ you now

the greatest thing you ever can do, now

is trade a smile with someone who’s blue, now

It’s very easy, just-a

Met a man on the roadside cryin’

Without a friend, there’s no denyin’

you’re incomplete, there’ll be no findin’

lookin’ for what you knew

So anytime somebody needs ya

don’t let them down, although it grieves ya

Someday you’ll need someone like they do

lookin’ for what you knew

Ah-ahh, ah-ahh, ah-ah-ahh, ah-ahh

Mmm, mm, I’m tellin’ you, now

the greatest thing you ever can do, now

is trade a smile with someone who’s blue, now

It’s very easy, just-a, oh, yeah

Ah, nah, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, yeah

I’m tellin’ you, now

the greatest thing you ever can do, now

is trade a smile with someone who’s blue, now

It’s very easy, it’s very easy

It’s very easy, it’s easy, easy, yeah, yeah

The Led Zeppelin song “Friends” is about the inherent necessity of others for a full life.  The song asks what would happen without friends.  It answers that a person is incomplete and will never truly find what they are looking for in life without a friend.  Constant tones allude to the elements of karma and kindness in human relations, which makes listeners aware that friendship is a full circle activity.  Whereby being kind unto others, those same others will be kind to you.  In this way, Zeppelin makes it obvious that the idea of ‘friends’ is about awareness of more than just oneself.  To be a friend a person must open their conscious perception to include those within their immediate surroundings, “The greatest thing you ever can do now | is trade a smile with someone who’s blue now…” This lyric in the song makes it clear that a person has a duty to those around him to elevate each other.  If you make a point of smiling to others and giving a helping hand when you can, there is a good chance someone will be there to give you a hand up when you need it most.  In a karmic way – mutual recognition and respect for each other allows each life to become better off.

The idea that friendship is a type of love that overcomes despair is obvious in Zeppelin’s song.  The lyric “you got love, you ain’t lonely” indicates that if someone actively practices love they cannot be lonely.  Although being a friend may not always be easy, Zeppelin admits that by trying to be a friend you will help someone who will one day help you, “So anytime somebody needs you, don’t let them down, although it grieves you | Someday you’ll need someone like they do, looking for what you knew…“  The last line of that lyric seems to indicate that the singer was once contented with a friendship (based in love) and when the feeling was gone he truly knew what was lost.  Perhaps the singer was once dejected and had a friend to pick him up out of the gutter, or helped him find the happiness he once knew.

The melody of the song is very catchy and is repeated throughout the entire song.  This, along with progressive rhythm and harmony keeps listeners engaged through the four-minute song.  The acoustic chord progression seems to build over the entire song.  The mood of the song could be described as dark and mysterious with overtones of brightness.  The darkness is found in the muffled and indistinct lyrics; while the brightness is found in the unique power the background violin creates.  There are tinges of eastern influence found throughout the song, which add to the mystique of the song.  Together, the harmony, melody and progressive rhythm work to build a unique song about taking the time for friends.

Neil Young, “One of these Days”

One of these days,

I’m gonna sit down

and write a long letter

To all the good friends I’ve known

And I’m gonna try

And thank them all

for the good times together.

Though so apart we’ve grown.

One of these days,

I’m gonna sit down

and write a long letter

To all the good friends I’ve known

One of these days,

one of these days,

one of these days,

And it won’t be long, it won’t be long.

And I’m gonna thank,

That old country fiddler

And all those rough boys

Who play that rock ‘n’ roll

I never tried to burn any bridges

Though I know I let some good things go.

One of these days,

I’m gonna sit down

and write a long letter

To all the good friends I’ve known

One of these days,

one of these days,

one of these days,

And it won’t be long, it won’t be long.

From down in L.A.

All the way to Nashville,

From New York City

To my Canadian prairie home

My friends are scattered

Like leaves from an old maple.

Some are weak, some are strong.

One of these days,

I’m gonna sit down

and write a long letter

To all the good friends I’ve known

One of these days,

one of these days,

one of these days,

And it won’t be long, it won’t be long.

One of these days,

one of these days,

one of these days,

And it won’t be long, it won’t be long.

The song “One of These Days” could be considered a signature Neil Young piece.  His raw nasal tone, shrill guitar and highly personal lyrics blend to create the Young sound known to everyone.  The sound of the song comes across as being unique to Young’s repertoire where the listener can feel and appreciate his acquired smooth and beautiful voice.  This song is simply about maturity and the reflection that occurs as one gets older.  The song meanders, bouncing almost lazily along in a folk-country acoustic style, through a timeline of warm highlights and memories of friendship.

“One of these days” is a lyric repeated most often in the song, which indicates the singer wants to act on emotions that have been bottled up for some time.  It is as if he has thought about putting a letter together to send to his friends for quite some time, but has since never got around to it.   He remembers meeting people along his life’s journey and knows the personal impact each has had on his life.  Perhaps the best lyric is “I never tried to burn any bridges | though I know I let some good things go,” which indicates some regrets in his past actions towards friends.  This confessional tone makes the song very personal and relatable for listeners. It almost speaks between the lines – do not burn bridges because you never know what you have lost until it is gone.

The nostalgia of Young’s song writing is found in the ruminations of a somewhat regretful 46-year-old man.  It speaks to the passage of time, the fondness of days past and the need to reconcile.  Although it is questionable as to why the singer would write a letter and not use a telephone.  Perhaps because a letter is more personal; an endeavour that takes time and effort to create something that is truly unique and intended for one particular person.  Recognizing each friend as unique and deserving of a personalized letter is apparent in the lyric, “My friends are scattered | Like leaves from an old maple | some are weak, some are strong.” The comparison of friendship to a tree is interesting.  If the tree is thought of as an individual and the leaves as the many friends, there are many connotations that can be associated: Friendship is alive only when a connection exists the same way a leaf lives only when connected to the branch. Friendship is constantly changing with the seasons and conditions, similar to leaves falling in autumn and re-growing in spring. Friendship can be based on symbiotic or parasitic relationships, the many forms accommodate different types of friends from insects to birds. Like a tree friendship takes time to become strong but should always be flexible.  In this way, Neil Young personifies a tree into a symbol of friendship whereby each person is a tree within a forest of other trees.  The lyric “Though so apart we’ve grown,” reaffirms the symbol of friendship as a tree that can grow in many different directions.

Most importantly Young knows the need to maintain contact with even lost friends, “And I’m gonna try | and thank them all | for the good times together.”  Which indicates the singer wants to reconnect because of the importance of reminding each other of the good times past and the potential to reconnect and create new time together.

Overall, Neil Young’s song is steeped with nostalgia and comes across as being sweet without being overly sentimental.  The song simply hums along with a steady rhythm and no real progression in sound.  This may assert that good times have come and gone but regardless life is always moving forward at a steady and constant pace.

Bro Hymn – Pennywise

To all my friends, present past and beyond

Especially those who weren’t with us too long

Life is the most precious thing you can lose

While you were here the fun was never ending

Laugh a minute was only beginning

Canton, Colvin, Nichols, this one’s for you

Ever get the feeling you can’t go on

Just remember whose side it is that you’re on

You’ve got friends with you till the end

If you’re ever in a tough situation

We’ll be there with no hesitation

Brotherhood’s our rule we cannot bend

Whoa oh oh oh oooooooooooooooooooooh

When you’re feeling too close to the bottom

You know who it is you can count on

Someone will pick you up again

We can conquer anything together

All of us are bonded forever

If I die you die that’s the way it is

Whoa oh oh oh oooooooooooooooooooooh

To all my friends, present past and beyond

To all those who weren’t with us too long

Life is the most precious thing you can lose

While you were here the fun was never ending

Laugh a minute was only the beginning

Canton, Colvin, Nichols, this one’s for you

Whoa oh oh oh oooooooooooooooooooooh

Finally, “Bro Hymn Tribute” is a tragic song that could be considered an anchor of the group Pennywise to their true roots.  The song was originally found on the first full-length self-titled debut and is about a tribute to old friends.  In fact, the song was written in tribute to three friends of the band: Tim Colvin, Carlos Canton and Tom Nichols, all of whom passed away.  The song became more important to the band in 1996 when the bass player Jason Thirsk committed suicide after prolonged depression related to alcoholism.  Pennywise rerecorded the original song and re-released it in his honour – which truly makes this a special song for the band.

The song is presented in a catchy anthem-ic punk style that is simple enough for first time listeners to sing-along to.  The beat is constantly upbeat and the rhythm repeats the same progression.  The main message of the song is no matter what happens in life a true friend will be there, standing beside you in your times of need.  It establishes friendship as a form of family, which is governed by a universal law, “Brotherhood’s our rule we cannot bend.” While listening to the song, especially the live version, it is easy to imagine oneself hearing public declarations of friendship exchanged between half-drunk friends at a high school grad party.  In this way, the song is unforgettable and allows listeners to relate to the message of friendship.

The singer recognizes this song is for all the friends from the past, present and future.  It declares that “Life is the most precious thing you can lose | While you were here the fun was never ending.” This is a shout-out to Plato’s Republic whereby it recognizes that sacrificing one’s life for another is the highest good one can perform.  This song, however, does not reference a friend’s life lost at battle for the betterment of society, which was Plato’s original point.  Although, the song does establish that friends are what make life worthwhile, a conclusion that Aristotle contended.  It also expresses that through friendship “We can conquer anything together | All of us are bonded forever | If I die you die that’s the way it is.”  This seems to indicate that friendship is a bond that is eternal and is able to overcome any obstacle in life.

The emotion expressed in “Bro Hymn Tribute” is a reminder of the love that exists in friendship.  It is almost a call to attention of what friendship really means.  It makes clear that when a friend dies a little piece of yourself dies with them.  Where a true friend is considered family and that death does not diminish the bond but it does change it.  Originally, “Bro Hymn” was written by Thirsk, who would later commit suicide despite having close friends in the band who would have shared a similar bond as described by the song.  It makes me wonder how strong the bond of friendship really was for it to have such a tragic ending.  Perhaps this provides an implicit message of the song: sometimes you need to shout out to your friends; to communicate in a direct anthem exactly what you think and feel about your friends.  Sometimes such a declaration is the all the difference a friend needs to make life worth living.  By the end of the song, the listener is left with goose bumps and an enlightened sensation of exactly what you would do for your friend.

—

All three songs recognize the importance of friendship in life.  However, each artist provides a unique perspective on friendship.  Led Zeppelin sings of friendship as kindness through self-awareness and awareness of those around you.  There is a message of karma in the need to lift those around you higher – the need for recognition and respect to overcome despair in life.  Neil Young sings of the friendship as a living entity, like a tree.  There is an implicit and nostalgic need to connect with friends as a means of keeping such relationships alive and well.  While Pennywise present a view of friendship that is rooted in the idea of family.  Friendship is law-like and eternal.

Curtis Goodman

and

Chris Hibbard

—-

Looking around him, Taylor saw that one again he was just one body surrounded by a queue of people. He wondered to himself, “How did I get here?” He remembered hearing something. Something unmistakable. It was a sound that he did not want to recognize and was afraid to remember; a sound that haunted him for the past two days; keeping him up nights.

Grabbing his food tray from the pile Taylor walked down the line and picked a meal from the lunch buffet. He paused by the cabbage with the serving spoon in his hand. Some days he didn’t like cabbage. It was as if it stayed with him for days. The same went for the ginger beef. Going spicy never worked out too well, Taylor thought. Moving further down the line, he took two large helpings of the red jello salad. Looking around the cafeteria, he spotted Nancy. She was wearing the same coveralls as everyone else, but she had earrings in her ears. Taylor hoped that he was the only one who had noticed.

She was sitting at a table with seven others. Taylor quickly wove his way around the cafeteria tables and sat down across from her, between two broad-shouldered 16’s.

Nancy looked up quickly, as though startled. Looking questioningly at the thought of his presence, Taylor stuck his right hand out for a shake.

“I’m Taylor,” he said, settling down in his chair and laying out his plastic cutlery and plates, leaving just enough room so that his elbows didn’t disturb the men on either side of him. When Nancy didn’t move to accept the handshake, he nervously withdrew the hand, putting it underneath the table.

For a moment the diners just sat quietly, pausing and sharing anxious glances, before they slowly resumed eating.

Nancy’s eyes rested on his for several seconds, but to Taylor, those seconds felt like a minute. He looked down at the table, at the plates nearby, and was reminded of why he had chosen the jello. The man on his right was slurping up some sort of unidentified soup or sauce. It reminded Taylor of rice pudding. It was odorless, tasteless, and formless. When the spoon left the pudding, pudding moved in to fill in the vacancy. To his left, the other man’s mashed potatoes seemed even more unappealing, and smelled as if something was off with the milk additive. Taylor could not help but think about the way that potato paste had stuck to the roof of his mouth the last time he had ate it. It was like it had filled his mouth with papier-mâché and glue.

Nancy played with her food, a bowl of purple jello salad. He watched her as she poked her jello with her plastic fork, causing the cubes to jiggle and dance. Without lifting her head or making any eye contact, Nancy asked, “When did you get back?” She said it aloud, with a strangely smug tone in her voice. The people around them didn’t seem to hear anything. They sat there in their rows, eating the slop, chomping stale bread, making slurping sounds and scraping their forks.

Then, abruptly there was that chirping sound again – a high-pitched alarm call that made everyone sit up, his or her ears alert and anticipating the impending message. But no message came.

Taylor looked at Nancy strangely and asked her, “Were you asking me? How do you know that I even went away anywhere?” But as he said it, he realized the question was rhetorical. He recalled Nancy being present when it had happened; Taylor was dragged away by the orderlies drugged, beaten, and rendered useless. In retrospect, he had come to think, it wasn’t really all that bad. It had almost seemed routine, with doctors asking him all sorts of questions. They even made him do callisthenic exercises that he hadn’t done since the early years of Academy.

“THOWMP!” There it was again. Heads ducked nervously around the table, and one girl even let out a stifled scream. The sound landed on them – booming and echoing from all directions. The room was huge, Taylor thought, looking around him at the huge underground cavern they lived in, before realizing that he had never thought about that before, which caused a great deal more thinking.

Now, the intercom piped in, broadcasting a loud and clear robotic voice. The words groaned through the otherwise virtual silence. “Batch Number 18s please report to loading dock seven. Batch 18s to loading dock seven.”

Taylor looked around and saw one person from every table in the cafeteria push their chairs back in unison, standing up and picking up their trays before they moved on in a hurry, past the dish return and towards the far door.

Taylor noticed that Nancy too had stood up, grabbed her tray with haste and walked away. ‘It was as if it was a call to action’, he thought. At the table, Taylor realized he was the only one who had seemed to notice her departure. He now watched her as she walked away from him across the cavernous room. Nancy looked back at the table over her shoulder and curled a beckoning finger towards Taylor, upon meeting his eyes. She tossed some stray hairs back off her forehead and Taylor was caught in the moment. He was both compelled to follow her and yet he sat there and stared down at his dinner tray. ‘I need to do something’ he thought, but when he looked back towards her she had already disappeared. Taylor’s heart seemed caught in his throat.
“Aww..fuck.. I should have done something,” he thought aloud.

“Done something?”, the giant to his left replied. “There was nothing you could have done man. Don’t think about it.”

“But…what…what?.. what is that supposed to mean,” Taylor gushed.

“It means that Nancy, that girl you like..” the giant on Taylor’s left interjected. “..she was on her way to the top you know. She was just about to graduate.”

“Graduating?” Taylor questioned in reply, “like from college? Is that what you mean?”

“You know – just graduating. Like she’s outta here, moving, gettin’ on to the real world. Graduatin’, just like all the other 18’s.”

‘Holy crap,’ Taylor thought. ‘How could I have been so blind to this. He realized that he had a word from any of those people that had graduated. It seemed like there was this graduating class every three weeks or so. “Was there a ceremony with a robe and cap,” he wondered, as he looked around the cafeteria one more time. Why was this cafeteria so big? It was like a huge fishbowl, cavernous, echoing, and dark in the corners. Why was there no light other than from fluorescent bulbs, Taylor thought, and paranoia began stealing over him.

At once, the ground began to shake. From the far side of the room – where Nancy had disappeared, a brilliant light beamed from out of the darkness and there was a strange smell, like burnt plastic and pine needles thrown on a wet campfire.

“How long have you been here…like, shit man, what’s going on around here? How do you know about Nancy? Because this is all still really weird to me right now.” These questions babbled out rapidly with a long intake of breath afterward. “It’s like I can only remember today,” Taylor said now standing up and stretching uncomfortably. “My head hurt this morning and now I’m sittin’ here wondering how all these pieces fit together. Like, what the hell are these numbers all about anyway? Batch numbers, like a batch of eggs or what? Where did Nancy go? What is that terrible sound, and why is the roof so high in here?”

“Ha.. you really are new aren’t ya. You don’t even know, get that…” he laughed under his breath. “Hey Chuck, he doesn’t even know!” He paused to catch the man sitting across from Taylor laugh, snorting loudly and banging his knee on the table.

“Listen…Taylor, or whatever your name is. You have a number 19. I have a number 21. I have had this number 21 for a long time, and we are waiting, don’t you get it? We’re just waiting… we’re being fed, and fattened and fed and corralled and eventually, everybody is called up. “

“Called up?” Taylor’s voice cracked as he yelled. “Called up where? Where did she go? What happens when your number is called?”

Chuck hit the table loudly, and leaned forward, white pudding stuck to one corner of a badly trimmed mustache.

“Listen bucko,” Chuck said. “All you need to know, since you can’t seem to remember anything since you punched that guard the other day… we’ve been here a while. Our batch numbers are our ticket out of here, and when our numbers called, we go. Simple as that. And that light, that smell…put the pieces together for yourself. I wonder what 19’s will smell like.”

Taylor looked nervously around the table, the remaining five pairs of eyes now watching this discussion closely.

Choosing someone sitting two seats down on the other side of the table, someone totally far-removed, a girl with dark curls and a pinch of freckles on her cheekbones, Taylor blurted out – “you, what the hell do you know about this? What smell do you mean? Somebody gonna let me in on the joke here”

The girl smiled sadly at him, and said, “That smell. The one that we are all smelling right now. That is the smell of a batch of 18s. The last time that annoying buzzer rang, The 17s were called out. That batch smelled like bacon fat. It made us all hungry. The 16s smelled terrible, like old moldy clothes buried in an attic somewhere with rats nesting inside them. But you’re a 19. We don’t know about you yet. We’re still waiting.”

The end.

—

For more creative writing inspiration check out  The Kitchen Sink (aka chrishibbard.wordpress.com)

Curtis Matwychuk-Goodman

—

“Ben Franklin may have discovered electricity – but it is the man who invented the meter who made the money”
- Earl Warren-

Introduction to the Issue

conomic growth and electricity consumption are directly correlated.  As a nation’s electricity consumption increases so does the gross domestic product.[1] It is generally accepted that access to electricity is a necessary element for a healthy economy; in today’s day and age electricity is required for production of both goods and services.  Without access to reliable sources of electricity the efficiency and productivity of the North American economy would tumble.

This paper seeks to investigate the current trade policy between Canada and the United States in the case of International Power Lines (IPL) and the international sale of electricity.  The specific case of the Montana-Alberta Tie Limited (MATL) project provides an excellent case study of the Canada-U.S. relations on electrical energy.  MATL will be the first direct merchant-based grid interconnection between the province of Alberta and the state of Montana and will provide context for the regulatory environment of each country.  This paper will present the case from the Alberta perspective.  It will, however, provide analysis of both the federal and sub-federal governments from both Canada and the U.S. and their related jurisdictional authority over the MATL project.  In doing so, this paper will discuss the context surrounding the construction of an International Power Line (IPL).  The recent final approval of the MATL project demonstrates the continuing harmonization of the North American electricity grid; which will briefly be discussed.

In addition, this paper will directly examine the popular notion that Alberta is an energy superpower in the North American marketplace; albeit perhaps not a leader in the electric energy industry specifically.  In fact, this paper seeks to demonstrate that Alberta has tremendous growth opportunities but currently lacks the adequate infrastructure to exert such influence even in the North American marketplace.  To begin our discussion, let us first explore exactly what electricity is.

Electricity is an interesting commodity.  Once electricity is generated it cannot be stored. The laws of physics declare that electricity will always flow through the path of least resistance.   This is the reason that when a light switch is turned on, the lights turn on instantly. In addition to this, electricity demand is very unpredictable.[2] As a whole the electricity market services residential, commercial and industrial purposes; which means electricity must be available at any time of day in many different locations.   Furthermore, electricity loses potential over great distances and with changes in temperature.[3] This presents an interesting challenge for the creation and maintenance of a reliable electricity grid.  A perfect mix of generation, transmission, and distribution (or retailing) must exist to efficiently service all customers in need.  As a result of this the electricity industry has traditionally been region-specific and usually exists as a vertically-integrated entity.  To increase the overall efficiency of an electricity grid it is best to have many interconnections between regions because it creates economies of scale, which in turn determines the most efficient price of electricity for all users. [4]

—

The MATL Project

Montana Alberta Tie Limited (MATL) is a Calgary-based company that is currently in the progress of building Alberta’s first International Power Line (IPL).[5] This line is monumental, in that it represents the first merchant-based international project of its kind in Alberta.  This project is also unique in this province because the entire construction and financing is done by a private company instead of by the end-user who traditionally pays for such infrastructure through offset transmission charges.  Once constructed this IPL will be the first direct inter-tie between the electricity grids of the United States and Alberta.  The grid interconnection points will be located in Lethbridge, Alberta and Great Falls, Montana; crossing the border west of the Coutts crossing and spanning a distance of 345 kilometers.  The transmission power line will be privately owned and operated as a merchant system with a nominal rating of 300 megawatts of alternating current.  According to MATL, this is 240kV or enough power for 35,000 homes.[6] Even before construction, the entire line’s capacity has been auctioned off to private companies, including NaturEner, Wind Hunter and Invenergy.

The MATL transmission power line is a strategic addition to the electricity-grid and is ideally positioned for further development of local wind turbine generation projects.  The proposed IPL traverses some of the best wind energy potential locations in the western parts of North America.  In fact, the company estimates that in addition to creating 150 jobs and adding $10 million to the local economies during construction, the power line will enable up to $1 billion dollars in wind farm developments.[7] The MATL project provides a significant and necessary resource for both nations to move towards reducing their carbon footprint by providing access opportunities for renewable energy sources to join the electrical grid.  Most importantly, the MATL line will increase the overall efficiency of the Western energy grid.  If the MATL project promises such great benefits, who then has effective regulatory oversight over the IPL – Canada or the United States?

Regulatory Jurisdiction over MATL

The construction of Alberta’s first IPL provides an excellent case study of the symmetries and asymmetries of regulatory systems and trade policies of electricity as a commodity, on both sides of the border.  This paper will examine the regulatory regimes of both nations separately by looking at the jurisdiction of federal and sub-federal authorities.

The fundamental differences between Canada and the U.S. are manifested in the fact that significantly more opportunities for stakeholder input exists during all stages of the application process in the U.S.  The U.S. also has a more equal division of jurisdiction on the issue of IPLs and the international sale of electricity.  In Canada, on the other hand, authority is retained by the provincial government and there are not as many opportunities for public consultation.  In fact the provincial government is currently seeking to limit public input in essential transmission infrastructure.

After the context of each country’s regulatory regime has been established this paper will examine the move towards North American harmonization of both systems by means of joint intermediary institutions like the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC).

Canada

–>Federal Level

At the federal level there is relatively little direct control over electric power lines and related facilities, since these are under provincial jurisdiction.[8] However, the federal government retains quasi-jurisdiction and oversight through the National Energy Board (NEB).[9] The purpose of the NEB is to “promote safety and security, environmental protection, efficient energy infrastructure and markets in the Canadian public interest.”[10] In order for an IPL to be constructed the NEB must first issue a permit to construct and operate.  This provides some effective federal control over IPLs.  The NEB considers the “technical feasibility of the project, its effect on adjacent provinces and its environmental impact.” [11] In this way the NEB ensures that projects comply with the national standards set by the Canadian Electrical Code, the Canadian Standards Association, and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.  Additionally, the NEB has a mandate to ensure that IPLs are managed effectively to meet the needs of national security.  This requires an electricity reliability organization (ERO). The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) has been appointed by the NEB as the best agency to ensure this electricity is reliable and can be counted on when needed.  NERC will be discussed further in the section on joint initiatives between Canada and the U.S.

The NEB does not regulate the import of electricity.[12] However, in addition to issuing construction and operational permits, the NEB can establish the limit of electricity to be exported.  This is determined by the total available electricity and the corresponding domestic demand.  Nearly 70 per cent of all energy exports to the U.S. are generated by hydro-electric facilities which are subject to dynamic environmental conditions.[13] This directly impacts the amount of electricity that can be exported to the U.S. at any given time.

–>Provincial Level

In Canada electricity is considered a resource and is therefore under provincial jurisdiction.[14] As a result of this, provincial regulations can vary by province.

In most provinces electricity is a public utility and is operated by a Crown Corporation.  In the cases of British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and New Brunswick excess electricity is exported through IPLs. The revenues earned from electricity exports are used to maintain “domestic electricity prices at levels that are lower than they would otherwise be.”[15] Each of the aforementioned provinces has substantial hydro-electric generation facilities and has nearly maximized their export potential.

Alberta is unique among all the provinces as it is the only privatized electricity sector in all of Canada.  The electricity industry was deregulated under the Electric Utilities Act (EUA) of 1995 which effectively privatized the electrical supply market.[16] Initially, this act mandated that all electricity generated would become part of a Power Pool which was regulated by the Alberta Energy Utilities Board (EUB).  However, as of 2001, retail competition was introduced effectively giving choice to consumers.  Presently in Alberta electricity generation is predominantly owned by private interests who sell the power to private retailers.  Through this process the retailers pay the owners of the transmission line for the intermediary use.  Electricity generation is separate from transmission, and separate from distribution. All three levels are private – yet must act in concert to ensure profitability of the entire system.

Although the power industry is privately owned there is still regulation oversight by three government created agencies: the Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO), the Alberta Energy Utilities Commission (EUC)^[17], and the Market Surveillance Administrator (MSA).  The first provincial regulator is the AESO; which is responsible for the reliability of the Alberta Interconnected Electric System (AIES).  The AESO is an independent not-for-profit organization that regulates access to the grid for generators and distribution companies so that electricity in Alberta is safe, reliable and affordable.  AESO facilitates a “competitive wholesale electricity market, which has more than 200 participants and about $8 billion in annual energy transactions.”[18] The AESO has a mandate to determine the need for expansion and infrastructure reinforcements.  Once a need has been determined, the AESO makes a recommendation to the second level of provincial regulation the: Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC).

The AUC is ultimately responsible for issuing permits to construct necessary transmission facilities and must conduct public consultation sessions to ensure all stakeholders have adequate input on new developments. The purpose of the public hearings is to assess local impacts, mitigate problems and accommodate solutions. As well, the AUC seeks approval of projects from the Alberta Ministry of Environment to ensure the project meets the requirements of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.[19]

Currently there is great public debate in Alberta over the authority of the AUC to construct a domestic power line between Edmonton and Calgary.  A high-voltage line between these two cities has been recommended by the AESO to reinforce the power grid, as it has only seen one infrastructure upgrade since 1989.[20] Similarly, the AESO has recommended the construction of four other critical projects, together worth an estimated $8.1 billion, out of $14.5 billion dollars in total recommended system upgrades.[21]

The AUC and the Alberta Government face even greater criticism over the proposed Bill 50: Electric Statutes Amendment Act, 2009.  The intention of the bill is to provide unilateral authority of the Alberta government to approve critical transmission projects.  If Bill 50 passes, the provincial cabinet would have considerable power over the AUC, which would compromise the democratic nature of the intended system.  Tensions are exacerbated by both landowners and ratepayers.  Landowners are worried about the negative impacts of building a line over their land – including lost property values, health impacts, and a general belief of ‘not in my back yard.’[22] Rate-payers also have concerns because they will be responsible for paying for the transmission upgrades through increases in annual electricity bills.

The third provincial regulator of electricity is the Market Surveillance Administrator (MSA).  The main purpose of the MSA is to ensure fairness of the electricity markets in Alberta’s public interest.  The agency monitors, reports, investigates and is an advisory body that reports to the AUC.  The MSA does not have regulatory authority over IPL project applications.

United States

–>Federal and State Levels

In the United States the MATL project is similarly impacted by two levels of government.  In this case the regulatory process of approval required for an IPL provides effective control to many government departments related to energy and the environment.

The state of Montana has authority over matters of transmission under the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).  The DEQ has authority set under the Major Facility Siting Act of 2003 (MFSA) which effectively supersedes all other local government entities and regulations.[23] The federal executive level of government it is largely involved in the proceeds of the state level regulatory process, has the ability to make recommendations, or can effectively veto the project.  Under the MFSA act the Montana DEQ requires two authorizations for a developer of an IPL to proceed with construction.

The first is step of constructing an IPL is an application outlining many factors.   In the MFSA application procedure a transmission developer must demonstrate the need for the project, justify its proposed location or alternative sites, and provide a baseline study (or a reliability analysis). Most importantly, the application must demonstrate a cost-benefit analysis of the project.  The Montana DEQ submits all relevant information to the DOE; in turn the DOE will issue a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  Based on each government’s findings and subsequent public hearings, the DEQ will issue or deny a Certificate of Compliance.  This certificate signifies that all conditions of the application process are met which permits the developer to proceed to the next level of the regulatory process.[24]

The first step of the MFSA application process involves communication with all relevant stakeholders from the beginning to allow maximum public input from the start.  This public consultation at the early stages of project authorization has allowed the local constituents most impacted to have a voice in the development.  In the case of MATL, local farmers were responsible for changing the pole type design on farm-lands most impacted by the line crossing.[25] The cost-benefit analysis of the MATL project suggested a local impact to farmers that would annually result in $210,000 in additional farming related costs.[26] This was out-weighed by the net benefit from tax revenue from MATL which is estimated to be $730,000 annually. [27] This does not include the potential gains from greater system efficiency and future wind farm development related tax revenue.

The second step of the authorization process to construct an IPL like MATL, is also a multi-level process involving the federal Department of Energy (DOE) and the Montana DEQ.  This step is mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  Many levels of government have input in reviewing the project application through a report known as an Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Study (or agency comment stage) which is available first to related agencies impacted by the development for review.  This step of the regulatory process is intended to measure the level of environmental impact each project will have.  The implication of this is to ensure a more rigorous scrutiny process for projects that will have environmental impacts by way of national parks, critical habitat areas (reserved for endangered species), breeding areas, cultural areas, waterways, and areas of scientific, paleontological or anthropological interests.

In this way, the DEQ based their approval of the MATL project on the company’s adherence to the “Suggested Practices for Avian Protection on Power Lines: The State of the Art in 2006.” This document was created through a multi-stakeholder policy approach with input from the California Energy Commission, the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (APLIC)[28], and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).[29] In addition to meeting these standards the MATL project must also adhere to the National Electrical Safety Code, the Federal Aviation Administration, water quality statutes during construction, and local visual management plans.[30] This process enables simultaneously action by both the federal level (DOE) and the state level (M DEQ) and related agencies.  This fosters greater input on the proposed projects from a wider range of state and federal levels.

Once the agency comment stage is complete, the DEQ issues a Draft EIS which is released for public comment.  This provides the general public an opportunity to comment on the proposed project.  However, this stage is limited by time; within thirty days the DEQ will issue a Final EIS which legitimizes the IPL development as a real possibility.  Based on this report the DEQ has nine months to review it and draft and issue all permits not covered by the Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA) required by the proposed development.[31] This process occurs simultaneously at the federal level under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy (DOE).  There is considerable cooperation between the state and federal levels during the second stage.  Within thirty-days of the DEQ issuing a Draft EIS the DOE may issue a presidential permit to continue with construction.  Once the DEQ and the DOE approve the application a Record of Decision is given which authorizes the construction of the IPL.

It is important to note that the federal level of government is also represented by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).    This effective authority over IPLs is retained by the Electrical Reliability Organization (ERO).  In the United States the designated ERO is the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC).  This will be discussed in the next section.

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North American Electricity Integration

Recently Canada and the United States have fostered a dialogue to create a Smart Energy Grid.  This would effectively lead to greater harmonization among all North American power generators, transmitters, and distributors.  Already this has occurred through a main joint coordinating agency that links the Canadian and American electricity market is through an Electricity Reliability Organization (ERO).  The designated ERO for both Canada and the U.S. is the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC).

Interestingly NERC was first designated as the main U.S. ERO in 2005 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).[32] This was a result of the major blackouts of 2003 in the Northeastern regions of North America.[33] Subsequently, the NEB in Canada appointed NERC as the national ERO because it was required if Canada was to increase the trade in electricity with the U.S.  This suggests that NERC is a domestic policy tool that has been applied to Canada – meaning Canada was treated as a sub-set of American domestic policies.  It is arguable that Canada voluntarily joined NERC, yet was there an alternative option?  If Canada was not a part of NERC, then most transmission interconnection points with the U.S. would no longer be functional.  Before however, NERC was a voluntary authority that set out policies and standards for nine regional electrical councils within the U.S.  Now NERC has the ability to fine electrical generators and distributors for non-compliance with their standards and policies.  The regional council that has jurisdiction over the MATL project is the western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC).

The effective jurisdiction of WECC is over the states and provinces of: Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. [34] WECC has effective control over the interconnection points between Canada and the eastern coordinating councils through many high-voltage power lines; once completed MATL will become another one of these interconnections.

In order for an IPL to be approved WECC must approve the technical aspects of the proposed project.  This ensures that any new transmission infrastructure is compatible with the entire electricity grid in North America.  MATL required a Phase III status on the transmission pathway rating in order to be eligible for connection with the WECC.[35] This means that the IPL is engineered to meet the standards specified by NERC.

NERC is also part of the North American strategy for national defense; the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) program has developed Cyber Security Standards to protect assets deemed high risk but necessary for the reliability of the North American system.[36]

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Discussion

The case of MATL suggests there are many similarities between Canada and the U.S. in terms of regulatory processes of IPLs.  However, it is evident that the process in the U.S. is much better organized with greater chance of public involvement.

In Canada the regulatory process appears less well-organized.  Also, in Alberta there is less opportunity for public consultation, which under Bill 50 may diminish even more over time.  The MATL project has demonstrated that Alberta regulatory process of IPL’s is still in an infancy stage of development.  Before MATL Alberta did not have IPLs.  During the MATL approval process Alberta effectively changed the regulatory agencies responsible for IPLs – the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) was not the presiding agency in the approval of MATL.  In fact, the AUC was formed by the dismantling of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB).  More investigation is required to determine if the MATL project played an influencing role on the change of the provincial government regulatory framework.

The MATL project has been very effective, especially in the U.S.  The company began the IPL development process in August of 2005 and in four short years was able to secure full regulatory approval from multi-levels of government from two countries.  The MATL project has also been successful in gaining funding by the federal U.S. government under the Recovery Act of 2009; made possible by the DOE through the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA).  In exchange for the conditional right to 50MW of the MATL line capacity, WAPA will cover the expected construction costs of $161 million.[37] MATL is the first project to be funded by WAPA under the Recovery Act of 2009.  This suggests that the project managers of MATL were keenly involved in the U.S. government regulatory process.  The Canadian company understood that in the U.S. regulation is a multilevel process that requires a coordinated and micro-policy approach.  The MATL project: aimed to harmonize the North American electricity system; is sectoral in character; and appealed to regulators because of the potential for renewable energy to be added to the grid.  It is for these three reasons that MATL was able to achieve project approval in the U.S. in just four years.

There is evidence that suggests greater integration of the North American electricity market will lead to a harmonization of regulatory oversight over matters of IPLs.  NERC is a perfect example of how Canada and the U.S. work together through an independent, sectoral-based organization to achieve common ends.  Interestingly, however, NERC was borne as a subset of domestic American policies.  This suggests that Canada could be considered the fifty-first or just another Northern state.  Given the enormous energy reserves in Canada, more specifically in Alberta, perhaps it should be the other way around.  After all, media has a unique ability to continually purport that Alberta is an energy superpower.

Is Alberta an energy superpower?  In electricity the straight answer is no.  Before the construction of MATL Alberta does have access to the United States electrical market through inter-provincial ties via British Columbia and Saskatchewan.[38] This has traditionally allowed for Alberta to engage in the import and export of power.  According to the National Energy Board, between January and February 2009 Alberta exported 167,412 megawatt hours (MW.h) of electricity. This was worth an estimated $5.6 million at an average cost of $35.32/MW.h.  During the same time period Alberta effectively imported 485,367 MW.h of electricity; worth an estimated $16.6 million at an average cost of $52.02/MW.h.[39] Based on this data it is evident that in 2009 Alberta has been a net-importer of electricity and has faced higher importing costs than those states that purchase Alberta electricity.

Alberta has paid a premium on electricity imports; paying on average $16.70/MW.h more to buy than is charged for the export of the exact same commodity.  This is most likely due to discriminatory pricing techniques involved in the electricity industry – wherein prices vary by demand and are influenced by complex financial derivatives.  However, it is interesting to consider that Alberta faces a trade deficit in electricity exports.  It is because of this that Alberta cannot be considered an energy superpower.  However, some may consider the development of Alberta’s first IPL marks an important development in the province’s energy-related economic growth strategy towards becoming an energy superpower.

It is interesting to consider that currently in Alberta most electricity is generated by burning coal.  In 2007 Alberta was responsible for the burning of a staggering 52 per cent of all coal in Canada for the purpose of electrical generation.[40] Coal is a reliable fuel source.  The economics are simple: as electrical demand increases more coal is burned so supply and demand are equal.  Subsequently, coal has a bad reputation based on the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions that result from how it is converted to energy.  If the MATL project enables Alberta to export electricity, then will impending government climate legislation detrimentally affect Alberta exports?  Will the Americans impose higher tariffs on energy from ‘unclean’ sources?  Or will MATL spur the development of renewable energy sources as promised?

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Figure 1: Chart of Electrical Line Losses by Load and Temperature

(DOE 2008)

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Figure 2: Major Western Canadian Electricity Transmission Interconnections – Domestic and International

(NEB January 2003, 9)

—

Figure 3: IPL Regulatory Framework – U.S.A.

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Table 1: Key Regulatory Approvals Required by Jurisdiction

*Effective January 1, 2008 the EUB became: Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)

**The amount of time MATL application process required for approval

***Designated the official federal Electricity Reliability Organization (ERO) by FERC in 2006; members include states/provinces from Canada, USA, Mexico

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Table 2: Summary of Alberta Electricity Imports and Exports by Company and Destination 2009

List of Acronyms

AESO   – Alberta Electric Systems Operator

AIES     – Alberta Interconnected Electric System

APLIC   – Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (USA)

AUC     – Alberta Utilities Commission

DEQ     – Department of Environmental Quality (Montana)

DOE     – Department of Energy (USA)

EEI       – Edison Electric Institute (USA)

FERC    – Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission (USA)

IPL       – International Power Line

MATL   – Montana Alberta Tie Limited Project

MSA     – Market Surveillance Administrator (Alberta)

NEB     – National Energy Board (Canada)

NERC   – North American Energy Reliability Corporation

NEPA   – National Environmental Policy Act (USA)

WAPA – Western Area Power Administration (USA)

—

Bibliography

AESO. “About AESO.” Alberta Electric System Operator. December 2009. http://www.aeso.ca/ourcompany/ourCompany.html (accessed December 1, 2009).

Alberta Energy. Energy History in Alberta. 02 02, 2009. http://www.energy.alberta.ca/About_Us/1133.asp#2000_-_Present (accessed 12 01, 2009).

DOE. Department of Energy Announces Start of Western Area Power Administration Recovery Act Project . September 19, 2009. http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8017.htm (accessed December 3, 2009).

DEQ. “Federal Draft Environmental Impact Statement.” MATL Transmission Line EIS. 2008. http://gc.energy.gov/NEPA/nepa_documents/docs/deis/eis0399/vol2/Volume2g.pdf (accessed 12 1, 2009).

MATL. Our Project – Regulatory. 2009. http://www.matl.ca/project/regulatory.php (accessed November 1, 2009).

Mintz, Jack M. “The Power of Exports.” National Post. November 9, 2009. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/11/09/jack-mintz-the-power-of-exports.aspx (accessed December 1, 2009).

Montana DEQ. “DEQ Findings for Certification.” Tonbridge Power – MATL Project. October 22, 2008. http://www.tonbridgepower.com/Project/DEQ%20Findings%20for%20Certification.pdf (accessed December 1, 2009).

NEB. Canadian Electricity Exports and Imports. An Energy Market Assessment, National Energy Board, Calgary: Canada, January 2003, 66.

NEB. Electricity Exports and Imports. Monthly Statistics Repor, Calgary: Canada, September 2009, 31.

NEB. Global and Canadian Context for Energy Demand Analysis. Energy Briefing Note, Calgary: Canada, September 2008, 20.

NEB. International Power Line Security Management. 11 20, 2009. http://www.neb.gc.ca/clf-nsi/rsftyndthnvrnmnt/scrty/ntrntnlpwrlnscrtymngmnt-eng.html (accessed December 7, 2009).

NEB. Who we are, governance, and responsibilities. 11 16, 2009. http://www.neb.gc.ca/clf-nsi/rthnb/whwrndrgvrnnc/rrspnsblt-eng.html (accessed Dec 6, 2009).

Puckett, Carl. “Leaders celebrate the start of MATL work.” Great Falls Tribune. December 01, 2009. http://www.matl.ca/documents/2009/project/press/articles_pdf/2009-12-01%20%28Great%20Falls%20Tribune%29%20-%20Leaders%20celebrate%20start%20of%20MATL%20work.pdf (accessed December 04, 2009).

Reuters. “Alberta needs $14.5 billion in new power lines: agency.” National Post. June 2, 2009. www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id1655795 (accessed December 1, 2009).

Statistics Canada. “Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (57-202-X).” Statistics Canada. 2007. http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2009/statcan/57-202-X/57-202-x2007000-eng.pdf (accessed December 2, 2009).

“Summary of State Transmission Siting Law in the Western Interconnection.” Western Governors Association. http://www.westgov.org/wieb/transmission/other/siting_paper.pdf (accessed November 27, 2009).

[2] Recognizable trends exist where consumer consumption is based on time of day and time of year.  For example, most people are home and using electricity in the morning and in the evening; and there is more electricity consumption during the winter, especially in Canada, because there are less day-light hours.

^[3] See Appendix Figure 1: Chart of Electrical Line Losses by Load and Temperature

^[4] EEI – electricity 101 (NEB January 2003, 2)

[5] MATL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tonbridge Power Inc. (TSX: TBZ)

[6] MATL site

[7] (Puckett 2009)

[8] Constitutional division of powers

[9] As set out by: National Energy Board Act (1959); Canadian Electricity Policy (1988); Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (1995).

[10] (NEB September 2008)

[11] (NEB 2009).

^[12] (NEB September 2008)

^[13] (NEB 2009)

^[14] As per the constitutional distribution of powers

^[15] (NEB January 2003, viii)

[16] (Alberta Energy 2009)

^[17] Originally the Alberta Energy Utilities Board (EUB) which in January 2008 was dismantled into two separate agencies: the Alberta Utilities Commission (EUC) and the Energy and Resources Conservation Board (ERCB).  The EUB was the presiding agency over the MATL project.

^[18] (AESO 2009)

[19] (Alberta Energy 2009)

[20] (Mintz 2009)

[21] (Reuters 2009)

[22] As discussed in class and in So Near and Yet So Far: NIMBY or BANANA.

[23] (Summary of State Transmission Siting Law in the Western Interconnection n.d.)

[24] See Appendix Figure 3 IPL Regulatory Framework – U.S.A.

[25] This effectively changed some of the 1600 poles to be installed from just being of an H-type design to a monopole type design.

[26] These costs are as simple as a farmer being forced to combine around IPL power-poles that interfere with time-tested farming efficiencies.  These costs do not factor in the impacts of construction or lost potential land-values.

[27] (Montana DEQ 2008, 12)

[28] APLIC is a multi-level committee comprised of electric utility organizations and federal agencies.

[29] EEI is an association of shareholder electric companies that represents 70% of U.S. electric power industry.

[30] (Montana DEQ 2008, 9)

[31] (Summary of State Transmission Siting Law in the Western Interconnection n.d.)

[32] FERC is an independent regulatory agency within the DOE and is responsible to federal courts.

[33] NERC was created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

[34] WECC was formed in 2002 by the merger of three regional councils: the Western System Coordinating Council, the Southwest Regional Transmission Association, and the Western Regional Transmission Association.

[35] (MATL 2009)

[36] (NEB 2009)

[37] (DOE 2009)

^[38] See Appendix: Figure 2: Major Western Canadian Electricity Transmission Interconnections – Domestic and International

^[39] See Appendix Table 2: Summary of Alberta Electricity Imports and Exports by Company and Destination 2009

[40] (Statistics Canada 2007)

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FULL DISCLOSURE:

At the time of writing this I owned shares in Tonbridge Power (TVE: TBZ) the parent company of MATL.

Curtis Matwychuk-Goodman

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“Women now stand on the threshold of achieving more political power than they have ever had before.  A possible dream can become real if women translate their beliefs and votes into an organized electoral and political force”

Bella Abzug 1984, page 11

his paper will first define gender and what a gender gap is.  It will introduce relevant evidence of the existence of a gender gap in Canadian public opinion in addition to identifying a number of areas of both convergence and divergence of public opinion when gender is considered.  Furthermore, this paper will provide an update on recent developments in the study of gender and public opinion by identifying and explaining the findings of relevant literature.  Finally, this paper will discuss the importance of understanding gender as it applies to the Canadian political system in terms of the three elements of political culture: ideology, policy, and practice.

This paper will find that the way women live their lives today is different than twenty-five years ago.  This would imply that a meaningful difference may have arisen in women’s public opinion over this same time period.  However, there is little evidence suggesting a predictable and stable gender gap on particular issues of public opinion in Canada over time.  Although there have been instances of a gender gap existing, like in the 1988 Free Trade Election and the 1993 and 1997 federal elections.  The most concerning gap that does exist in Canada is the underrepresentation of women in the federal government.  This has implications for issues of equality and there should be a significant consideration of all political parties operating within Canada.

Meaning
What is a Gender Gap?

Gender can be defined as the classification of either the sexes: masculine, feminine, or less commonly neuter.  Gender provides classification of the fundamental differences of human life and can be considered in terms of biology, behaviour, lifestyle, and value patterns.

A gender gap can be thought of as the measureable differences between men and women; the corresponding roles and resulting patterns of “interactions, expectations and conditions towards each other, on themselves and on the opportunities they have.”[1] The gender gap in public opinion is considered to be one of many cleavages that exist in the Canadian political landscape.  A political cleavage is a concept used in analyzing voting behaviour and in some cases divides the voting populace into divisible blocs based on any number of factors (gender, language, religion, and region).[2] Next we will look at the origins of the gender gap by examining salient literature of any such existence in Canadian public opinion.

Origins
Explaining the Gender Gap

There have been instances of significant differences of public opinion between women and men.  One specific instance is the 1988 election which pundits dubbed  the ‘Free Trade Election’ because of the hot topic issue of the FTA with the United States.  In some constituencies there was a fear of job losses in traditional female industries – especially the textile sector; there was a noticeable impact on women’s views towards political parties and their stance on signing such a bilateral initiative.[3]

To explain the gender gap in Canada it is best to review literature and the significance of related research.  The scope of this paper will be limited to briefly discussing the findings from: the Status of Women Canada 2001; Kay, Lambert, Brown and Curtis 1987; Everitt 1998; O’Neill, Erickson 2002; Gidengil, Nevitte, Blais 2004.  Based on this literature review it will become clear that a gender gap does exist in public opinion but it is not stable or predictable over time.

First let us examine statistical evidence produced by the Status of Women Canada (SWC) that identifies major differences that have emerged in the roles of Canadian women over a twenty-five year period.  The SWC is a government department that produced “A Quarter Century of Change: Young Women in Canada in the 1970s and Today,” it effectively compares and contrasts the lives of women aged 20-29 over a period of twenty-five years. [4] Highlights of the quarter-century between 1976 and 2001 shows a change in four key areas[5]:

1. The percentage of total Canadian women aged 20-29 who were married in 1976 was 64.6%; compared to 41.9% in 2001 which indicates a 23% decline over time.[6]
2. There has been a marked decrease in the birth rate over time same time period – in 1976 there were 100 births per 1000 women – in 2001 this statistic was only 58 births per 1000 women.
3. Women’s enrollment in post-secondary education has seen a marked increase where the percentage of women with a degree in 1976 was 8.6%; in 2001 it was 21.4%.
4. “In 2001 71% of all women [aged 20-29] were part of the paid work force, up from 58% in 1976.” However, women are much more likely to be employed part-time and to be lassified as having lower incomes than men.  A significant majority of women are limited to positions in sales and service, clerical, teaching, or nursing.[7]

This body of research indicates that women are being employed in greater numbers, face lower levels of income-equity than male counterparts and are more likely to be employed only part-time.  Interestingly women are doing a double-duty in society as they are most likely responsible for a greater share of domestic duties including child care, cooking and cleaning.[8]

An interesting factor that is considered by the SWC is that multiculturalism adds an increasingly complex element to understanding women in Canada.  The research indicates that immigrant women, especially those of a ‘visible-minority,’ face extraneous hurdles above and beyond that of the average Canadian.  This research suggests that immigrant women are: more likely to be unemployed and have lower income levels; they are also more likely to live in either Toronto or Vancouver; and are now characteristically from Asia and the Middle East whereas before were typically from Europe. [9] This is concerning especially since on average women earn only seventy-two percent of their male counterparts.[10] This research suggests that the role of women in society has dramatically changed in the last twenty-five years.  Now let us examine how this has been explained as a result of changes in cultural socialization,

In the 1980s Barry Kay, Ronald Lambert, Steven Brown, and James Curtis (Kay et al.) explained the difference in gender and political activity as a result of a variety of factors: cultural socialization, role constraints, and the absence of mobilizing issues.[11] Utilizing data from six Canada Election Studies (CES) they were unable to identify general trends in gender-related differences in political activity.  The two major findings of their work suggest: women who have children are significantly less likely to participate in politics; and women with higher levels of education or income were more likely to have increased level of political activity.  Through further research the situational factors of children, education and income would later be confirmed as factors of the gender gap in Canada:

The gender difference becomes (marginally) significant only if we incorporate religiosity into our model.  Women are more religious than men, and it is in good part because of their greater religiosity that they are as likely to vote as men. (GIDENGIL, NEVITTE and BLAIS 2004, 232)

Gidengil et. al found that voter turnout is proportionally better among those: with higher incomes, who are married and are more religious.  These findings provide evidence that well-off women will have a higher propensity to vote as a result of their status in society.  These findings are logical and seem to be true of men as well – where educated, well-off individuals are much more active in politics.  This suggests that there is an element of gender gaps between the socialization of women and men that results in women being disinterested in the political while men are the opposite.

In the 1990s Joanna Everitt provided valuable insight of the gender gap in Canadian public opinion as related to cultural socialization.  Her article “Public Opinion and Social Movements: Women’s Movement and the Gender Gap in Canada” describes the women’s movement that resulted in a significant gender role change.[12] This role change dates back to the need for increased participation of women in all areas of society outside the home; which resulted in the women’s movement and eventually the post-women’s movement.[13] Everitt’s research suggests that support for feminism and equality issues gained considerable support during the period between the 1970s and 90s evenly among both men and women.  Furthermore support of such ideas is found among people socialized or directly influenced by the women’s movement which is more likely to occur in the young and is even more articulated when education and employment variables are isolated.[14] Overall, Everitt does conclude that “women’s support for feminism stems from personal experiences and gender consciousness whereas men’s develops from an ideological predisposition to equality.”[15] However, Everitt indicates her research is not able to identify clear and persistent differences of Canadian attitudes as related to gender.

This is confirmed by Brenda O’Neill and Lynda Erickson’s article “The Gender Gap and the Changing Woman Voter in Canada;” which provides an analysis of an emerging gender gap during the period between 1965 and 1997.[16] The article attempts to apply the realignment thesis, a common post-industrialist explanation for the gender gap in the United States, to Canadian political culture.  The realignment thesis purports that traditionally women were more likely to vote for centre-right parties; whereas “contemporary women voters have not just converged towards their male counterparts but are moving to the left of them.”[17] The results of the O’Neill/Erickson study demonstrate a gender value-change has occurred in Canada outside of Quebec and results as from structural gender role-changes.

Changes such as the extraordinary growth in women’s labour force participation and the increase in women’s levels of education could contribute to more leftwing voting preferences among women when combined with factors such as the occupational segregation, lower pay rates and higher levels of public sector employment that women experience compared to men and which are still features of postindustrial societies. But gender role changes and the structural/situational factors that accompany them are also said to both cause and interact with changes in cultural values and dispositions.[18]

The change towards post-industrialism exerts that role-changes having a positional gendered-effect on social values characteristically found in voting choices over time.   As a result of realignment an additional factor to consider in voting choice is the changed perceptional relevance of political issues to members of each gender.  In this way O’Neill et. al suggests a strong correlation exists between the importance of religion in making voting decisions; where women factor religion as a more important factor in casting their vote.  They acknowledge past research that has included religion as a structural or situation explanation for the gender gap in voting in addition to other demographic factors like class, marital status and age.[19]

In the 1997 election O’Neill et. al detected an increase in support for the NDP among women.  “Then, not only were women more likely to avoid a party clearly on the right, but they also showed more support for a party of the left.”[20] However, this is offset by the fact there is little evidence that a gender gap existed in the 1993 election results; where the Liberals and Conservatives shared a small gap in support among the genders.  The lack of a gender gap in 1993 was expected to have occurred as a result of Kim Campbell’s leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party; who was to emerge as Canada’s first female Prime Minister.  That is to suggest that female leadership of the Conservative party may have influenced voter decision-making.[21]

Together Everitt and O’Neill have identified that there are inconsistencies in public opinion as related to gender issues.  They suggest there are two ways of understanding this based on: structure and situation.  Structurally women are believed to be more reliant on the state by being more likely to be employed by the public sector and more likely to access welfare/social programs.  This may be exacerbated by gendered patterns of employment where women are concentrated in traditionally low-paying jobs and face significant pay discrimination.  The second explanation is situational, since women are the maternal force of society their thinking is fundamentally linked to compassion and providing support for those in need.  There are also gender-specific issues representing a material self-interest for women like: feminism, abortion, workplace discrimination, and lack of representation in government.  The result of structural and situational pressures on gender differences materializes in women preferences that are: generally more supportive of the welfare state, less supportive of the free-enterprise system, and more reluctant to the use of force.[22] If this is the case then one would expect to find differences of opinion in Canadian political culture on an issue-by-issue basis.

Implications
The Gender Gap in Canadian Political Culture

How does gender impact Canadian political culture?  Nelson Wiseman reminds us that a country can be understood by examining the political culture – or the patterns of a political community’s ways of life.  Political culture exists as a construction of inhabitants’ ideology, policies, and practices.[23] There are two ways of approaching understanding political culture in Canada.  The first is to study emergent properties through development of institutions and explaining history.  This will be done over the next three sub-sections.  The second way is a snapshot in time of personal preferences as interpreted from aggregate survey data; which has been presented in the previous section and can be found in the appendices.  Using this understanding let us examine the Canadian context of political culture by briefly describing each element: first the ideology, then the stages of policy-development and finally the political practices in terms of federal parties and voter turnout.

Canadian Political Culture
Ideology & Structure

Canadian political culture is ideologically and structurally based on a constitutional monarchy.  The monarchy is represented by the Governor General (GG) of Canada which symbolizes the top of the structural hierarchy.  The GG works as the commander-in-chief to the benefit of the entire nation by ensuring the constitution is upheld throughout all courses of government action.  The constitution outlines federal and provincial jurisdictional powers which are overseen by the GG.  The constitution formalizes many democratic values of which equality is entrenched in the Canadian constitution and is guaranteed to all citizens.[24] This includes equality of gender.  It is therefore important for political actors to pursue a course of action that minimizes any negative impacts resulting from gender gaps.  It is interesting to note that of the twenty-seven GGs in Canadian history only eleven-percent, or three have been female – Jeanne Sauvé (1984-1990), Adrienne Clarkson (1999-2005), and Michaëlle Jean (2005-present).  In terms of equality of representation at the highest level Canadian politics is obviously lacking the woman perspective.[25] Through all levels of federal government it is clear that women account for only 19% – 29% of total membership.  This suggests a structural-deficiency of female participation in politics especially at the executive level.

Canadian Political Culture
Policy-development

The second element of political culture is found in the policies of a nation.  In Canada policy is developed at a federal and provincial level.  Provincial governments are responsible for many aspects of daily life, but our discussion will be limited to federal level politics.  The federal government is a parliamentary democracy divided by an appointed Senate (Upper House) and the elected House of Commons (Lower House).  Currently the House of Commons is represented by three national parties (Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrat) and one regional party (Bloc Quebecois).  Over the past twenty-five years the national parties have remained very similar – the exceptions being the conservative parties merging at the turn of the century and the emergence of the Green Party.  The parties are elected by a first-past-the-post system in 308 local constituencies each of which represent a seat in the House of Commons.  The House of Commons is the main legislative body of the Canadian government; all legislation is passed pending approval from first the Senate and then ascension by the Governor General.

When examining female representation in the main policy process in Canada it is best to look at representation in political parties.  Female representation over time can be found in Table 5:  Total Female Representation by Party in All Sessions of the House of Commons; it provides evidence from Parliamentary records since Confederation in 1867 of the total number of females elected to the House of Commons. [26] In the one-hundred and forty-two year history of Canadian policy-making there have been a total of 216 elected female representatives.  The Liberal Party has been the most representative of women over time with 90 seats, while the aggregate of all Conservative parties are a distant second with 70 seats. [27] Since these two parties have dominated the political landscape in Canada it is not surprising that they account for nearly 75% of total historical female representation in the House of Commons.  It is concerning, however, that women have only ever held 5.2% of the total possible seats available over this same time period.  Moreover, there has only ever been one woman to form a government in Canada – Kim Campbell who led the Progressive Conservative Party in 1993 for a brief period between two of the most influential Prime Ministers of recent history Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien.  This is compelling evidence of a significant underrepresentation by females throughout Canadian history in the primary policy-making process.

Looking further at the involvement of women at the federal level of politics we see a staggering lack of representation in the Senate.  Of the 903 total Senate appointments only nine-percent, or 82, were women.[28] Although this is significant of greater representation when compared to the House of Commons it still represents a severe lack of female involvement in the federal political process.  In the history of Canada the Liberal Party has appointed fifty women, the most of any party, to the Senate.  The ideological-right, or the aggregate of all Conservative parties over time, accounts for only twenty-eight appointments, while the ideological-left accounts for just one nomination.

Although a historical perspective is helpful, perhaps it is best to look at most recent data especially since female participation and representation has made a real breakthrough since the turn of the millennium.  Comparing the most recent elections (2004, 2006, 2008) we see the greatest shift in female representation away from the Liberals towards both the Conservatives and the NDP.[29] In these elections there has been a noticeable shift in the balance of power among political parties – from strong consecutive Liberal electoral victories to weak minority governments now dominated by the Conservatives.  With this shift in political power distribution there has been steady change in female representation overall.  In fact, the 2004 and 2008 election heralded record results for female representation in the House of Commons; with 65 and 69 female members being elected representing 21.1% and 22.4% of winning candidates respectively[30].  However, looking at female representation by political party we see considerable changes.  Appendix Table 6 shows that the number of elected female Liberal Party candidates has dropped by more than forty-percent. [31] Meanwhile, the NDP have more than doubled their female representation in the House of Commons; increasing the total number of seats held by women from just five in 2004 to twelve in both 2006 and 2008.  Likewise the Conservative Party has almost doubled female representation among their party in the same time period; with the biggest improvement in the 2008 election.

Canadian Political Culture
In Practice

The final element in describing political culture is found in the political practices of a nation.  This can be broken down into two categories of inquiry: how political parties operate and how Canadians interact with the political system which is best seen through voter turnout.

So how do federal political parties operate in Canada?  In the past twenty-five years of Canadian politics there have legitimately only been two parties vying to form government – the Liberals and the Conservatives.  However, Canada is characteristic of having a multi-party system which effectively splits the vote among other fringe-parties including the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois.   As a result of the multi-party system Canadian political parties are notorious for engaging in brokerage interest politics.  This means they are in constant conflict over the ‘centre-ground’ on popular issues of the day in an attempt to maintain and gain support during times of re-election.  Table 6 & 7 demonstrate that the Liberals have been the most successful in securing representation of women in executive levels of Canadian politics.  Throughout history the Liberals have been the most ideologically-centrist and therefore have been met with great electoral success.

Voter turnout is one of the most accurate measures of political culture at the individual level since it measures participation at the most accessible level to all citizens.  The Canadian Election Study (CES) provides comprehensive data which includes a broad evaluation of “respondent opinions about politics, political parties and leaders, and media and campaign activities.”[32] This data is used in many research studies and allows for accurate understanding of the three components of how an individual practices political culture.  The three components of political culture are: cognition, affection, and evaluation.  Cognition is how much one knows and understands their political culture.  Affection is how an individual feels towards their political culture through likes and dislikes.  And evaluation refers to judgments’ towards particular aspects of such a culture.  Although there are many models of voting behaviour this paper will adopt the Rational Choice Model of voting behaviour.  In this model elections are thought of as markets where national parties are producers and citizen-voters are consumers.[33] In such a model all actors want to minimize the political cost while maximizing political gains.  The rational choice model implies that voters are aware of their self-interest and of alternatives which leads them to make rational choices consistent with their self-interests.  This model is held in esteem because it is simple and relatively straight-forward in explaining voting behaviour.  However, it lacks an explanation of where individual preferences come from.  In addition this model assumes voters are fully rational in their decision-making which is questionable given personal preferences for habitual acts and a general laziness among the populace to commit time to becoming fully aware of the issues to make informed decisions.  The Rational Model would suggest women would be more likely to vote Liberal given the greater potential to gain political representation at the Senate level.  This was not confirmed during the most recent election 2008; a pre-election survey was conducted of approximately two-thousand Canadian citizens.[34] The results of this survey suggested a significant age gap exists between gender and political party preference.  When asked “If a federal election were held tomorrow, which party would you vote for?” men were more likely to response Conservative; while in each case women were more likely to vote Liberal, NDP, or Green.[35] The survey results also suggest that this gender gap exists in correlation to age demographics; where older men were more likely to prefer the Conservative Party and young women were more likely to prefer the NDP.

Discussion

This paper has discussed many issues related to the gender gap in public opinion and Canadian political culture.  It has suggested that literature on these issues explain the gap as a result of changes in structural and situational ways.  Gender is one of many cleavages which effectively divide public opinion over time and is one of many others like: age, religion, employment, and income.  All these factors combine as influencing events of an individual’s life – which act in concert with transformative events that arise from both situational and structural gender roles and expectations.

This paper has demonstrated that gender gaps have occurred in Canada on a number of issues.  Significant issues in the last twenty-five years are: the Free Trade Election of 1988, the 1993 general election that resulted in the first women Prime Minister, and both the 1997 and 2000 election that showed substantial female support of the NDP or leftist party.  Even most recently in the 2008 pre-election studies a gender gap has been evidenced in men’s general support of the Conservative Party and greater women’s support for all non-conservative parties.  There a numerous explanations for why a gender gap may exist – trying to accurately describe the gap is difficult.

Gender and corresponding gaps should be important considerations for any Canadian political party.  Since an individual’s political culture is based on cognition, affection and evaluation these findings should help federal parties to mobilize voter support by emphasizing specific gender-friendly platforms.  If a particular gender is pre-disposed to thinking or feeling a specific way then the parties that appeal to women may see an increase in voter support.  The 1993 election results suggest that a woman party leader may impact voter behaviour.

This paper has also demonstrated the significant lack of gender equality in representation of all executive levels of Canadian political culture.  Although this trend is beginning to change, women still lack representation-equity which presents a serious concern. Equality is constitutionally guaranteed therefore the strength of our democracy and meaningfulness of our formal political institutions could be gauged by the equity in representation of all citizens.  Currently Canada is not a leader in gender equity in political culture but has made some gains in recent years.  The most important thing is for Canadian political culture to support and encourage fairness and consideration for all of humanity.  This is especially true at the most executive levels of the policy process of the Canadian government.

APPENDIX

Table 1:
Ekos Poll – 2008 Federal Vote Intention by Demographics^[36]

Q. If a federal election were held tomorrow, which party would you vote for?

Table 2:
Demographic Factors of Women Aged 20-29 between 1976 and 2001[37]

Table 3:
Occupational Distribution – Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey, 1998[38]

Table 4:
Earnings of Women Employed Full-Time, Full-Year, as % of those of men,
by province, 1997[39]

Table 5:
Distribution of Positions of Power as a Percentage of Total Membership[40]

Table 6:
Total Female Representation by Party in All Sessions of
the House of Commons[41]

Table 7:
Total Female Senate Appointments by Party Affiliation[42]

Table 8:
Female Representation in Federal Parties by Election Result 2004-2008[43]

Bibliography

Abzug, Bella. Gender Gap; Bella Abzug’s Guide to Political Power for American Women. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984.

Cohen, Marjorie Griffen. Feminism’s Effect on Economic Policy. Vol. 2, chap. 4 in Canadian Womens Issues: Bold Visions, by Ruth Roach Pierson and Marjorie Griffen Cohen, 281. Toronto, ON: James Lorimer & Company Publishers , 1995.

EKOS Election. “Election Harper’s to Lose.” EKOS Election. September 2008. http://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2008/09/election-harpers-to-lose-2/ (accessed November 27, 2009).

Elections Canada . 40th General Election. http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=loi&dir=res/40eval&document=index&lang=e#14 (accessed November 30, 2009).

Everitt, Joanna. “Public Opinion and Social Movements: The Women’s Movement and the Gender Gap in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 31, no. 4 (1998): 743-765.

Gidengil, Elisabeth, Andre Blais, Richard Nadeau, and Neil Nevitte. “Women to the Left? Gender Differences in Political Beliefs and Policy Preferences.” In Gender and Elections in Canada, by Manon Tremblay and Linda Trimble.

GIDENGIL, ELISABETH, NEIL NEVITTE, and ANDRÉ BLAIS. “Where does turnout decline come from?” European Journal of Political Research (Blackwell Publishing) 43 (2004): 221–236.

Heard, Andrew. Women & Canadian Elections. October 2008. http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/women.html (accessed November 28, 2009).

Jansen, Dr. Harold. Political Science 3280: Canadian Political Behaviour. University of Lethbridge. Fall 2009.

Kay, Barry J, Ronald D Lambert, Steven D Brown, and James E Curtis. “Gender and Political Activity in Canada, 1965-1984.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 20 (1987): 851-863.

Lindsay, Colin and Almey, Marcia. A Quarter Century of Change: Young Women in Canada in the 1970s and Today. Policy Research, Status of Women , Canada, Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2005.

O’Neill, Brenda, and Lynda Erickson. “The Gender Gap and the Changing Woman Voter in Canada.” International Political Science Review 23, no. 4 (2002): 373-392.

Parliament of Canada. Women Federal Political Representation 1867 – Date. November 2009. http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/parliament/WomenRepresentation.aspx?Menu=HOC-Representation (accessed November 27, 2009).

Peebles, Dana. Increasing gender Inputs into Canadian International Trade Policy Positions at the WTO. Policy Research, Canada, Ottawa: Status of Women Canada, 2005.

Status of Women Canada. Women and Men in Canada: A Statistical Glance. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2000, 27 pages.

Wiseman, Nelson. In Search of Canadian Political Culture. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007.

[2] (Jansen 2009)

[3] (Cohen 1995, 281)

[4] (Lindsay 2005)

[5] See Appendix Table 2:  Demographic Factors of Women Aged 20-29 between 1976 and 2001

[6] (Lindsay 2005, 4)

[7] Ibid. page 9

[8] See Appendix Tables 2 & 3

[9] (Lindsay 2005, 14)

[10] See Appendix Table 4:  Earnings of Women Employed Full-Time, Full-Year, as % of those of men,  by province, 1997

[11] (Kay, et al. 1987)

[12] (Everitt 1998)

[13] The women’s movement or ‘feminism’ can be described as increased awareness on issues of: domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, voting rights, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.

[14] (Everitt 1998, 746)

[15] (Everitt 1998, 755)

[16] (O’Neill and Erickson 2002)

[17] Ibid. page 373

[18] Ibid.

[19] (Studlar, McAllister, and Hayes 1998; Inglehart and Norris, 2000 as cited by O’Neill et. al 2002)

[20] (O’Neill and Erickson 2002, 379)

[21] Ibid.

[22] (Everitt, Kopinak, Terry, Wearing as cited by O’Neill et. al 2005)

[23] (Wiseman 2007, 13)

[24] Explicitly found in Part I – Section 2.6 and Part III of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

[25] See Appendix Table 5:  Distribution of Positions of Power as a Percentage of Total Membership

[26] See Appendix Table 6:  Total Female Representation by Party in All Sessions of  the House of Commons

[27] Aggregate refers to combination of the Canadian Alliance, Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative, and Reform as one “Conservative Party”

[28] See Appendix Table 7:  Total Female Senate Appointments by Party Affiliation

[29] This is confirmed in “Women to the Left? Gender Differences in Political Beliefs and Policy Preferences” by Gidengil, et al.

[30] (Heard 2008)

[31] See Appendix Table 8:  Female Representation in Federal Parties by Election Result 2004-2008

[32] (Elections Canada n.d.)

[33] (Jansen 2009)

[34] (EKOS Election 2008)

[35] See Appendix Table 1:  Ekos Poll – 2008 Federal Vote Intention by Demographics

[36] (EKOS Election 2008)
Note: Random sample of 2000 Canadians aged 18 and over responded to the survey; estimated margin of error +/- 2.2 percentage points (19 times out of 20). Survey completed September 2 to September 4, 2008.

[37] (Lindsay 2005)

[38] (Status of Women Canada 2000, 16)

[39] (Status of Women Canada 2000, 23)

[40] (Status of Women Canada 2000, 26)

[41] (Parliament of Canada 2009)

[42] (Parliament of Canada 2009)

[43] (Heard 2008)

Curtis Matwychuk-Goodman, Jeff Wilson, Ryan Gillanders, Wade Tywoniuk, and Will Woo Young Kim.

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Introduction to the Issue

This paper is intended to provide readers with an understanding of the wind-energy industry.  In order to understand the industry a holistic approach is necessary.  First, this paper will explain the historical development of wind-energy.  It will then explain the concepts of location advantages which are crucial for industry development.  Readers will understand how location can both be an advantage and disadvantage depending on how firm-specific advantages are leveraged.  Furthermore this paper will detail the stages of wind-energy project developments as well as the technological advancements that have given rise to the current wind turbine designs.   In the end readers will understand the basics about wind-energy; with a better understand how wind can be harnessed to produce sustainable and renewable power.

In terms of the global regions of the wind-industry our research indicates the largest players are found in the triad economic regions; including the European Union, North America and Asia-Pacific.  The second part of this paper will give a brief overview of some countries from each region.  From the EU, the focus will primarily be on Germany and Spain, with brief discussions of secondary players from Bulgaria, Italy, UK, France, Turkey and Poland.  This section will prove Europe’s historical dominance in the wind energy industry.  From Asia-Pacific we will discuss the emergence of China as a global player; and from North America we will focus on Canada and the United States.  Overall, from this regional overview readers will gain insight into key areas of: the role of governments from incentives to regulation; how a global shift has occurred from Europe to the world; and the ways in which a cluster-effect has occurred similar to other global industries.  This section will enable readers to understand the high –growth potential of wind energy.

To further understand the regional markets of the wind-energy industry we will provide a detailed overview of three major companies operating within each triad region.  The Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power provides an interesting case of the cooperation between European and Canadian markets.  From Asia we will examine Goldwind Science and Technology Company, an interesting case of state-owned enterprise and the role in developing local area-clusters.  We will also look to TransAlta Wind, one of Canada’s largest wind-energy producers; which will provide readers with insight how energy market deregulation has fostered economic growth in the wind sector.  In the end readers will better understand the current issues and barriers facing firms within the wind-sector as well as our predictions of the future of the industry.  Our discussion will conclude with our key recommendations for the industry.

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Theories and Concepts

In terms of major theoretical concepts used in this paper our primary focus is: the correlation of location and competitive advantage and the CAGE Framework; Michael Porter’s Diamond of National Advantage, and cluster development.

This paper will demonstrate how location plays one of the most important roles in industry development.  Through the regional discussions we will briefly explain how the CAGE Framework of Distance applies to industry.  CAGE stands for the four distances or hurdles often faced by transnational corporations: culture, administrative, geographic and economic.  This paper will show how the greater the distance of any of the variables – the weaker the transference of firm specific-advantages across borders.

Michael Porter’s Diamond refers to four major areas that contribute to national advantage, these include: factor conditions; demand conditions; related and supporting industry players; firm strategies, structure and rivalry.   Discussion on this concept will be thoroughly addressed in the regional overviews of the wind industry.  Our discussion will cover each of the four areas of national advantage and will describe how some countries are indeed leveraging these to become industry leaders.

In terms of cluster development our paper will demonstrate how clusters are forming in each of the TRIAD regions.  From Europe we will see how the German turbine and component manufacturing sector has maintained a competitive advantage through government incentives and policies.  From Asia we will see how China has developed a regionally competitive wind-producer capable of capturing increasing market share in the years to come.  From North America we will see how since 2007 an internationally-competitive industry cluster has developed in the United States.

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History of the Industry

Wind power was not the first non-human power source in the history.  The technique of grinding grain between stones to produce flour is similarly ancient as is processes powered by both animals and water.  Windmills were originally developed in European countries which contributed significantly to both economic development and civilizations’ advancement.  Development of windmills in European countries especially in England and Holland helped these two countries develop highly skilled labour forces concentrated on technology development.  During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as major European powers colonized remote areas of the world they spread the technology as well.

As steam power developed, however, windmills were thought to be defective in comparison working only when the wind blew at the average rate of 16 kilometers per hour.  New industrial advancements made wind seem unreliable and not the best source of energy.  European countries struggled to make use of wind power in an effective manner.  In North America, water-pumping wind turbines began appearing in the late 1800s used primarily to irrigate crops (Transalta).

The United States was the first country that saw the possibility that the wind motor could still render its benefits to the modern civilization.  Charles F. Brush (1849-1929) is one of the founders of the American electrical industry.  He invented a very efficient DC dynamo used in the public electrical grid, the first commercial electrical arc light, and an efficient method for manufacturing lead-acid batteries.  During the winter of 1887-88 Brush built what is today believed to be the first automatically operating wind turbine for electricity generation; however, his first turbine was not efficient due to the slowly rotating wind turbines.

It was the Dane Poul la Cour , who later discovered in Denmark that fast rotating wind turbines with few rotor blades are more efficient for electricity production than slow moving wind turbines.  Following Dane Poul la Cour, Johannes Juul, who was one of the first students of Poul la Cour, became a pioneer in developing the world’s first alternating current (AC) wind turbines.

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Location Effects

Within the industry of wind energy production, location is the most important factor because how many aspects of wind energy depend on it.  When talking about location itself, it can present itself as both the most important location advantage for firms, yet at the same time it is also the most difficult factor within the industry to actually take advantage of.  Aspects of location can also uncover many barriers to entry into the industry itself.

Location Advantage

When discussing the types of competitive advantages which firms may use to gain an edge within an industry location advantage is the most important advantage that any firm within the wind energy industry can exploit.  Given that “since 1980, wind turbines have been becoming larger and more efficient at rates otherwise only seen in computer technology,” it does not make sense to depend exclusively on firm specific advantages such as innovation and technology to maintain a competitive advantage (World Wind Energy Association, 2006)[1].  This is the same dilemma that the computer and electronic industry has encountered: you simply cannot rely on technological advancement as your sole competitive advantage because of the extremely high rate of growth and innovation.  Therefore location advantage is the type of advantage that producers will need to exploit the most in order to maintain competitiveness within the industry.

Location advantage is easy to understand within this industry because not every geographic area within the world is suitable for wind energy production.  The difficulties of making location work for the firm as a competitive advantage will be described later, but what should be noted is that if an industry player has discovered and gained access to an area suitable for wind production then they already hold a tremendous advantage over other competitors.  Quite literally, any firm or nation interested in wind energy production can only enter the market if they have access to ideal locations.  This is the reason why location is the most important factor of competitive advantage in the industry and at the same time one of the most difficult issues for competitors within the industry which they could capitalize on and / or overcome.

Location as a Disadvantage

One of the most important factors that can determine the success or failure of wind energy generation is location.  Unfortunately for wind energy producers, location is often one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome.  For most wind industries development is dependent on windy areas and windy areas may still not provide optimal conditions for wind energy production.  Location of possible production areas may not have any geographical relation to areas that are requiring increased production of electricity.  This makes issues such as location, storage and transmission become serious concerns for new firms entering the industry.  Some locations may require excessive regulatory approvals which add to the time and cost of the project.

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Types of Wind Turbine Design

When people usually think of ‘wind turbine,’ they recall a high tower with three blades looking like a large fan.  Actually, there are so many different types of wind turbines as endless as the designers’ imagination.  However, we can differentiate the most common types in two ways: vertical axis and horizontal axis wind turbine.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)

The principle advantage of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) is that they are omnidirectional – this means they accept the wind from any direction.  Vertical axis turbines also can be divided into two major groups: those using aerodynamic drag to extract power from the wind such as the cup anemometer, and those that use lift.

During 1920’s French inventor D.G.M. Darrieus patented a wind machine using curved bladed to the rotor instead of straight blades.  Darrieus’s concept eventually faded into obscurity. Canada’s National Research Council reinvented the design in the mid-1960s, and subsequently Canadian wind research focused on Darrieus turbines, which experimental Darrieus design was under developed near Picher Creek, Alberta.  There are some advantages for VAWTs:

1. It may place the generator and gearbox on the ground, and you may not need a tower for the machine equates to cost efficiency.
2. It does not need a yaw mechanism to turn the rotor against the wind, as mentioned above it is omnidirectional and should turn under any wind direction.

But the reason most VAWTs disappeared is they have more disadvantages:

1. Wind speeds are very low close to ground level, so although it may not need a tower, its wind speeds will be very low on the lower part of your rotor
2. The overall efficiency of the vertical axis machines is not impressive.
3. The machine is not self-starting
4. The machine may need guy wires to hold it up, but guy wires are impractical in heavily farmed areas.
5. Replacing the main bearing for the rotor necessitates removing the rotor on both a horizontal and a vertical axis machine. In the case of the latter, it means tearing the whole machine down.

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT)

Unlike VAWTs, conventional horizontal wind turbines are not omnidirectional.  To supplement this problem, wind turbine makers invented the yaw mechanism[2].Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) can be largely divided depending on number of blades and yaw mechanism.

There are various numbers of blades in HAWTs: one blade, two blades, three blades and multi-blade turbines.  One and two blade turbines are hardly seen in new turbine installations.  Two-bladed wind turbine designs have the advantage of saving the manufacturing cost of one rotor blade as well as the weight savings on the overall structure design.  On the other hand, they require higher rotational speed to yield the same energy output. This is a disadvantage both in regard to noise and visual intrusion.

One and two-bladed machines require a more complex design with a hinged (teetering hub) rotor, which enable rotor to tilt in order to avoid too heavy shocks to the turbine when a rotor blade passes the tower. In addition, one-blade rotor requires a counterweight to be placed on the other side of the hub from the rotor blade in order to balance the rotor, which is not gave them a weight efficiency anymore compared to two-blade rotor. As a result, today it is difficult to find these one and two-blade wind turbines and several traditional manufacturers of two-bladed machines have switched to three-bladed designs. Most modern wind turbines are three-bladed designs with the rotor position maintained upwind using electrical motors in their yaw mechanism.

Components of wind turbine

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association a typical wind turbine is made up of about 8,000 separate parts – containing everything from electronics to heavy metal components (2008).  Think of it like this: once wind hits the rotor blades hold by a hub, it rotates to life, which is the same concept used for airplanes and helicopters.  Though the low speed shaft, rotation transfers to gearbox that change low speed revolution to high speed.  Hydraulics system works with gear box to make it able to have proper revolution speed from inconsistent wind.  From the gear box through the high speed, rotation convey to electronic generator.  Controller unit like an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU) in a car engine which controls overall operation is also included in turbine unit.  It also has a cooling unit to prevent over heating of turbine.  Most turbine designs also have brake-components to prevent the unit from over-spinning in intense wind speeds[3].  Once a wind-energy project is installed and contributing to the electricity market of an area they also require regular maintenance to ensure all machine parts are functioning properly.

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Development

The first major hurdle that wind energy producers must overcome is finding an adequate location to establish a wind farm. According to the World Wind Energy Association, there is a multi step process in determining the location of a new wind farm.

First there needs to be an estimation of wind conditions, this can be ascertained through a combination of general meteorological weather statistics such as average wind speed and an analysis of the geography of the location.  Geography of the location is important because every obstacle such as hills, valleys, manmade structures, and trees can dramatically affect how the wind travels through the region.  Determining the wind conditions will then give developers an idea of what type of wind turbine they will need, how tall the turbine will need to stand to capture the optimal wind conditions, as well as where the turbines can be located.  Compilation of data is extremely important and must not be overlooked because there are so many influencing factors that can determine whether or not a wind energy farm is a viable project within that geographic area.  The importance of determining and knowing accurate wind conditions cannot be taken lightly, for example “if the wind speeds are 10% smaller than expected, the energy yield will fall short by more than 30%” (World Wind Energy Association, 2006).  Such a dramatic change in energy output could not only affect the determined success of the wind farm, it could cause serious distribution problems within the electrical grid that it is supplying.

Once establishing an estimation of wind conditions have been established developers will need to draft initial estimates of installed capacity and energy yield. Essentially this involves determining how much space is available in the area, where they can obtain access to the power grid in order to transfer the electricity produced and to determine what type and how many generators will need to be installed in order to reach a nominal level of power output. For large wind farms that produce more than 20 MW of electricity it is often necessary to set up a separate transformer station for the farm which can tie itself into the power grid instead of tying the farm’s production into an already existing transformer along the grid (World Wind Energy Association, 2006).  Access to the power grid itself can be a very large issue given that the geographic location of many wind farms (due to the need for ideal geographic and meteorological conditions) does not have a close proximity to either a power transmission grid or areas requiring electrical power.  In order to deal with this issue, the consideration of construction new power transmission lines should be taken into consideration as a possible necessity and cost to successfully construct a wind farm.

The next step is to draft a layout of the farm.  This may sound like a simple task but it is actually a very complex process. Drafting the layout involves contrasting productivity optimization factors of “looking for the optimal arrangement of wind turbines on a given site is the highest possible energy yield of the entire wind farm over its service life” against other attributing factors such as “the conditions and costs of installation — such as construction of power lines from the turbines to the transformer and interconnection stations or roads for assembly, maintenance, and service vehicles” (World Wind Energy Association, 2006).  The largest difficulty that is encountered by developers is determining the optimal trade-off between the two sets of factors as well as successfully securing permits and lease agreements (if necessary) to use the decided-upon land, all the while observing specified restrictions and barriers to entry which can arise (such as maximum building heights, minimum distances from other structures, and environmental protection regulations).

If all the factor requirements can be satisfied during this development stage, the planning for the wind farm can finally become a reality. What this process shows is that there is an incredible amount of time, energy and resources that will need to be expended just to determine a location in which a producer can actually set up operations. This process considers many different factors, all of which are essential and must be met, and if the factors do not present evidence that the location is optimal for wind energy production, it is often hard to continue on with that specific location. This alone should shed some light on why location can be the most important competitive advantage and at the same time be one of the most difficult aspects of wind energy production to incorporate into successful production operations.

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Global Location of the Industry

In terms of the global regions of the wind-industry our focus is on the triad economic regions including the European Union, North America and Asia-Pacific.  Our discussion will give a brief overview of the countries in: the EU, primarily Germany and Spain, with brief discussions of secondary players from Bulgaria, Italy, UK, France, Turkey and Poland; from Asia-Pacific we will discuss the emergence of China as a global player; and from North America we will focus on Canada and the United States.

This section draws from a few key sources.  The most valuable source of wind-industry information is the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).  We felt that GWEC provided us with the most accurate and unbiased information on individual countries and their production of wind energy.  For information on Europe’s wind-industry the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) proved useful for timely information.

When finding information on solely Chinese wind energy, the Chinese Wind Energy Association, the Energy Research Institute.  When researching Goldwind Science and Technology, there was a scarce amount of information that could be found in English.  Because of this, we had to rely on the Goldwind website, where we realize has the potential to be a biased source.  However, we still felt that for the most part the information we found pertaining to Goldwind was accurate.

For the section on North America, information is derived from a variety of sources.  The American Wind Energy Association and the Canadian Wind Energy Association provided valuable sources for localized knowledge of the industry.  These sources are considered to be among the most reliable as they represent the major industry players.  In addition to this the North American section is supplemented by information from Price Waterhouse Coopers, the Canadian and United States government.

This regional overview of the industry readers will gain insight into key areas of: the role of governments from incentives to regulation; how a global shift has occurred from Europe to the world; and how a cluster-effect has occurred similar to other industries discussed throughout the course of the semester.

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The European Perspective

According to the European Commission, the European Union (EU) hosts only 3.5% of the world’s proven coal reserves, less than 2% of the world’s gas, less than 2% of the world’s uranium and less than 1% of the world’s oil (EWEA, 2009).  With such a lack of natural resources, it becomes obvious that the EU Member States must turn to alternative energy sources to meet the energy demands of their populations.  However the EU has taken this requirement of alternative energy sources one step further by focusing their efforts on sustainable and renewable energy sources.

At the opening session of the European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said “it makes good sense to invest in indigenous sources of power which hedge against unpredictable fossil fuel prices and in which Europe has a real competitive advantage” (EWEA, 2009).  Also at the session, Arthouros Zervos, European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) president, emphasized that

…the fight over the world’s rapidly depleting fuel resources is already intensifying… [and] it will only become more brutal with time and Europe will lose the battle. European companies have two-thirds of the €35 billion global market for wind power technology. Wind energy is Europe’s contribution to peace, progress and prosperity and we should urgently develop, promote and export it to the best of our ability. (EWEA, 2009)

The implementation of this strategy could vastly decrease, even eventually eliminate, the need for imported energy fuels, and in the process develop a great opportunity for increased export markets.

The EU remains the world leader in total installed wind energy capacity, and one of the strongest regions for new development, with over 8.4 GW of new installed capacity in 2008.  Cumulative wind capacity has increased by 15% reaching 64,949 MW by the end of 2008[4].  Wind energy is now the fastest growing power technology in Europe accounting for 35% of the approximately 24 GW of total new power generation capacity built in the EU in 2008[5].  A total of 160,000 workers were employed directly and indirectly in the wind energy sector, which saw investments of about €11 billion in the EU alone.  The wind power capacity installed by the end of 2008 will produce 142 TWh of electricity, equal to about 4.2% of the EU’s electricity demand. (GWEC: EU, 2009)

A major factor behind the growth of the European wind market has been strong policy support both at the EU and the national level.  In 2001 the EU put in place the Renewable Energy Directive which is aimed at increasing the share of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the EU, as a whole, to 21% by 2010 (up from 15.2% in 2001).  EU Member States are given the freedom of choice regarding support mechanisms, but mainly feed-in tariffs, fixed premiums, green certificate systems and tendering procedures are utilized, complemented by tax incentives, environmental taxes, contribution programs or voluntary agreements (GWEC: EU, 2009).  However, major barriers to “growth and integration” of renewable electricity are present, including “delays in authorization, unfair grid access conditions and slow reinforcement of the electric power grid” (GWEC: EU, 2009).

In December 2008, the EU agreed to a new Renewable Energy Directive in which the EU’s overall 20% renewable energy target will be divided into legally binding targets for the 27 Member States, averaging out at 20% each by 2020.  In terms of electricity consumption, renewable energy sources should provide about 35% of the EU’s power by 2020, with wind energy set to contribute more than a third of all the power coming from renewable energy sources (GWEC: EU, 2009).  The directive legally obliges each EU Member State to outline the steps it will take to meet its target in a National Renewable Energy Action Plan and every two years Member States must submit a progress report to the European Commission, containing information on their share of renewable energy, support schemes and progress on tackling administrative and grid barriers.  Flexible measures have been built into the directive to help countries achieve their targets in a “cost-effective way, without undermining market stability” (GWEC: EU, 2009).  Acceptable measures include the transfer of a specified amount of renewable energy between Member States, joint projects involving private operators, or joint or partly coordinated national support schemes (GWEC: EU, 2009).  The directive also requires EU countries to take “the appropriate steps to develop transmission and distribution grid infrastructure, [develop] intelligent networks, [develop] storage facilities, [develop the] electricity system… [and] speed up authorization procedures for grid infrastructure” to help develop renewable electricity (GWEC: EU, 2009).  EU countries must “ensure that transmission system operators and distribution system operators guarantee the transmission and distribution of renewable electricity and provide for either priority or guaranteed access to the grid system or access” (GWEC: EU, 2009).

The new Renewable Energy Directive targets will translate into 230 GW of installed wind energy capacity, including 40 GW offshore, producing approximately 600 TWh per year in the EU by 2020; power equivalent to meet the demand of approximately 135 million average EU households (60% of EU households) and meeting between 14 and 18% of EU electricity demand (depending on total demand in 2020). (EWEA, 2009)

Major European Players

Germany and Spain remain the driving forces of the European wind energy industry, remaining Europe’s leaders for new installations in 2008 and cumulative installed capacity.

Germany is Europe’s largest wind energy market, both in terms of total installed capacity and in terms of new installations; ranking Germany second in the world in cumulative capacity installed, only trailing the United States as of the end of 2008, and placing them fourth in 2008 installations, behind the United States, China and India[6].  During 2008, 866 new wind turbines with a capacity of 1,665 MW were installed in Germany, bringing the cumulative total up to 23,903 MW[7].  Repowering old machines accounted for 24 MW in 2008, and 5 MW were installed offshore. The largest turbines currently operating in Germany have a rated capacity of 6 MW.  Wind energy generated 40.4 TWh of electricity in Germany in 2008, representing 7.5% of Germany’s net electricity consumption, with a number of states now providing more than one third of their electricity generation from wind energy: Saxony-Anhalt (42.6%), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (39.4%), Schleswig-Holstein (38.3%) and Brandenburg (34.1%).  A reliable domestic market has allowed German manufacturers and suppliers to lead the way in developing wind energy worldwide. (GWEC: Germany, 2009)

A cluster in the wind turbine and component production industry appears to exist within Germany’s borders.  In 2007, turbine and component production worldwide by German companies amounted to €6.1 billion, a healthy 21% increase from 2006.  This translated into German manufacturers and suppliers contributing to about a quarter of the total worldwide turnover of €25 billion in 2007.  The percentage of exported equipment increased from 74% in 2006 to over 83% in 2007. (GWEC: Germany, 2009)

Strong governmental support and beneficial legislation implementation has been a key driver in Germany’s development into a world leader in the wind energy industry.  Under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz-EEG):

• electricity produced from renewable energy sources is given priority for grid connection, grid access in both distribution and transmission grids, and power dispatch.
• fixed feed-in tariffs are stipulated for each kWh of power produced and fed into the grid from renewable sources.
• there are higher tariffs for on and offshore wind energy installations, incentives and regulations for improved grid integration technology of turbines and stricter obligations for grid operators in integrating wind power.
• an ‘initial tariff’ for wind energy is fixed for at least five and up to 20 years and is then reduced to a ‘basic tariff’ depending on how local wind conditions compare to a ‘reference yield’.
• grid operators are obliged to feed-in electricity produced from renewable energy and buy it at a fixed price within their supply area.
• grid operators must not only extend the grid, but also optimize and enhance the existing grid. Failure to comply with this can lead to claims for damages by anyone willing but unable to feed-in. (GWEC: Germany, 2009)

Spain is Europe’s second largest wind energy market, both in terms of total installed capacity and in terms of new installations; ranking Spain third in the world in cumulative capacity installed, fifth in 2008 installations, directly behind Germany in both categories[8].  With 16,754 MW of total installed capacity, new installations in 2008 totaled 1,609 MW[9], maintaining pace with previous years. The developments in 2007, with over 3.5 GW of new capacity installed, provided an exception as pending regulatory change brought about a higher than usual installation rate.  In 2008, wind energy generated more than 31TWh, delivering more than 11% of the country’s electricity demand. (GWEC: Spain, 2009)

Spain is home to the world’s largest wind farm owner, Iberdrola, as well as some of the most important turbine manufacturers and developers, who are now involved in wind energy operations around the globe.  The wind energy sector contributes more to the country’s GDP than any other industry, according to a study entitled The Macroeconomic Impact of the Wind Energy Sector in Spain, published by the consultancy Deloitte in 2008.  The Spanish wind industry exports equipment worth 2.5 billion Euros every year, invests around €200 million in research and development activities and has created more than 40,000 jobs, including indirect employment and employment create by a large Spanish export industry producing components for the global wind market. (GWEC: Spain, 2009)

Spain’s current tariff system offers different levels of tariffs depending on the technology and on the size of the installation. According to Spanish law:

• the power producer can choose between a fixed price and a premium added to the market price. The choice is revisited yearly allowing a switch if desired.
• the electricity distributor has an obligation to buy electricity produced by renewable sources at the defined price and the National Commission of Energy (CNE) performs the settlement of costs incurred by distributors.
• the costs of the renewable energy electricity generation are taken into account for the annual calculation of the electricity price, thereby ensuring that the additional cost to consumers is proportional to their electricity consumption. (GWEC: Spain, 2009)

New legislation entered into force in 2008 provide a structure similar to the old system, with a choice between fixed tariff and fixed premium, but with less favorable tariffs and a cap and floor mechanism for the fixed premium option.  This new system aims to protect operators of renewable energy installations from excessively low market prices, and, on the other hand, eliminate the premium when market prices are deemed high enough to cover generation costs. (GWEC: Spain, 2009)

The 2008 market was much more balanced than in previous years [with a] group of ‘second wave’ countries emerg[ing to] provide real momentum to the surge in wind energy. Italy added 1,010 MW to reach a total of 3,736 MW of installed capacity; France added 950 MW to reach 3,404 MW and the UK added 836 MW to reach 3,241 MW… Ten EU Member States – over one third of all EU countries – now each have more than 1,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity…

[In addition, a] distinct ‘third wave’ became visible for the first time in 2008 as the new EU Member States had their strongest year ever. Hungary doubled its capacity to 127 MW and Bulgaria tripled its capacity from 57 MW to 158 MW. Poland, one of the fastest growing younger markets, now has 472 MW up from 276 MW at the end of 2007. Outside the EU Member States, Turkey tripled its wind energy capacity from 147 MW to 433 MW. In terms of offshore wind energy, 357 MW of capacity was added in 2008, to reach a total of 1,471 MW. Nearly 2.3% of total installed EU capacity is now offshore. (GWEC: EU, 2009)[10]

Mainstream Renewable Power

Mainstream Renewable Power is a renewable energy company based out of Ireland that was founded in February 2008 by Dr. Eddie O’Connor, former CEO of Airtricity, and Fintan Whelan, former Corporate Finance Manager of Airtricity (Airtricity is an Irish based renewable energy company that sold its North American business unit in October 2007 and the remainder of the company in January 2008). (Mainstream: About Us, 2009)

[Mainstream’s] vision is of thriving economies and communities liberated from the restrictions of fossil fuels, using renewable energy as their mainstream source of power… [and their mission is t]hrough the passion and imagination of our people, we work together with partners and communities to deliver a successful business that accelerates global progress towards a sustainable future. (Mainstream: Vision and Mission, 2009)

Major accomplishments since 2008 include:

• Set up offices in Berlin, Chicago, Cape Town, Dublin, London, Santiago and Toronto.
• Identified and recruited some of the most talented and experienced teams in the industry.
• Established its board to include chairman, Fintan Drury, Sir Roy Gardner, former head of Centrica, Brendan Halligan of Sustainable Energy Ireland and Mark Brown of Barclays Capital.
• Raised €72 million in equity including €20 million from Barclays Capital in return for a 14.6% stake in the company.
• Raised €26 million in corporate mezzanine debt by private placement with Dolmen Stockbrokers.
• Identified potential partners in key markets. (Mainstream: About Us, 2009)

Notable business transactions since February 2008:

• Signing a $1 billion deal to build wind farms in Chile – November 6, 2008.
• Awarded 360MW offshore wind site in Scottish Waters – February 16, 2009.
• Signing CAD$840 million deal to build wind farms in Canada – March 12, 2009.
• To build 500MW in South Africa by 2014 with Genesis Eco-Energy – March 19, 2009. (Mainstream: News Releases, 2009)

Mainstreams third transaction announcement, regarding the future construction of wind farms in Canada was the major driver in selecting them as the company of focus for the European region.  For this business agreement is extremely close to home for staff and students of the University of Lethbridge.

On March 12, 2009 Mainstream Renewable Power announced the signing of a CAD$840 million joint venture deal with Canadian wind farm developer, Alberta Wind Energy Corporation (AWEC) to build an initial portfolio of over 400MW of wind energy plants in Alberta by 2013. The joint venture company plans to have the 46MW Old Man River project, located in the Pincher Creek area of Alberta, ready for construction in late 2009 with the goal of being operational in 2010, while the 62MW Windy Point Wind Farm is due to be fully operational by 2012. (Mainstream: News Releases: Mainstream signs…, 2009)

Mainstream’s Chief Executive, Dr Eddie O’Connor said, “Our strategy is to ‘think globally, deliver locally’ and I believe this is key to our success. We identify local partners with great projects and they leverage from our global strength in areas such as Project Finance, Construction and Procurement so that together we can deliver projects faster and more cost-effectively” (Mainstream: News Releases: Mainstream signs…, 2009).

Stewart Duncan, President and CEO of AWEC commented, “This is great news for Alberta. Demand for electricity in the area is growing, while fossil fuel generating stations are nearing the end of their life and will require decommissioning or refurbishment.  A recent forecast by Alberta’s Electric System Operator indicated that Alberta will need an additional 5,000MW of generation by 2017.  Furthermore, Southern Alberta has some of the best wind sites for power generation anywhere in onshore North America” (Mainstream: News Releases: Mainstream signs…, 2009).

Sherra Zulerons, Mainstream’s Country Manager for Canada commented, “Getting connected to the transmission system can be a major obstacle for new wind generation in Alberta.   All of our projects have already obtained, or are in the process of obtaining grid connection agreements. This is a major plus” (Mainstream: News Releases: Mainstream signs…, 2009).

This is a huge step in the progression of renewable energy in the fossil fuel dominated Province of Alberta, and thus the entire nation of Canada. In addition to the Southern Alberta corridor providing great potential for wind energy projects, Mainstream is also currently pursuing possible projects in Northern Alberta and Northern British Columbia.

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The Asian Perspective

The growth in Asian markets has been breathtaking, and nearly a third of the 27GW of new wind energy capacity added globally in 2008 were installed in Asia (Global Wind Energy Council)[11]. When it comes to wind power in Asia, there are two main countries that that are leaders in wind power – China and India.

China and India have a combined population of 2.5 billion people and are two of the world’s worst culprits when it comes to global pollution.  “The rapidly expanding economies of China and India are showing a swift increase in CO2 emissions.  China, which is already the second largest polluter, has increased its emissions by 33 percent… while India’s emissions have grown 57 percent” (World Bank). However, both China and India are making conscious efforts to reduce their impact on the global environment.  One of the ways to do this is by investing in wind-energy generation sites as a source of new electricity demand.

Another Asian country that is actively harnessing wind power is Japan.  Japan’s growth in wind energy has nearly equaled that of China’s; however, “severe weather conditions are constraining growth of the Japanese wind market” (Global Wind Energy Council).  It is for this reason that we will be looking at China as the major Asian market for wind power.

China – Wind Energy Potential

The greatest potential for wind power in China occurs in two major areas of the country.  Wind power projects are mainly distributed in the northern part of China bordering Mongolia and along the coastline.  “The distribution of wind energy resource and electric load are not well matched, the best areas with rich wind energy potential and plenty available land are in the north and west China, but also no electric load centers close to wind sites, wind farms [are] usually located at the end of weak power grid. Along the coastal areas and offshore, load centers are close to the wind site, but due to the high density of population, available land for wind project is limited” (Pengfei).

The China Academy of Meteorological Sciences estimates that China has a potential of 253 GW at 10m height.  Also, offshore wind energy resource along the coast of eastern China, may be three times higher than that of mainland. The total estimated potential is 750 GW.[12]

China’s government is actively trying to reduce their conventional means of producing electricity. The Chinese government has set a National Mid and Long-Term Development Plan, which the goal is to increase non-hydro renewable electricity production to 3% by 2020.  In order to obtain this goal, China has created the 10 GW-Size Wind Base Program. The 10 GW-Size Wind Base Program is as follows: “The bureau [National Energy Administration] selected six locations from the provinces with the best wind resources: Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Hebei and Jiangsu. Each site will have more than 10 GW of installed capacity by 2020” (Global Wind Energy Council).  Because one of China’s goals is to significantly increase wind power, incentives to join the wind power revolution are directed to local manufacturers. Policies to stimulate domestic manufacturing have been set in place:

In August 2008, the Ministry of Finance issued another incentive policy on funding support for the commercialization of wind power generation equipment. According to this regulation, for all the domestic brands (with over 51% Chinese investment) the first 50 wind turbines over 1 MW will be rewarded with RMB 600/kW (60 Euro) from the government. The rule specifies that the wind turbines must be tested and certified by China General Certification (CGC), and must have entered the market, been put into operation and connected to the grid. The regulation further requires that the rewarded turbines must use domestic manufactured components and share the awards proportionate with component manufacturers.

This new policy has two ground-breaking implications. It is the first time that the government gives subsidies to renewable energy manufacturers and the first time that there is a link between a stimulus policy and a testing and certification system. This policy will have a significant impact on the future promotion of China’s domestic industry’s technology innovation, improving competitiveness and building domestic branding in the long run. (Global Wind Energy Council)

With this incentive to stimulate domestic manufacturing, it in itself is also a barrier to foreign firms trying to enter the market.  With the various incentives for entry into the market, competition is inevitable leading to a decrease in the supply deficit.  The largest constraint that is faced by the Chinese government is the ability for wind generated electricity to be tapped into the existing grid system:

Among wind farms currently in operation, a great number have only limited access to the grid. According to the Renewable Energy Law, renewables should be given priority access to the grid, yet the rule is not being followed due to the physical constraints of grid capacity. In the past, new wind projects were spread throughout the country and close to grid connections. In recent years however, with the boom in wind development, most of the new wind farms are located in north-west China, where the existing grid structure is weak. (Global Wind Energy Council).

Goldwind Science and Technology Company

Goldwind Science and Technology is the largest domestic turbine manufacturer in China and one of the ten largest in the world.  Goldwind is located in the Xinjiang autonomous region produces various sizes of wind turbines in batch production.  Goldwind uses 95% Chinese made key components including: blades, gearbox, generator, yaw mechanism and control system. “We [Goldwind] are engaged in manufacturing and marketing large-sized wind generator sets; introducing and applying wind generating technology; making and selling parts of wind generating sets; providing consulting service in building and operating wind generating plants; building and operating middle-sized wind generating plants” (Goldwind).  Goldwind’s mission is to “preserve white clouds and blue skies for human beings and preserving more resources for the future”.

Since Goldwind is fully Chinese-owned with about 55% ownership being from the state, they possess a key firm specific advantage compared to foreign firms trying to enter the market. This allows the company to receive the government incentives and subsidies mentioned above. Goldwind also has bright plans for their future. Their vision is to make the transition from “Goldwind of China, to Goldwind of the world”. They plan to have worldwide international cooperation as well as to have an international research and development organizations arrangement. They also believe they can manage an international wind turbine supply and distribution chain.

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The North American Perspective

North America is among the world’s largest consumers of electricity – since the turn of the millennium over 4,000 billion kilowatt hours are required annually to power one of the world’s largest-trio of economies (Energy Information Administration 2008).  In fact, between 1970 and 2000 “total electricity demand grew by 3.3 per cent annually, very close to the actual GDP growth of the OECD nations” (Hunt 2007).  Due to such incredible demand for electricity there has been incredible growth in the region’s energy industry.  This section is dedicated to exploration of the wind industry within North America with specific focus on the countries of Canada and the United States of America (USA).  Mexico does not currently have a meaningful wind energy sector and therefore will not be discussed at any great length.

It has only been within the last ten years that North American has embraced the capabilities of wind energy that are abundantly available.  According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) in 2008 North America experienced the largest growth in new grid capacity from wind generated sources[13].  Onshore development has been the largest growth sector in North America.

In terms of recent industry growth 2007 has been the most productive to date for bringing renewable energy sources online.   This is confirmed by Price Waterhouse Coopers, one of the big-four accounting firms, who reported that in 2008 wind power had been the principal focus of deal activity^[14] in the North American energy sector “accounting for the majority of the value (57%) of all renewable energy deal making” (PWC 2008).  The report indicates the total overall value of such deals has dropped to total number of deals has increased; a 40% drop in the overall value but an increase of 74% in total deals^[15].

Canada

In terms of potential for wind energy it has long-been known that Canada is one of the top countries with such an ability to capture “free energy” – however Canada has not leveraged such location advantages to become a world leader in the industry.  In fact, according to CanWEA only about 1% of all electricity produced in Canada comes from wind (2008).

According to the Global Wind Energy Council Canada is now among the top twelve nations to diversify their energy sources to include wind.  In 2008 the total installed capacity finally exceeded 2000MW almost the equivalent of one-percent of total national electricity demand. (GWEC 2009)

Traditional sources of energy in Canada have been coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydro-electric – each of which still has considerable influence on energy markets’ procurement strategies.  There is proof of this in the fact that until recently Alberta had a cap on total wind-energy production at less than 1000MW.  However, the environmental implications of coal, natural gas and nuclear are making alternatives like wind-power much more appealing for new generation facilities.

Recently the federal government has offered production incentive payments under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.  The program provides a production incentive of 1 cent/kWh for the first 10 years of production on new energy technologies such as wind.  The program was brought into effect at the beginning of 2007 and was budgeted to run until 2011 – however, due to such strong demand for the program all of the funds will be fully allocated by mid-2009. (GWEC 2009)  This suggests the need for greater regulatory stability in such programs to ensure consistency for companies who seek to invest in Canada.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) released a strategic plan, Wind Vision 2025 – Powering Canada’s Future, which suggests wind energy could supply 20% of the country’s electricity demand by 2025.  The plan outlines approximately 55,000 MW of wind generation capacity which would in turn generate close to $79 billion in investment through 2025.  Due to the recent economic fallout CanWEA has lowered their expectations for wind energy sector growth in 2009, but still expects 650 MW of new capacity to be added.  The five year outlook for the industry expects an additional five-thousand mega-watts to be added to the grid which should help achieve the GWEC’s expected minimum of 12,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity in Canada by 2015. (CanWEA 2008)

There are numerous hurdles to achieving such ambitious targets.  These range from the varying-degree of regulation across provincial jurisdictions to the weak transmission infrastructure.  The ten provinces of Canada comprise different regulatory jurisdictions; many provinces do not have a clearly defined long-term procurement strategy for electricity (GWEC 2009).  Where crown corporations are in charge of electricity procurement they often leave the process to competitive tendering.  In the case of wind-energy such a tendering process can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars well into the millions (CanWEA 2008).  This makes it especially difficult for smaller wind-energy producers to successfully penetrate the market.  Since each province is a separate jurisdiction this also means a long and often redundant permit process.  This duplication and excess regulation makes Canada’s wind power generation sector difficult to enter and does not add to outsiders of the transparency of the system.

In addition to this, many provinces lack adequate transmission infrastructure to transport wind from favourable geographic regions to those with high-demand for electricity.  According to the Canadian Electricity Association there are more cross-border connections with the United States than there are across provincial boundaries.  This makes it especially difficult to develop large national-projects.  Since economies of scale are required to stabilize investment and offer adequate long-term returns such hurdles make Canada a less appealing destination for transnational corporations to invest.

In terms of cluster development – there is evidence to suggest generating regions are in order of largest developments: Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.  In terms of component manufacturing there is little evidence suggesting a strong domestic industry or cluster development of related industries in any one area.  Most corporate headquarters are based out of Ontario because of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the related access to capital.

The United States

The current electrical system in the United States is comprised of “approximately 200 investor-owned utilities, 70 large municipal and federal or state systems, and 50 rural generation and transmission cooperatives supply power for more than 3,000 local distribution companies across the country.” (DOE 2008)  Such a large energy industry is required to power the world’s largest economy.  It has only been recently that the United States has rapidly increased the size of their wind energy industry.  In fact, 2008 was the biggest year in wind energy with an increase of almost 50% in one year – which represents over 8000MW of new capacity potential (GWEC 2009).

Since the beginning of 2009 the United States has taken an impressive stance towards renewable energy sources under the Obama administration.  To encourage demand for clean electricity twenty-six state governments have implemented Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) which set minimum levels for ‘renewables’ in the electricity system.  The federal government has also just set a National Renewable Energy Standard in which 25% of demand will come from wind energy sources by 2025 (USA 2009).  In fact, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) there are numerous measures aim at developing and expanding the wind energy industry.  Under the ARRA numerous incentives have been created making it especially favourable for some wind companies to invest in new projects.

According to the American Wind Energy Association the ARRA extends the existing Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy for three years, through until 2012 and offers the temporary option to claim 30% investment tax credit in lieu of the PTC.  This is an important development, as it will allow developers of wind energy to lease or sell such facilities without losing the potential for tax credit (AWEA 2009).  The new regulatory environment also mandates the creation of close to two-billion dollars in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds to encourage the creation of electricity from renewable sources including wind.

According to PWC there were 15-utility scale wind turbine manufactures in the USA in 2008 – this represents significant jump from only five in 2005.  PWC also reports the average wind turbine installed in 2007, was on average 1.6 MW of capacity almost twice as powerful as the average wind turbine installed in 2000 which was 0.76 MW.  According to the Global Wind Energy Council the USA wind industry employs more than 85,000 workers[16].  They also report that since 2007 over “70 manufacturing facilities have opened, been expanded or announced, including 55 in 2008 alone.”  This allows for almost fifty percent of all turbine components used in the country are made in the USA.  This is evidence that a wind-energy cluster has developed in recent years.

TransAlta Wind

To further understand the North American context, this paper seeks to provide readers with an overview of one major company that is considered an industry leader.  This section will describe Transalta as a firm operating within the North American wind industry.  This will include a detailed overview of Transalta as a firm; from company history to their current vision and strategy.  Consideration will be given to the firm’s operating environment –including industry alliances, the regulatory environment and barriers to commerce.

The company Transalta provides an excellent case example of a firm that operates throughout North America offering both traditional energy sources, like coal and natural gas, and renewable energy sources like wind and hydroelectric.  With a founding history as an integrated and regulated Alberta energy supplier Transalta has principally had a core focus on coal-generation.  Since 1996 Transalta has successfully transformed their generation portfolio to include wind – and has grown to become Canada’s largest investor-owned wholesale power generator and marketing company.  In 2008 the firm had approximately CAD$3 billion in annual revenue, $7 billion in assets, with power plants in Canada, the U.S. and Australia.  In 2008 alone the company generated close to 50,000 GWh of energy enough to power over seven-million homes. (Transalta 2009)

The Transalta Wind division is a result of mergers and acquisitions in the Alberta sustainable energy market.  The principal assets of Transalta Wind were originally formed after the acquisition of Vision Quest.  The company had 67 wind turbines in southern Alberta and held licenses in provinces across the country. The wind division grew further after a successful joint venture between The Chinook Project Inc. and Canadian Enhanced Energy Development Ltd. which was acquired by Transalta in 1996[17].

Vision and Strategy

Transalta would be considered a vertically integrated firm involved in host market production.  The entire company operates through two principal entities: TransAlta Generation Partnership, a general partnership, and TransAlta Energy Marketing Corp.  This means they are involved in almost every step of the energy generation process and caters directly to the needs of the market in which it is located.  In the case of traditional energy generation this means the firm is involved in the mining of coal reserves, the conversion of coal to alternating current (AC) energy, and the marketing of energy.  This is not to suggest Transalta is responsible for every step of the process to the end consumer.  In fact there is energy retailers involved in electricity transmission and end-customer delivery such companies includes Fortis and Enmax.  In the case of wind energy Transalta commissions local projects which then set up power-purchase agreements that sell to such electricity retailers.

Currently Transalta has a diversified portfolio of assets in both North America and Australia.  In terms of wind resources the firm has more than 200,000 acres of land that are currently under lease, option, or negotiation which hold potential for more than 1,000 megawatts of wind energy development.  In Canada alone properties currently in production include the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.   As Transalta continues to grow they are adding more turbines to their portfolio that are larger with greater energy potentials.

It is evident that Transalta Wind has principally held Canadian assets in the province of Alberta, but as they continue to grow they have acquired assets further abroad in the United States, Mexico and Australia[18].  It is important to note, Transalta has not acquired any wind-related assets outside of Canada and recently Transalta sold all assets in Mexico.  It is no wonder that Transalta has chosen Alberta as the principal location to develop their wind energy portfolio.  It is generally accepted that Alberta has one of Canada’s best wind resources with a potential greater than 60,000MW.  However, Alberta currently only generates about 2% of its annual electricity supply from the wind (Energy Information Administration, p.3).

Industry Alliances

Transalta has recognized the importance of aligning the interests of energy producers in order to have an adequate voice in regulatory matters.  In terms of sectoral involvement Transalta is active in many ways:

• Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) which represents the wind energy community across Canada.   TransAlta Wind involvement with the association stems back to the association’s founding and continues on today. All three founding members of TransAlta Wind served as CanWEA Presidents.  CanWEA provides leadership and support to all wind energy producers; in addition CanWEA helps guide the industry by further developing its leading edge members.
• The Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) is a non-profit organization of stakeholders committed to developing and applying a comprehensive air quality management system in Alberta.
• Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta (IPPSA) and British Columbia (IPPBC) are provincial organizations that were established prior to deregulation (in Alberta) and work to maintain an open energy market supporting by multiple buyers and sellers; and to develop a cost-effective independent energy service in BC.  Transalta Wind has been involved with the IPPSA since its inception.

Transalta is involved in the North American wind-energy industry principally in the province of Alberta – but has power-generation assets throughout Canada and the United States.  This diverse portfolio of energy-sources gives Transalta the ability to expand their wind capabilities relatively easily across North America.  This is because the CAGE distances have already been bridged by the firm in many ways.  Since they are already operating in both jurisdictions they have covered the administrative barriers to commerce.  The United States division is capable of handling new wind-energy generation assets especially under the new favourable investment conditions that have been unveiled under the APPA.

As discussed earlier, wind is based on location and therefore the closer generation projects are built to their intended source of consumption to more efficient they are – this means Transalta must be willing to expand beyond just Alberta.  Geographically Transalta is able to leverage their strategic position in the North American market in many ways.  For one, there is greater north-south connection between Canada and the USA when compared to interprovincial connections; which indicates willingness for electricity export from Canada to the USA.  However because of the lack of infrastructure this would require great initial investment to bridge such a gap.

Regulatory hurdles remain among the largest concern for Transalta’s expansion into new areas.  Areas like British Columbia and Saskatchewan are regulated energy markets and are prone to fluctuations in wind-energy market growth because power-purchase agreements (PPA’s) with the regulated providers are negotiated on a staggered basis.  This means the firm must be ready to tender for projects in a fashion that does not allow for controlled and strategic growth.

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Conclusions and Industry Outlook

This paper has demonstrated the power of the wind-energy industry.  We have covered many things – beginning with the historical development of wind as a viable electricity source.  We have seen the origins of harnessing wind power for milling flour and irrigating crops.  We have discussed the different types of wind turbines currently in use in commercial applications.  In addition we have demonstrated how location advantages play a crucial part of industry development.

The main focus of this paper has been on the TRIAD economic regions – including the European Union, Asia-Pacific and North America.  This discussion has offered valuable information from countries within each region and has demonstrated a fundamental global shift in the industry over time.  Historically the wind energy industry was based in Europe, but in the last ten years this has shifted to include both North America and Asia.  Now there seems to be consistent growth in all three economic zones representing an overall stability in the industry.  We found that governments play one of the most important roles in the wind energy sector.  Each regional perspective demonstrated the importance of government involvement in the industry – from creating a regulatory framework for which firms operate within to providing incentives to encourage wind-energy production and investment.

Europe has enjoyed the benefits of being the first-mover into an industry with endless potential.  The EU countries alone continue to place Europe as the world leader in cumulative installed capacity, however this position is at risk.  2008 showed a strong emergence of domestic wind energy suppliers in nations worldwide that Europe had once enjoyed the dominant or only position in the market.  In some of these countries intellectual property rights are less rigorously upheld, which means European exporters must continually increase innovation in order to stay ahead of the market and remain the global gold standard for the wind energy industry.

China has the fastest growing wind energy market in Asia.  Incentives given for domestic firms (51% Chinese owned), however the wind turbines must be tested and certified by China General Certification and requires that the rewarded turbines must use domestic manufactured components.  The largest barrier is being able to tap into the existing grid system – new wind farms are located in north-west China where the grid structure is weak.  Goldwind is the largest domestic turbine manufacturer in China and one of the ten largest in the world. Goldwind is 100% Chinese owned, with 55% state ownership therefore they able to receive government incentives and subsidies.  The government involvement in Goldwind has allowed the firm to capture significant domestic market share.

North America has been one of the largest growth areas since the mid 2000s.  Both the United States and Canada have added close to 9000MW in 2008 alone – this represents close to a doubling in capacity in the USA.  Because of the new wind-generation capacity USA finally surpassed Germany in terms of annual growth for the first time ever.  This represents a major global shift in the wind-energy industry.  The domestic environment has also been conducive to new industry growth.  In the USA under the America Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) incentives have been extended to offer either production or investment credits for up to 30% the total project value.  In Canada the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program is a federal initiatives designed to provide a production incentive of 1 cent/kWh for the first ten years of production on new wind technologies.  Such incentives provide valuable ways to spur investment in the industry.  However these programs must provide stable long-term funding for firms to avoid boom and bust cycle of the industry as such programs expire.  In terms of industry growth in North America the potential is virtually endless as the region is home to some of the best wind-power areas on the globe.

Transalta Wind provided a unique example of a former Albertan regulated energy-provider that has grown to become the largest wind-energy provider in all of Canada.  Transalta is an example of how traditional energy players can transform to become competitive wind-energy providers.   As a vertically-integrated firm Transalta provides an example of how regulatory jurisdictions can impact firm strategy.  In this particular case Transalta has been limited to providing Alberta with wind-energy and has been reluctant to expand to different geographical areas because of the varying regulatory hurdles and requirements of transmission infrastructure by province.

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Recommendations

1. Wind energy is an intermittent power source.  This means that because wind is an erratic and unpredictable energy source, it is not possible to generate a steady level of production.  This can sometimes be perceived as a major downfall to wind energy production as a competitive technology but the fact is “while single wind turbine can be quite intermittent, a large wind farm spread over a geographically diverse area will as a whole rarely stop producing power altogether” (Diesendorf 2007).  The best solution of this problem is to determine some form of average output and to develop the project accordingly so that in normal, expected varying weather conditions, the wind farm will be able to meet at least the minimum power production levels needed to serve demand.  Alternatively, this issue could be solved by developing innovative ways in which to store the produced energy thus eliminating the problem of wind energy being intermittent and unreliable.
2. One area where we hope wind energy can grow is to have the ability to correlate their operations with all other sources of electricity production.  Since wind can be sporadic and unpredictable we feel that Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) would be extremely beneficial to the wind industry.  “SCADA refers to a system that collects data from various sensors at a factory, plant or in other remote locations and then sends this data to a central computer which then manages and controls the data”  (TechFAQ 2009).  We hope that in the future, when wind speeds in one area become strong, through SCADA, a message will be sent out to all energy producers (including coal, hydro and natural gas), to coordinate their production accordingly.  This will ensure maximum efficiency while minimizing the impact on the environment.  This will allow for the best combination of energy generation sources. As well, SCADA will allow for real-time production, in the most efficient way possible.
3. Another area of importance is the sharing of intellectual property with developing countries.  It is important for developed countries to promote the benefits of wind energy globally to ensure new generation capacity has a minimum input from wind-sources.  Research and development for wind energy is quite costly, and by sharing such information it will allow for all countries to take a proactive approach – even though wind may not be the most affordable means of producing electricity it does provide a renewable and essentially free source once implemented.  We feel that the most effective way to encourage growth in these countries is by using joint initiatives.  This way the developing countries have a stake in the project and their economies will experience some positive economic fallout as a result.
4. Another recommendation that we have is to implement funding for education programs. We believe local conferences, seminars and dedicated education programs would be most beneficial.  We would focus these programs on educating the population on why wind energy is a good alternative, how it works, what can you do to become a user of wind energy, and how this alternative can eventually lower your energy costs.  Another important way to advance to industry would be to educate people on the requirements of specialized knowledge in the wind industry. The wind industry employs micro-climatologists, engineers, construction, maintenance people, retailers, and the list goes on.  Government funding for education programs as well as research and development initiatives will no doubt aid in the overall industry growth.
   

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Appendix 1: COMPONENTS of a Wind Turbine

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Appendix 2: Increasing Size and Capacity of Wind Turbine Size

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Appendix 3: Global Regional Wind-Capacity Breakdown  – 2008

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Appendix 4: Chart on European Union’s Energy Mix in 2008

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Appendix 5: Total Installed Capacity (MW) of TRIAD Regions 2000 – 2008

Source of information: (Global Wind Energy Council, 2009)

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Appendix 6: Average Wind Speeds in TRAID Regions

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Appendix 7: Wind Energy Jobs in the USA

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Appendix 8: TransAlta Wind Milestones

• 1997: First new power generation on the Alberta electric grid, two – 600 kW turbines
• 1998: Added two additional 600 kW turbines
• 2000: Installed 16 additional 660 kW turbines
• 2001: Installed 12 additional 660 kW turbines to power Calgary’s “C-Train” under the Ride the Wind program and installed 46 additional 660 kW turbines
• 2002: Transalta purchases 100% interest in Vision Quest and installed two 660 kW exploratory turbines
• 2003: Constructed Canada’s single largest wind farm of the time, 75 MW at McBride Lake, Transalta officially becomes one of Canada’s largest wind power producer
• 2004: Installed 38 new 1.8 MW wind turbines at the Summerview wind farm in southern Alberta
• 2007: Installed 32 – 3.0 MW wind turbines at Kent Hills in New Brunswick adding 96 MW to the grid
• 2008: Announces 66 MW Blue Trail wind farm project in southern Alberta and announces a 66 MW expansion to its Summerview wind farm
• 2008: The Kent Hills, New Brunswick wind farm begins commercial operation supplying up to 96 MW of power.  This is the first wind-generated power delivered commercially in New Brunswick.

Table 1: Transalta Wind Generation

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Appendix 9: Complete Map of Transalta Operations

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Works Cited

History of the Industry and Technology

Gipe, Paul. “Wind Power; Renewable energy for home, farm, and business” Copyright 2004. Editor: Chealsea Green Publishing Company, Vermont

Europe

(EWEA) European Wind Energy Association. “Wind Energy Gives Europe a Competitive Advantage, Says EU Energy Commissioner.” 18 Mar. 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ewea.org/index.php?id=60&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1465&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=29a0316e5b>.

(GWEC) Global Wind Energy Council. “Regions: (EU) European Union.” 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=127>.

(GWEC) Global Wind Energy Council. “Regions: Germany.” 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=129>.

(GWEC) Global Wind Energy Council. “Regions: Spain.” 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=131>.

Mainstream (Renewable Power). “About Us.” 12 Mar. 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.mainstreamrp.com/pages/About-Us.html>.

Mainstream (Renewable Power). “New Releases: Mainstream signs CAD$840 million deal to build wind farms in Canada.” 12 Mar. 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.mainstreamrp.com/pages/Mainstream-signs-CAD%24840-million-deal-to-build-wind-farms-in-Canada.html>.

Mainstream (Renewable Power). “New Releases.” 12 Mar. 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.mainstreamrp.com/pages/News-releases.html>.

Mainstream (Renewable Power). “Vision and Mission.” 12 Mar. 2009. 9 Apr. 2009 <http://www.mainstreamrp.com/pages/Vision-And-Mission.html>.

Asia

Brower, Micheal, Bruce Bailey, and John Zach. “New High-Resolution Wind Resource Maps of China.”

Global Wind Energy Council. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=28>.

Goldwind. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://cn.goldwind.cn/en/index.asp>.

Haiyan, Qin. “Large Potential Market of Wind Power in China.” Chinese Wind Energy Association. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2005/Prega-Subregional-Workshop/day1-presentation-haiyan.pdf>.

Pengfei, Shi. “Booming Wind Power Market and Industry in China.” Chinese Wind Energy Association. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ontario-sea.org/Storage/26/1825_Booming_Wind_Power_Market_and_Industr_in_China.pdf>.

World Bank. China and India show rapid increase in global warming emissions. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0510-worldbank.html>.

Yanqin, Song. “Renewable Energy in China.” 5 June 2008. Energy Research Institute. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://www.juccce.com/documents/Facts/Energy/YANQIN_Session19_ACEF2008.pdf>.

North America

AWEA. “Summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009:Provisions of Interest to the Wind Energy Industry.” American Wind Energy Association . March 2009. http://www.awea.org/legislative/pdf/ARRA_Provisions_of_Interest_to_Wind_Energy_Industry.pdf (accessed April 10, 2009).

CanWEA. “Windvision 2025 Powering Canada’s Future.” Canada Wind Energy Association. 2008. http://canwea.ca/images/uploads/File/Windvision_summary_e.pdf (accessed April 05, 2009).

DOE. “Report.” 20 Percent Wind. Edited by Department of Energy. Oct 2008. http://www.20percentwind.org/report/Chapter6_Wind_Power_Markets.pdf (accessed April 05, 2009).

Energy Information Administration. “International Energy Annual 2006.” World Net Energy Consumption 1980-2006. December 2008. www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/table62.xls (accessed April 10, 2009).

GWEC. Global Wind Energy Council. 2009. www.gwec.net (accessed April 05, 2009).

Hunt, Colleen. “Electricity in the 21st Century.” Canadian Nuclear Association. 2007. http://www.cna.ca/english/pdf/Articles/Electricityinthe21stCentury.pdf (accessed April 02, 2009).

PWC. “Renewable Deals 2008 Annual Review: Mergers and acquisitions activity within the global renewable energy market.” Price Waterhouse Coopers. December 2008. http://www.pwc.com/extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/40403CD74245F764852575520060DF25/$File/RenewablesDeals2008.pdf (accessed April 05, 2009).

Transalta. Transalta Wind. March 2009. http://www.greenenergy.com/ (accessed April 05, 2009).

USA. “Wind Energy for A New Era – An Agenda for the President and Congress.” New Wind Agenda. 2009. http://www.newwindagenda.org/ (accessed April 10, 2009).

Other Sources

Diesendorf, Mark. “The Base-Load Fallacy.” Institute of Environmental Studies. August 2007. www.sustainabilitycentre.com.au/baseloadfallacy.pdf (accessed April 09, 2009).

Jacobson, Archer and. k1-Hybrids: The Power of Wind. 2009. http://www.k1hybrids.com/reference/powerofwind.htm (accessed April 13, 2009).

TechFAQ. What is SCADA? April 2009. <http://www.tech-faq.com/scada.html>. (accessed April 13, 2009).

[2] Almost all horizontal axis wind turbines use forced yawing, i.e. they use a mechanism which uses electric motors and gearboxes to keep the turbine yawed against the wind.

[3] See appendix 1 for a complete picture and diagram of a wind turbine assembly

[4] See appendix 3 for a table on world regional wind-capacity breakdown

[5] See appendix 4 for a chart on European Union’s energy mix in 2008

[6] See appendix 3 for a table on world regional wind-capacity breakdown

[7] See appendix 3 for a table on world regional wind-capacity breakdown

[8] See appendix 3 for a table on world regional wind-capacity breakdown

[9] See appendix 3 for a table on world regional wind-capacity breakdown

[10] See appendix 3 for a table on world regional wind-capacity breakdown

[11] See appendix 5 for a table of capacity growth between 2000 and 2008

[12] See appendix 6 for a map of average wind speeds in the TRIAD regions including mainland China

[13] See appendix 5 for a table of capacity growth between 2000 and 2008

[14] According to the PWC report this includes deals relating to manufacturers and developers of wind technologies (for example, wind turbine manufacturers and wind technology firms).

[15] According to PWC in 2008 the average deal value was approximately $85 million; average number of deals was 74.

[16] See appendix 7 for wind energy jobs in the USA

[17] See appendix 8 for a detailed timeline of the major corporate milestones of Transalta Wind.

[18] See appendix 9 for a complete map of Transalta operations

Curtis M Goodman

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Introduction to the Issue

Canada has an internationally respected professional services sector which is responsible for a significant share of total gross domestic product.  In today’s globalized society a majority of economic output can be attributed to the efforts of professionals in a wide-variety of fields; from accounting and architecture to engineering and legal services.  In fact, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the professional services sector accounted for over $4 billion dollars in export revenue in 2008 and employed almost three-hundred thousand people in Canada.  Accounting firms alone represent the majority of professional’s – employing over 191,000 Canadians many of whom are involved in some way with the financial services sector.[1]

The events which led up to the financial crisis in 2008 were the results of poor-decisions and perhaps negligence of innumerable professional’s in the financial service sector from all over the world.   The resulting fallout of these events still remains unknown as the global economy faces a severe recession going into the second quarter of 2009.  If government economic assistance is any measure of the severity of the situation, it is safe to estimate the cost is well into the trillions of dollars.  This begs the question – who is responsible?  For this reason professional liability and negligence should be among the most significant matters concerning any professional today.

Nearly all business transactions performed on a day-to-day basis will have some risk of professional liability.  Be it the real estate agent offering advice to clients; accountants preparing financial statements; or the financial advisor’s market speculations – all professionals have a special relationship with the clients they serve.  They offer services based on their specialized knowledge or skill – which are relied upon by the client as being the best solutions to their problems.  At times issues arise as a result of these services, where clients may be discontented over the quality of work performed; which may have resulted in economic hardship, or in some cases physical harm.  As the business environment continues to globalize and increase in complexity, as does the need to understand the obligations and responsibilities of professionals.

This paper seeks to provide readers with an overview of professional liability in an international context.  To begin with this paper will define what professional services are and will identify market access barriers for professionals hoping to do business abroad.  Furthermore it will outline international cooperation directly pertaining to professional services; which in turn provides references for international law.  A significant share of the paper will identify the fundamental areas of professional liability within the Canadian legal system, including: duty of care; standard of care; fiduciary duty; and reasonable reliance.  In this part of the discussion case examples of private international law will provide useful insight into major areas of concern.  In addition this paper will briefly identify: significant barriers for professionals abroad; the importance of errors and omissions insurance; and the role of risk management.  This will provide the reader with a greater understanding of the legal framework of professional liability within society.  Overall this paper is most relevant for young Canadian professionals seeking cross-border service opportunities.

What Defines a Professional Service?

The contributions of professionals add great value to our society, but these individuals also have the ability to pose great detriment to society.  So how do we define a professional?  Legal definition classifies such a person based on criteria of “advanced and specialized training and the continued use of intellect, discretion, and judgment; the majority of statutes merely present an open-ended list of job categories.”[2]

In more general terms common professions include: accountants, architects and designers, bankers, lawyers, travel agents, and real-estate agents.  By no means does this represent an exhaustive list of professions – but it does provide a clear context to distinguish the varying scope and standards among professions.

In some cases the standards may be formalized by professional organizations or they may be defined by legal precedent.  Examples of professional accounting organizations are the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) or Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CMA).  Other examples are the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC); and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) which represent fourteen regional law societies throughout the nation.  Such associations set standards or best practices which professional’s must adhere to in order to maintain good standing in their respective field.

For professionals one of the most important things to remember when working abroad is to ensure your education or training are accredited and recognized in the country you are working in.  For example, if a Chilean company employed a Canadian engineer for a cross-border project, then the individual or firm would want to double check to ensure they are legally qualified to sign off on all the necessary documentation.  Before tendering or entering into any contract such a professional would want to have such international issues figured out – to avoid embarrassing regulatory incompetence.

International Barriers for Professional Services

As Canadian professionals go abroad, exporting their services to remote areas of the globe they must be aware of the barriers to doing business.  Because professional services generate a substantial amount of economic output and are considered an important linkage to sovereignty some nations believe restrictions on foreign professional service providers are necessary.

The stakeholders implicated through professional liability can be far-reaching.  For example, audited financial statements are a cornerstone of many investments and when the courts decide that a Charted Accountant has acted negligent there are many consequences.  Resulting litigation and the financial burdens they impose may bring job loss for the business as they struggle to deal with such proceedings.  For the professional who is held accountable the resulting damage to their credibility is irreversible.  The accounting firm may also be less likely to accept new clients as a result of the potential liability.  Alternatively investor confidence may be weakened, as they become hesitant to invest based solely on the audited financial statements.  The result of professional negligence is evident among the clients affected.  Although courts try to provide adequate compensation, there is no clear way to calculate the potential losses incurred.  To prevent consequential hardships of professional negligence in cross-border service arrangements some nations have blocked foreign professionals’ access to their markets.

Barriers to professional services exist to protect a nation’s autonomy ensuring domestic control over important matters such as: architecture and design, finance, engineering and legal services.  The Canadian financial services sector has traditionally been heavily regulated and some people believe such barriers have protected the national economy from the fallout of the sub-prime mortgage bubble.[3] It begs the question – when professionals do wrong how does liability work across borders?

There are numerous ways countries can limit market access for professional service providers.  Barriers may be exhausting domestic regulation over licensing and qualification requirements or non-transparent procedures.  Some countries may require some form of commercial presence in order to do business; this ensures the state’s ability to collect taxes and ensures some level of foreign direct investment in their country.  Another barrier for professional service providers may be restrictions on the scope of practice rights.  An excellent example would be the case of a medical doctor.  This type of barrier ensures protection over domestic industry, allowing national-competency to be developed over time.[4]

Professionals must be aware that service expectations in specific countries vary based on traditional practices or geographic location.  However, as services continue to grow in importance in our global economy many developed nations have already made concessions in order to move towards more liberalized trade in services and harmonized labour regulations.

International Cooperation on Professional Services

Where do existing agreements on professional services exist in international law already?  There are a few sources of international law; most countries are a party of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).  These multilateral institutions promote greater liberalization of goods and services and harmonization of regulatory presence.  There are also other sources of law which represent specific economic regions including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and The European Union (EU).

Most nations are part of the World Trade Organization – which has a mandate to liberalize trade.  The WTO sets rules governing trade in goods and services, investment, and has dispute settlement mechanisms.  These provide legal ground rules for international commerce.  One element of the WTO is The General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS) which was one of the first ever agreements to govern trade in services.  It outlines basic obligations that apply to member nations and sets national schedules for commitments to further liberalization. [5]

Under the GATS professional services fall under five major categories: accounting, auditing and bookkeeping; architectural; engineering; legal; and integrated engineering services.  Each of these categories can be further divided into sub-categories[6].  In addition to defining the types of service GATS also outlines four modes of service delivery.  These are: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, supply by a commercial presence, and supply through the presence of natural persons.

One of the key areas identified by the WTO is the provision of services for developing nations.  It is generally accepted services are a key element in an industrialized nation – where professionals provide the necessary tools to facilitate economic growth.[7] Since professional standards can vary from region to region it is the responsibility of WTO member states to provide and make clear the necessary procedures to prove competency of professionals. [8] The greater the transparency of such procedures allows for easier trade in services and greater movement of professionals.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency which has worked for almost a century to ensure the decent treatment of working people.  The ILO is unique in that it brings together “representatives of governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programmes.[9]” It is arguable that the ILO is not directly relevant to professional services but instead to other service sectors.  Regardless one of the ILO’s key areas of work is in unification of labour laws among member-states.  The ILO mandate is promoting rights, equal employment opportunities, social protection and a forum for work-related issues.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was an important step forward for greater North American economic integration.  One of the major developments of NAFTA was a side accord on labour – the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC).  The purpose was to deal with issues arising from labour law enforcement, labour rights, certification, registration, recognition and unionization.  In Canada labour is considered provincial jurisdiction therefore professionals may face up to ten different jurisdictions with differing regulations or standards.  The NAALC has provided a conduit to overcome such jurisdiction-issues by offering greater market access for professionals performing cross-border service.  One way this has occurred is through unification of labour laws which protects migrant or foreign worker rights under their home legal system.  Greater market access is also provided through the end of employment discrimination based on qualifications or bona fide occupational requirements.[10] This form of integration ensures compliance of domestic courts with international standards of professional liability.

The European Union (EU) is comprised of twenty-seven members and represents one of the largest trading blocs in the world.  Since inception the EU has consistently worked towards harmonization of trade in services and labour.  The principle of free movement of workers is evidence of this – which ensures each EU national has the right to live and work in any EU country and “that people who move between countries are not disadvantaged in relation to social security including healthcare.”[11] Such freedom offers great advantage to those in the professional services sector because the EU represents the world’s largest service-market with a world-class reputation in engineering and architecture.  Since the EU has a distinct legislative and judicial authority professional’s can expect a high degree of harmonization of professional negligence and liability standards.

Liability The Legal Framework

If a professional is: under-trained; abusing their rights; being deceitful; or committing unfair practices – our society must have a channel to deal with such issues.  Canada follows the doctrine of incorporation wherein customary international laws are automatically incorporated into Canadian law.  There are three ways in which a professional can be held liable for their actions based on Canadian customary international law: under contract law; tort liability – negligence; fiduciary obligations and breach of trust.  The following will provide a short discussion on each with specific case examples.

Contract Law

Under contract law a professional is required to provide a reasonable level of performance.  If sub-standard service were to result in economic losses, a professional may be liable under a breach of contract.[12] The level of service expected of a professional is usually set by professional organizations, in the form of acceptable conduct guidelines, fundamental principles, and standards.  Although in the case of Kripps v. Touche Ross (1997) the courts narrowed the scope of the applicability of such standards.[13] Regardless, this aspect of contract law gives a basis to deal with economic losses arising from expectation shortcomings, making it “much better suited than tort law to deal with economic losses.”[14] In most cases contract liability is limited to the client in which the contract exists.  Therefore third parties would have no claims as a result of sub-standard service.

Professionals can use contractual agreements to their advantage, in-so-much as they can set limits, terms, and conditions.  Under such contracts the professional has a foundation for a legal defense, which may defer potential litigation.  It is important to be aware that such conditions of the contract will not protect the professional in their negligible actions under tort law however.

Tort Law

In the business world negligence is the most important area for tort liability.  If the actions of the professional were to fall below a minimum acceptable standard, then the right to sue for remedies arises.  Negligence involves the unintentional careless conduct causing injury to another person or his property.

Professional negligence under tort law must be distinguished between ordinary negligence.  The major difference lies in the “reasonable reliance” the plaintiff has on the advice given.  The four-part test to establish professional negligence is based on:

1. a duty of care existed;
2. the professional breached that duty of care;
3. causation exists; and
4. due to negligence, calculable damages were incurred by the claimant.

For professionals a primary question is – whom is a duty of cared owed to?  In the past liability of professionals would only be owed to their clients based on the contracts they forged together and to their colleagues and clients based on fiduciary duty.  When poor service was provided the liability would be held to the losses the immediate party had suffered due to the breach in contract.

Professionals should be aware that in courts have been willing to expand liability to include third parties.[15] The courts establish if a duty of cared is owed with the reasonable foreseeability test.  In the case of Donoghue versus v. Stevenson Lord Atkin, the presiding judge, made the following classic statement;

You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonable foresee would be likely to injure your neighbor. Who, then in law is my neighbor? This seems to be – persons are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my minds to the acts or omissions which are called into question.[16]

The reasonable foreseeable test is used exclusively to determine whether a duty of cared is owed or not.  This test would allow for disgruntled investors to recuperate business losses by targeting professional accountants.  Auditors would then be liable to all users of financial statements; which could cause serious problems as accountants may be reluctant to audit financial statements due to their potential for liability.

The Ann’s case allowed courts to limit this indeterminate liability with a two-stage test to determine if a duty of care is owed.[17] The first stage is in determining that the two parties are in close enough proximity that the defendant would realize the potential for damages as a result of his actions. The second part looks deeper and provides exceptions to the reasonable foreseeability test. It asks if there is anyone reason that the duty should not be imposed, or whether it should be limited or damages reduced.  This provides a certain amount of flex within the system, where judges are able to interpret the law based on the social context and allows for reduction in indeterminate liability.  Jim Leitzel cautions the circular nature of this; “courts will protect the amount of reliance in which a reasonable person would engage, but a reasonable person would rely up to the extent the courts protect.”[18] Due to this the courts have devised a five part test in determining if a duty of care exists, if the majority of the conditions are met – then sufficient grounds for negligence exist.

1. The defendant had a direct or indirect financial interest in the transaction in respect of which the representation was made.
2. The defendant was a professional who possessed a special skill, judgment, or knowledge.
3. The advice was given in the normal operations of the defendants business.
4. The information or advice was given deliberately and not on a social occasion.
5. The information or advice was given in response to a specific inquiry or request.

This test also serves the court in determining if a reasonable level of reliance existed in the professional relationship.  If the professional provides incorrect information, but has an understanding that the advice or information they offer will be used and relied upon in future actions, they can be held liable for those actions.  However, the courts have made it clear that the person relying on the information must have certain levels of business acumen.[19] Meaning, the claimant must take the advice with a grain of salt – using their own business knowledge they should be able to evaluate the advice and it’s applicability to their case.  If the defendant can demonstrate that the action or conduct of the plaintiff would have happened regardless of the defendants action then no liability exists.   The second part in determining professional negligence is that a standard of care was violated.

The standard of care expected from a professional is different from what is expected from a non professional.  Professionals are implied to have certain skills and abilities and their conduct must live up to set standards.  If the professional falls below this standard of care, then negligence can be established.  The courts use a reasonable person test to determine this breach.  The question is whether the defendant actions, in a given situation, breached a standard of care.  If the defendant’s actions have fallen below what a reasonable person would do, then he will be negligent for the injury or loss.

The reasonable person test is then what would have been what would have a reasonable accountant or doctor would have done in a given situation. If an individual claims to be a Chartered Accountant (CA) then he better have the training and competencies to be a CA. This is especially true as the courts do not recognize inexperience as a negating factor in liability.  It is expected that a new professional is more susceptible to making mistakes, however, these people have demonstrated their ability to be a member of this profession and as a result must live up to the standard and competencies of a reasonable person in their profession.

The final two elements in determining professional liability are causation and damage, and are not differentiated from ordinary negligence. The tort of negligence requires that calculable losses have occurred, either economically or physically.  The courts must recognize these damages as being compensable, in so much as to return the plaintiff to their original state, prior to the negligible act.  The conduct of the defendant must be proved to have caused the damages in question. The two tests for causation are the but for test and the remoteness test. “Plaintiffs must prove in court that but for the conduct in question no damages would have resulted.”[20] The remoteness test looks at the damages caused by the defendant’s actions. In recent years the courts have “become much stricter in the manner in which it will assess the loss to the claimant.”[21] According to Anu Massey the courts will award damages on the basis of two considerations:

First, to compensate the claimant for the loss of the opportunity to achieve a certain result had the negligence not occurred [general damages]… secondly, and losses that have been suffered of a monetary nature such as costs that have been incurred as a result of remedial action which had to be taken to put the position right [special damages].[22]

If a reasonable person, in similar circumstances, could not have anticipated the nature of the damages or injuries caused as a result of their conduct, then the courts will not impose a liability.  Once the majority of conditions of negligence are met, and providing reasonable reliance existed, the courts can establish professional negligence.  Another important area of professional liability is that of their fiduciary duty to put client’s interests ahead of their own.

Fiduciary Duty

When a person comes to a professional seeking advice or services the professional has a fiduciary obligation to keep the act in the client’s best interest. This will include putting the clients interest before their own and avoiding situations where conflict of interest may arise.  Business interests that may arise, as a result of the interactions with the client, should not be acted upon by the professional.  This is true in circumstances which would pose no harm to the client, as a general rule the professional must remain independent of any business proceedings which may result.  As well, any information that becomes privy to the professional in the course of their services must not be used by the fiduciary to benefit their position.  An implicit obligation to maintain confidentiality exists in all professional relationships.

When a professional does not act in the best interest of the client it is a breach of trust and they may be held liable for any losses incurred. In the case of Hodgkinson v. Simms, a conflict of interest arose where the accountant promoted investment opportunities in which he was financially involved.[23] The courts found that in doing so the accountant breached his fiduciary duty and was therefore liable for the results.  This exemplifies the court’s decision to extend fiduciary liability to include any situation where one person advises another and reliance is placed on that advice.  Fiduciary liability is extremely important to professionals and poses as much risk as negligence if not taken seriously.

Recommendations

Liability insurance is now becoming a reality of doing business.  Since professionals provide services which often their clients do not fully grasp, it is easy for errors in expectations to occur.  According to the Duke Law Journal “professional liability insurance has become society’s chief agency for the distribution of the cost of malpractice by the medical profession.”[24] Professional liability insurance, also known as errors or omissions insurance usually protects from professional negligence or failure to perform duties.  Essentially professional insurance can be broken down into two categories: primary coverage and extended coverage.  “Primary layers are basic policies stating the risk and people covered, policy limits and period.  Additional coverage or endorsements for special risks or events may be purchased at additional cost”[25] Most insurance policies will not cover fraud or breach of trust, which can become problematic in joint-ventures or partnership situations.[26]

Liability insurance does help protect professionals from losses incurred from lawsuits, but a more a proactive response is needed. Risk management is part of preemptive steps a professional or firm will take to avoid litigation proceedings.  Three strategies of risk management according to James Thompson are: stressing quality control; submitting to regular peer review; and participating in continuing professional education courses.[27] Above all, professionals should always avoid promising more than can be delivered.  In essence professionals must manage client expectations, ensuring open communication channels, and developing a contractual agreement.[28]

In larger corporations it has become commonplace to employ an insurance and risk management consultant.  This person can be an invaluable addition to the organization, as they actively correct internal weaknesses.   These liaisons cannot guarantee employee competence on all levels.  It is therefore important for organizations to hire qualified and well-trained individuals.

As discussed earlier, most professionals are members of a self-governing association.  Such associations impose strict standards and rules; they also act as enforcers ensuring members meet the requirements of the profession.  These organizations act as a watch-dog, reprimanding individuals who fall below the standard.  Professional bodies also defend against all unjustified lawsuits against their members.

Even when risk avoidance is used, negligent lawsuits may arise.  It cannot be stressed enough that whenever entering into a professional relationship it is important to have written documentation of services to be provided, clearly outline the obligations and responsibilities.  In the case of cross-border service arrangements ensure documentation is in the host country’s official language.  These documents will be invaluable to the defense of the professional, and may reduce the scope of liability.

Overview

Overall, this paper has demonstrated the growing economic performance of professional services.  A professional is someone with advanced specialized training which requires the continued use of intellect and discretion.  Examples of professionals include: accountants, architects, engineers, lawyers, and real estate agents.

In our discussion of professional services it is crucial to understand the greater context.  Holding professionals accountable for their actions by giving an appropriate course of remediation ensures confidence in the system.  The importance of this cannot be underestimated, as the effects of professional mal-practice can be devastating to the profession as well as society in general.  The relationship society has with professionals is based on trust and reliance – this must be maintained especially as our dependence on global professional services increases.

As professional services increase in importance to our globalized economy many nations have tried to formalize agreements to clearly define jurisdiction and sources of law for professionals.  Already we have seen the inclusion of professional services in major multilateral agreements like the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and through the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO).  Professional services are further defined in regional agreements like NAFTA’s North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) and the EU’s common labour policies.  Such agreements have addressed the issues of certification and qualification requirements – but rely on domestic implementation of such concessions.  Even still barriers exist for professional’s attempting to provide cross-border services.

In terms of legal grounding of recourse for professional negligence or malpractice this paper has outlined the three main areas of law: contract law; tort law; and breach of fiduciary duty.  Canada subscribes to the indoctrination of incorporation – whereby all customary international laws automatically become domestic law.  Regardless, professionals must be aware of host country legal anomalies; always perform due diligence remember to ensure qualifications and certifications are recognized.  Professionals can take preemptive steps to limit the threat of potential litigation through risk management, errors and omission insurance, on-going education or training, and peer-review.

As professionals continue to shape our global economy greater transparency and accountability must be required.  The negligence surrounding events of the financial crisis of 2008/09 must not pass unanswered for – otherwise it would set a dangerous precedent in professional liability standards.

Appendix 1:
WTO – GATS Classification of Professional Services

The classification system that is used in the GATS by most WTO members, divides Professional Services sectors into the following overall categories[29]:

Bibliography

Anns v. Merton, London Borough Council. 2 AII E.R. 492 (H.L., 1977).

Busch, Jennifer T. “Risk Managment.” Contract (Business Source Premier) 46, no. 8 (Aug 2004): 128.

DFAIT. “Professional Services.” international.gc.ca. August 05, 2008. http://www.international.gc.ca/consultations/active/professional-professionnels.aspx?lang=eng (accessed April 3, 2009).

Donoghue v. Stevenson. 562 (H.L., 1932).

European Commission. About Us – EU. 2009. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=656 (accessed March 29, 2009).

Feinman, Jay M. Professional Liability to Third Parties. American Bar Association, 2000.

Financial Post. Canada Makes its Mark on Financial Regulation for G20. April 03, 2009. http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/Canada+makes+mark+financial+regulation/1459494/story.html (accessed April 06, 2009).

Government of Canada. “North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC).” Human Resources and Skill Development Canada. September 13, 1993. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/spila/ialc/02NAALC.shtml (accessed March 26, 2009).

Haig v. Bamford. 466 (S.C.R., 1 1977).

Hodgkinson v. Simms. 3 S.C.R. 377 (British Columbia Court of Appeal, 1994).

ILO. About the ILO. March 2009. http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/lang–en/index.htm (accessed March 26, 2009).

—. “Key Indicators of the Labour Market Programme.” International Labour Organization. Sept 14, 2007. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/kilm/download/kilm04.pdf (accessed March 29, 2009).

James H. Thompson, Laurie J. Henry. “Professional Liability Insurance: Go Bare or Not?” Journal of Accountancy 172, no. 1 (July 1991): 111-118.

Kripps v. Touche Ross. 421 (Supreme Court of Canada, 1997).

Lecture Material – Gatt Overview. 2 (February 2009).

Leitzel, Jim. “Reliance and Contract Breach.” Law and Contemporary Problems 52, no. 1 (Winter 1989): 87-105.

Massey, Anu. “The Courts Approach to ASsessing Loss in Professional Negligence Cases.” Credit Control 28, no. 1 (2007): 8 – 11.

“Professional Negligence.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 121 (Jan. 1973): 627 – 690.

WTO. Understanding the WTO. http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact1_e.htm (accessed March 29, 2009).

Yates, Richard A. Business Law. Vol. 8th Edition. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada, 2008.

[2] (Professional Negligence Jan. 1973)

[3] (Financial Post 2009)

[4] (DFAIT 2008)

[5] (WTO)

[6] See appendix 1

[7] For example, according to the ILO developed nations have greater service-sector employment at almost 71% compared to less than 25% in sub-Saharan Africa (ILO 2007)
*Professional services account for only a portion of total employment

[8] (Senda 2009)

[9] (ILO 2009)

[10] (Government of Canada 1993)

[11] (European Commission 2009)

[12] (Yates 2008)

[13] Kripps v. Touche Ross, (1997)

A case in which accountants did not fully disclose information, as they were not required to by the GAAP at the time – the courts found their accounting statements misled investors, resulting in economic losses.

[14] Feinman, 2000

[15] Yates, 2008

[16] Donoghue v. Stevenson, (1932)

[17] Anns v. Merton, London Borough Council, (1977)

[18] Leitzel, 1989

[19] Yates, 2008

[20] Ibid.

[21] Massey, 2007

[22] Massey, 2007

[23] Hodgkinson v. Simms, (1994)

[24] Risk Control, 1960

[25] James H. Thompson, 1991

[26] Yates, 2008

[27] James H. Thompson, 1991

[28] Busch, 2004

[29] (DFAIT 2008)

A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation

Author: David Bodanis

I am always weary when I pick up books with pull-quotes of previous popular critics – like the John Polanyi’s from the Globe and Mail “Exhilarating. E=mc² is to be treasured.” I cannot help but wonder if the book will live up to such blatant marketing-ploys promising instant enlightenment. The author David Bodanis, an academic at Oxford is able to deliver on those claims. His concise account surrounding the development of popular science’s biggest breakthrough of the 20th century; the preface details his muse of the book as Cameron Diaz – whom queried as to the meaning of e=mc² in a television interview.

“It got me thinking. Everyone knows that e=mc² is really important, but they don’t know what it means, and that’s frustrating, because the equation is so short that you’d think it would be understandable.”

With this as his mission, Bodanis recreates the era through numerous stories of scientists working in their respective fields – piecing together the breakthroughs; the book offers great clarity to the subject. Demonstrating the practical applications of the equation in daily devices such as – televisions, smoke alarms, PET scanners; through the abstract notions of forming stars and distant black holes; and most importantly the creation of the world’s most deadly weapon – the Atomic Bomb. It is difficult to imagine that only a short 100 years ago our world was a wholly-different place, by far a simpler time in history. Bodanis provides a narrative of the time – introducing each character and their relation to one another, and the context of their role, which ultimately led to Albert Einstein’s major contribution to theoretical physics. Exploring the lives of:

• Michael Faraday, whom first discovered the link between electricity and magnetic fields;
• Emilie de Chatelet, an undervalued scientist of her time;
• Knut Haukelid’s strategic role in averting Nazi atomic development;
• Cecilia Payne;
• Brahmin Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and his theoretical breakthroughs;
• Isaac Newton;
• Werner Heisenberg;
• Ernst Rutherford;
• James Maxwell;
• Voltaire;
• and the list goes on.

The first half of the book is dedicated to developing the main character – Albert Einstein, and his intellectual tools – E, =, M, C, and the important exponent ². The reader is presented with the reality of Einstein’s early career in a patent office, a struggling academic trying to maintain a young family. Nevertheless Bodanis meticulously lays out the basics of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Developing each of the symbols into meaningful entities that together changed humanity – for Energy is equal to the Mass of a substance multiplied by the Speed of light Squared. After reading this fully explanatory section it becomes glaringly obvious just how simple the equation really is, the transitions between chapters gives a clever account of the importance of each symbol. By the fourth chapter he finally lets it out:

The Victorians had thought they found all possible sources of energy there were: chemical energy, heat energy, magnetic energy, and the rest. But by 1905 Einstein could say… there is another place you can look where you’ll find more. His equation was like a telescope to lead there, but the hiding place wasn’t far… it was hidden away in solid matter itself.

What I found particularly useful of this book was the attention given to the historical context of the time. The development of the theory of relativity resulted in the division of the world’s military might – resulting in a scientific gold-rush of sorts, where funding billowed into national defense programs. These programs competed on an international scale, largely resulting in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union which contributed to the increase of nuclear-weapon stockpiles. The history behind Einstein’s German descent adds an interesting twist to the story – as World War II spurred such defense initiatives as: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Chalk River (CRNL), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and government sponsored Manhattan project. As the world empires attempted to out-discover their enemies, they were also contributing to the world’s deadliest weapon. The book details conspiracy, espionage, and sabotage attempts on both sides – and the highly secretive government involvement. This background information provides the reader a rich experience of the events leading to the momentous and deadly results of the first nuclear attacks – over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

These worldly consequences of such human-weapons are compared to the larger application of the equation. Bodanis dedicates the last segment of the book to an understanding of how e=mc² contributes in the daily functioning of our universe – ultimately controlling everything “from how the first stars ignited, to how the life will end.” It is amazing to think the equation provides the simplest account of how the Sun produces it’s seemingly endless supply – and it holds the potential for the future of human civilization. The discussion shifts towards the daily importance of the equation, on everything from medical equipment to nuclear-power generation. It was particularly interesting how Bodanis explored the gender issues in the scientific community – which proved to be a hindrance in the equations evolution. But no such discussion could be complete without the abstract theoretical impact of e=mc², where the current state of order rarely experiences “mass and energy… transforming into each other” as in the distant past; and how the equation permits the existence of Black Holes in the Universe. Overall Bodanis is successful in delivering on his promise of a biography on the world’s most famous equation.

The entire book proves to be a useful and enjoyable read. Complete with illustrations, photos, notes, further reading suggestions, and a comprehensive additional notes section – the book provides an excellent resource for those curious of modern science and Albert Einstein. The tone of the book is accessible to almost any reader, and will no doubt stimulate curiosity through an entertaining depiction of the time. I would highly recommend this book to any person interested in the subject – or even a high school physics teacher looking for inspiration to the classroom!

–/

This review was written by Curtis Goodman on April 15th, 2008.

For more information:

www.davidbodanis.com

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