Can governments transcend pathological power struggles?

The intersectionality of modern challenges—climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity loss, housing accessibility, failed states and others—obviously requires multi-level governance. This in turn necessitates that governments forgo traditional power and jurisdictional disputes to collaborate and align innovative policy design vertically and horizontally.

 Most recently, another call for working together came from a 15-member task force co-chaired by former Cabinet minister Lisa Raitt and former Edmonton mayor Don Iveson if Canada is going to achieve a national blueprint to build 5.8 million affordable, net-zero aligned homes by 2030.

 In its release, the task outlined four key action items from its 58-page report: legalizing density, quickly implementing better building codes, investing in factory-built housing, and most critically, no longer building in high-risk areas. Equally, individuals have a responsibility not to buy in these areas, even though developers are ‘allowed’ to build there.