The Design of Federalism and Water Resource Management in Canada

Richard G. Kuhn is an assistant professor of geography at the University
of Guelph.

The issue of water availability, quality, exports, and regulation in
Canada has become one of intense and increasing concern. Management of
water in Canada involves at least two levels of government and the
interests of numerous special-interest groups and organizations. The
absence of a clear division of responsibility between the federal and
provincial governments is the focus of this report.

Kennett considers how jurisdiction over water resource management in
Canada should be allocated between the federal and provincial levels of
government. A systematic approach to the design of Canadian federalism
is outlined and applied to water issues. The author’s secondary aim is
to apply an analytical framework that is based on two central elements:
minimization of organizational costs within the federal system, and the
encouraging of intergovernmental competition. Though useful in the
analysis of the Canadian fisheries, this approach has not been applied
to water management issues.

This well-written book provides a convincing argument as to the role
and nature of federal involvement in water management. Nevertheless, it
will have limited appeal, due to the nature of the subject and the
intended audience: students and participants in the political and
constitutional aspects of Canadian resources management.