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The Ultimate Horizontal Issue: The Environmental Policy Experiences of Alberta and Ontario, 1971–1993

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

Mark Winfield
Affiliation:
Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy

Abstract

This article summarizes the conclusions of a comparative study of the environmental policy experiences of two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Ontario, in the period 1971–1993. The examination led to the conclusion that there is a pattern of environmental politics and policy-making common to both provinces, although it emerges at a different pace. This divergence is a function of well-known societal differences between the two provinces. Furthermore, in the Ontario and Alberta experiences, the policy-making capacity of the state can be seen to be severely challenged by the cross-sectoral nature of environmental policy issues. A number of observations regarding the effects of federal-provincial relations and of American influences on environmental policy-making at the provincial level in Canada are also possible.

Résumé

Cet article présente les conclusions d'une étude comparative qui portait sur les politiques environnementales de deux provinces canadiennes, l'Alberta et l'Ontario, de 1971 à 1993. Cette étude nous a mené à conclure que le cadre des politiques environnementales ainsi que le processus d'élaboration présentent des dimensions communes aux deux provinces, bien que ce cadre se soit développé à un rythme différent au sein de chacune d'elles. Cette divergence est due aux différences sociétales bien connues entre les deux provinces. De plus, les expériences de l'Alberta et de l'Ontario démontrent que le processus d'élaboration des politiques est fortement contraint par la nature sectorielle des enjeux liés à la politique environnementale. Plusieurs remarques touchant l'impact des relations fédérales-provinciales ainsi que l'influence américaine sur le processus d'élaboration des politiques environnementales au niveau provincial peuvent être avancées.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1994

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References

1 In addition to sources cited below, many interviews were conducted with politicians, officials and members of interest groups involved in environmental policy development and implementation in Ontario and Alberta over the past 20 years as part of this study. Since many of the interviews were conducted with an explicit or implicit understanding of confidentiality, those interviewed will not be cited. See Mark Winfield, “The Ultimate Horizontal Issue: Environmental Policy and Politics in Ontario and Alberta 1971–1992” (unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, 1992).

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