Working on the railway: a case study in capital‐state relations

• Published in: Canadian Public Administration
• Main Author: Clancy, Peter
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1987
• Subjects: Public Administration; Sociology and Political Science; Canada; Grand lac des Esclaves; Great Slave Lake; Pine Point; Grand Lac des Esclaves; Territoires du Nord-Ouest; Esclave*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-7121.1987.tb00094.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1754-7121.1987.tb00094.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1754-7121.1987.tb00094.x

Abstract: The growing literature on corporate strategies for dealing with government focuses primarily on the organization and articulation of business interests. The processes through which the negotiations are pursued, and the factors which shape their outcomes, have drawn less attention. This paper examines the political relationship between the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. (Cominco) and Ottawa, which culminated in the signing of the Great Slave Lake Railway Agreement in 1961. In it the Government of Canada agreed to spend almost $100 million to finance a railway and related infrastructure in support of a lead‐zinc mine development at Pine Point, NWT. The decision‐making process is considered from both the capital‐state and intrastate perspectives. While in the end Cominco was able to shift the major share of the railway costs into the public realm, this was far from a simple process. Overall, the case sheds light on the dynamics of bargaining between the corporation and the state, while also illustrating the difficulties of achieving policy coherence in a complex administrative setting. Sommaire Tout ce qu'on ecrit à l'heure actuelle sur les stratégies qu'adoptent les compagnies pour traiter avec les gouvernements porte surtout sur l'organisation des intérêts commerciaux. On s'est moins penché, en revanche, sur la façon dont les négociations se font et sur les facteurs qui en déterminent le résultat. Dans cet article, on examine la relation politique entre la Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. (Cominco) et Ottawa, dont le point culminant a été signature de l'accord ferroviaire du Grand Lac des Esclaves en 1961. Dans le cadre de cet accord, le gouvernement du Canada s'est engagé a dépenser près de 100 millions de dollars pour financer une voie ferrée et l'infrastructure connexe en appui au développement de mines de plomb‐zinc à Pine Point, dans les Territoires du Nord‐Ouest. On y analyse le processus décisionnel à la fois du point de vue capital‐État et du point de vue intra‐État. Bien qu en ...