Implementation of multilateral environmental agreements in Canada: The role of legitimacy

This thesis applies ideas of transnational legal process to federal environmental governance in Canada. Part I of the thesis demonstrates that successful domestic implementation of international norms follows a pattern of relations described as transnational legal process whereby international and domestic actors, both governmental and non-governmental, interact in a variety of public and private fora to make, enforce and ultimately internalize rules of international law. The more legitimate a policy is perceived as, the more likely the underlying norms it represents will be internalized.

Environmental governance in Canada is based on an institutionalized form of collaborative federalism with deep historical and philosophical roots. This pattern of relations cannot be ignored when implementing international environmental law domestically in Canada. This is demonstrated in Part II of the thesis through case studies examining the domestic implementation of the Basel Convention and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.