Metropolitan Water Governance in Toronto: Policy by Default or Design?

Urban research literature about environmental and public goods provision in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has focused for a long time on the problems that have emerged as a result of fragmented metropolitan governance. However, the passing of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 2006 co-ordinates the management of water at the regional level and created a new source water protection authority in the GTA. This presentation focuses on the policy processes involved in implementing the CWA, and outlines the practical and policy challenges of setting up the Toronto and Region Source Protection Authority with the involvement of municipal and non-municipal stakeholders.