Do crises help remedy regulatory failure? A comparative study of the Walkerton water and Jerusalem banquet hall disasters

Abstract

This study explores whether and how policy changes in the aftermath of a crisis. The authors ask why pre-existing regulatory regimes that are identified as contributory factors to "failure" are not necessarily reformed in the wake of a crisis. The investigation adds to the literature that addresses the classic tension between reformism and conservatism in post-crisis periods. Regulatory failure is identified as being largely responsible for two crises - the tainted drinking-water tragedy in Walkerton, Canada, and the collapse of a banquet hall in Jerusalem, Israel. Despite similarities in the nature of media coverage, institutional procedures for investigation and commission findings, these two tragedies differ dramatically in policy change outcomes. A policy streams prism is used to identify, characterize and analyse reasons for very different policy responses to crises associated with regulatory failure

Policy Success in Canada

“…The two-year public inquiry found systemic policy and management problems and made numerous recommendations related to drinking water in the province. Despite this crisis generating a concerted water policy focus in Ontario and highlighting some recognition of regulatory failure (Johns, 2008(Johns, , 2014Schwartz and McConnell, 2009), connections to Great Lakes water quality and the decline in effort related to the GLWQA were not made until several years after the tragedy (Johns, 2014). The Walkerton Inquiry also highlighted the poor state of water quality and the problem of boil water advisories in Ontario's First Nations.…”

Global Water Governance and Climate Change: Identifying Innovative Arrangements for Adaptive Transformation

“…The 2001 tragedy in the Canada town of Walkerton is an example of this: the Walkerton community had its water supply contaminated with E. coli bacteria, which in turn caused seven deaths and 2300 people to fall ill. Public panic about the drinking water spread throughout the province, forcing the government to make an in-depth inquiry into the issue [65]. What emerged out of this inquiry process was new forms of engagement between the public and government: "The Walkerton Commission used a framework referred to as the multi-barrier approach for safe drinking water.…”