Social License to Operate (SLO): Private governance and barriers to community engagement

This paper contends that while Social License to Operate (SLO) emphasizes the importance of community inputs in project approval, in fact, it is a private governance scheme that accords only superficial importance to the engagement process. Focusing on the uranium mining industry in Saskatchewan, Canada, and drawing on insights from interviews with industry and non-industry stakeholders, this research identifies various impediments that preclude meaningful inputs from affected communities, especially Indigenous groups.