Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules: Multi-Level Regulatory Governance

by G. Bruce Doern (Editor), Robert Johnson (Editor)

The dynamics of multi-level regulatory governance are ever-changing, not just in a North American context, but in a global one as well. Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules, clarifies the nature, causes, and dynamics of levels of regulatory governance in, or affecting, Canada. Edited by G. Bruce Doern and Robert Johnson, this collection makes conceptual and practical contributions to the debate over what kinds of principles and institutional approaches can resolve the problems of multi-level regulatory governance. This is the first text to provide an integrated discussion of key politico-institutional issues such as smart regulation, innovation, social and economic regulatory governance, accountability and transparency in Canada through a study of the multi-level regulatory interactions that the nation must function within.

"Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules" considers various sectors where rule-making spans all or most of the four levels of jurisdiction - international, federal, provincial, and city or local - in areas such as food safety, investment and trade, forestry, drinking water, oil and gas, and emergency management. A central argument of the collection is that the pressure to merge, collapse or rationalize levels of regulation is mainly driven by business interests, liberalized trade ideas, and related technological changes. Economic concerns about Canada's declining productivity compared to the U.S. are also discussed, as are issues of security, terrorism, and core business and economic concerns in the post-911 era.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2006

About the author

Dr. Bruce Doern is Distinguished Research Professor in the School and also Professor Emeritus in the Politics Department at the University Exeter in the UK.

He continues to actively research and publish in several fields of Canadian, comparative and international public policy and governance including; environment, energy, science, technology and innovation, biotechnology; food and health; regulation, public budgeting, trade, and intellectual property.