Partnerships in the Development and Implementation of Canadian Air Quality Regulation

This case study focuses on how the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment combined consultative processes with federal provincial negotiations to develop a policy for reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. The paper argues that the relationship among the parties was not characterized by the reciprocity required for a partnership, and that the process employed was insensitive to inequalities in regulatory capacity. As a result, too little attention was devoted to the question of how regulatory capacities can be continuously improved.