Saskatchewan’s perspective on the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol : sources of conflict in Canadian federalism

Abstract

The 2002 ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the government of Canada represents an interesting case study in Canadian federalism. This thesis seeks to explore the perspective of the government of Saskatchewan during the debate surrounding the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. In examining Saskatchewan’s perspective, this thesis uses the theoretical framework developed by Richard Simeon in Federal-Provincial Diplomacy: The Making of Recent Policy in Canada. In particular, the four major sources of intergovernmental conflict identified by Simeon, economic conflict, ideological conflict, political competition, and differences in perspective, will be used to examine Saskatchewan’s reaction to the ratification to the Kyoto Protocol.

Climate change policy provides interesting insights into Canadian federalism. Constitutional authority in environmental policy is concurrently shared between both levels of government. At the same time, the federal government has authority to make international treaties, but requires provincial consent to implement those treaties in areas of provincial jurisdiction. Unlike other previous intergovernmental negotiations, the Kyoto Protocol’s ratification also introduces international elements and considerations to domestic federal-provincial relations, which have rarely been explored in academic literature surrounding Canadian federalism. As such, this thesis hopes to use the case study of Saskatchewan’s perspective on Kyoto’s ratification as a means of expanding on the relevance of Simeon’s framework through the consideration of unexplored international factors on Canadian federalism.