Revealing or remedying discrimination? Critical discourse analysis and environmental law in Alberta

Environmental law is situated theoretically between two disparate approaches towards the environment: the utilitarian paradigm, which sees that the environment has value in its ability to support and provide enjoyment for humans, and the environmental paradigm, which sees that the environment has intrinsic value. Some argue that environmental law is anthropocentric and thus does not provide a very balanced reconciliation between these two paradigms.;Environmental law in Alberta possesses one stellar example of environmental paradigm discrimination: the denial of legal standing to environmental groups who speak on behalf of the environment's intrinsic right to be clean, healthy and unexploited. My study examines Alberta environmental law discourse utilizing T. A. van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis. My research attempts to determine if there are discourse strategies present in the discourse that produce and perpetuate discrimination against environmental protectors. My study also attempts to remedy legal discourse induced environmental paradigm discrimination.