The Dog that Doesn't Bark: Federal Regulation of Industrial Air Pollution in Canada

In a well-known Sherlock Holmes story, Holmes solved a murder mystery by pointing to the

[“curious incident of the dog in the night-time”](https://brieflywriting.com/2012/07/25/the-dog-that-didnt-bark-what-we-can-learn-from-sir-arthur-conan-doyle-about-using-the-absence-of-expected-facts/). “The dog did nothing in the night-time”,

countered the Scotland Yard detective on the case. “That was the curious incident” replied

Holmes.

[Health Canada](https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/2021-health-effects-indoor-air-pollution.html) estimates that air pollution accounts for 15,300 premature deaths annually in

Canada. All the key air pollutants are found on Canada’s [list of toxic substances](https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/canadian-environmental-protection-act-registry/substances-list/toxic.html), giving

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) full authority to regulate emissions. And

yet there are only a handful of federal regulations addressing air pollution from

industrial/stationary sources.

This case study addresses the question – why doesn’t the dog bark?