Of
the
thesis
entitled: IDENTITY
AND ECONOMY:
MINING
THE
RING
OF
FIRE
Abstract:
When the
price
of
oil
fell
in
2014,
Canada’s
economy
suffered. Even
now,
two
years
later,
companies
continue to
drop
their
prices
to
stay
competitive,
as
the
global
supply
of
oil
remains great
without
any
corresponding
demand. No end
has
been
predicted
for
the declining
price
of
oil,
which
means
the
country
must consider
investing
in
new
opportunities
to
generate
revenue.
Canada
has
been dependent
on
the
exportation
of
its
natural
resources
since
its
founding,
from fur
to
lumber
to
minerals;
the
mining
sites
in
Ontario’s
Far North,
dubbed
the Ring
of
Fire
and
hailed
as
the
province’s
own
oil
sands,
represent
the
next logical
investment. However,
the
current model
of
temporary
settlements
used
at
resource
extraction
sites
requires
rethinking, as
these
settlements
promote
extraction
based
on
a shadow
population
of
transient and
predominantly
male
workers,
and
permit
mining
companies
to
exploit
both
the land
and
local
populations. While
boomtowns may
present
a
more
permanent
alternative,
the
First
Nations
communities
are
not suited
for
the
explosive growth
mining
will
bring
to
the
region.
This thesis
proposes
a
new
settlement
typology
for
resource
extraction,
in
which workers
embrace
a
mobile
lifestyle
of
mining
operations,
moving
from
one
mining site
to
another
with
their
families
according
to
the
lifespan
of
the
extraction in
a
given
region
of
the
Ring
of Fire. Parts
of
the
settlement
are
designed
for
constant
population
fluctuation, while
others
are
designed
for
permanence,
forming
a
resilient
economic
core
to stabilize
the
resulting
community. Local ways
of
life,
such
as
hunting
and
fishing,
are
merged
with
the
resource extraction
requirements
of
the
settlement
and
supplemented
with
social gathering
spaces,
operation
monitoring
and
education
programs,
all
in
order
to create
a
community
conscious
and
considerate
of
the
land
it
occupies, benefiting
the
region
socially
and
economically. A new
hybrid
landscape
is
created
using
the
byproducts of
extraction
to
create
productive
networks
throughout
the
region:
these byproducts
will
increase
connectivity
and
the
circulation
of
various
resources, such
as
electricity
and
drinking
water,
both
of
which
are
currently lacking
in the
underserviced
communities
of
Ontario’s
Far
North. Ultimately,
this
thesis
explores
what
a settlement
providing
maximum
benefits
to
both
an
existing
and
newly-embedded population—as
well
as
benefits
to
the
country
as
a
whole,
through
the
resulting economic
activity—might
look
like.
This thesis
also
explores
the
reincorporation
of
a
community
into
its
surrounding landscape
once
extraction
is
complete. What
architectural
elements
(pieces
or
entire
buildings)
should
remain for
the
benefit
of
the
communities? What elements
can
be
entirely
removed and
relocated
to
other
resource
extraction sites?
And
can
pieces
of
architecture
be
left
behind
to
enhance
landscape
for those
who
will
remain
to
inhabit
the
land? The
Ring
of
Fire
has
the
potential
to
be
so
much
more
than
a
mining operation,
but
this
requires
an accompanying
vision
of
settlement
to
successfully integrate
it
within
its
larger
context.
The
examining
committee
is
as
follows:
Supervisor:
Committee Members:
Lola Sheppard, University of Waterloo
John
McMinn,
University
of
Waterloo
Drew
Sinclair,
SvN
External Reader:
Shadi Ramos, University of Toronto
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Friday September
16,
2016
11:00AM
ARC
2008
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.