Indigenous Regulatory Advocacy in Canada’s Far North: Mobilizing the First Mile Connectivity Consortium

Abstract

Marginalized groups such as Indigenous communities and residents of remote and rural areas face daunting challenges as they attempt to influence regulatory decision-making. Can these under-resourced groups hope to have their voices heard in regulatory proceedings, in the face of well-funded corporate interests? Applying a participatory research method to regulatory hearings regarding telecommunications services in Canada’s far north, the authors argue that they can, and identify specific strategies and tactics that they can employ when doing so.