This paper describes the evolution of Canadian air quality since the early 1970s and discusses the scientific question of whether current air pollution levels are a threat to human health. It then describes the existing structure of Canadian air-pollution policy, including the new focus on ultrafine particles and the introduction of Air Quality Indexes. It concludes by outlining some general principles that should guide policy-makers for developing future air-pollution legislation.

The inclusion of a commitment to equalization in the Constitution Act, 1982 has led politicians, lawyers, economists, and citizens alike to assume that a federal program transferring money from all Canadian citizens to the governments of some have not provinces is a constitutional imperative. This assumption has been used to justify the redistributive system and to oppose any changes.

In 1991, a new Swedish government enacted a major change to Sweden's education system, one that opposition parties, teachers unions, and others claimed would threaten educational equity and erode the public education system.