Institutional and Legal Framework for Water Management

Abstract

The underpinnings of institutional responsibility for water management in Canada are found in the Canadian Constitution. The general approach in the Constitution is to divide authority between the federal and provincial levels of government on the basis of individual specified heads of power, which in most cases are exclusive to one of the two levels (agriculture is a notable exception that is shared between the two levels of government). Because fresh water is not listed as one of these heads of power, provincial and federal legislative authority with respect to water must be found in a number of sections of the Constitution. Jurisdiction over water may also be conferred as the result of proprietary rights, as opposed to legislative authority. Because of the potential overlap of authority on the part of federal and provincial governments, Canadian management of freshwater resources depends in important respects on co-operation between these two levels of government.

⁸ This Chapter has been provided by Owen Saunders, executive director of the Canadian Institute of Resources Law.