Could an intergovernmental agreement increase the credibility of Canadian treaty commitments in areas within provincial jurisdiction?
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702013509315 |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Policy Briefs |
International Journal
68(4) 536–544
!The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702013509315
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Policy Brief
Could an
intergovernmental
agreement increase the
credibility of Canadian
treaty commitments in
areas within provincial
jurisdiction?
J Anthony VanDuzer
Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa, ON,
Canada
Abstract
Canada’s federal government has exclusive authority to commit Canada to international
treaties, but, under the Canadian constitution, compliance with treaty obligations that
extend into areas of provincial competence is solely within provincial jurisdiction. As
well, while Canada is responsible to its treaty partners if provinces act contrary to
Canada’s obligations, the provinces are not directly accountable. The absence of a direct
legal requirement to fulfil treaty obligations means that incentives for provincial com-
pliance are weakened and, in turn, that the reliability of Canadian obligations relating to
matters within provincial jurisdiction is diminished.
This paper explores the prospects for using an intergovernmental agreement to
address the gap between provincial action and federal responsibility. While such an
agreement could express each province’s commitment to comply with Canadian
treaty obligations, intergovernmental agreements have some inherent weaknesses
that make them an imperfect commitment device.
Keywords
Intergovernmental agreement, Canadian constitution, international treaty, provincial
jurisdiction, federal powers
Corresponding author:
J Anthony VanDuzer, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa, 57 Louis Pasteur St.,
Room 355, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
Email: Anthony.VanDuzer@uOttawa.ca
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