Inter-provincial Cooperation Research Articles

Effect of government environmental attention on green transformation: Empirical analysis from a spatiotemporal perspective in China

As the primary policymaker and implementer, the government plays an essential role in driving regional green transformation development (GTD). The study of the impact mechanisms of government environmental attention (GEA) on GTD can offer a scientific basis and reference for policy-making and regional governance. However, the varying focus of local governments on environmental issues and the externalities of environmental governance underscore the complexities in the influence of GEA on GTD. This paper proposes a method that integrates multi-source data to explore the impact of GEA on GTD from a spatiotemporal perspective. A text mining framework is first proposed to provide a more accurate measurement of the GEA, and the geographically and temporally weighted regression model is used to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristic and mechanism of GEA's impact. Additionally, the spatial correlation effect is explored based on the gravity model. The results indicate that the level of GTD in China demonstrates an increasing trend with an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 3.22%, while the variance between provinces is also increasing. GEA has a significant positive effect on GTD (R2 = 0.866), with an average growth rate of 18.1% following the implementation of major environmental policies. The spatial distribution pattern of GEA's impact shows the characteristics of “central > eastern > western > northeastern”. GEA promotes GTD by increasing environmental governance expenditure and enhancing public environmental services, while the transmission pathway of promoting green innovation has not yet worked. The spatial correlation and spillover effects of GEA have shown an overall increasing trend, with the AAGR of 8.92% in the gravity value. Inter-provincial cooperation can promote GTD, and certain collaborative clusters among provinces have been formed. This paper provides novel insights into the theoretical connection between GEA and GTD. The research findings can serve as a reference for the government to propose targeted policies for promoting regional green transformation.

A cooperative interprovincial management model under renewable portfolio standard policy accounting for employment factors

The vigorous development of renewable energy (RE) is the key to mitigating climate change, realizing energy transformation and thereby guaranteeing energy security. China formally implemented the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in 2019 and has made certain advances, however, the spatial reverse distribution of RE supply and power consumption center and interprovincial barriers hinder the further development of the RPS. Therefore, this study considers the quota completion cost and employment factors comprehensively to construct a cooperative interprovincial management model (CIMM) of the RPS and address the interprovincial barriers while giving full play to provincial advantages. The minimum cost residual saving method is used to apportion the cooperation cost reasonably. Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Shandong are taken as case provinces to verify the model. The result shows that, compared to the territorial management model, the CIMM increases RE generation by 19.58% and employment creation by 19.19% and lowers quota completion costs by 3.84%. A sensitivity analysis verified the robustness of the model. This study provides a scientific interprovincial cooperation model and cost distribution method for the central government to realize the efficient utilization of RE, and promote the further development of RE. Finally, policy recommendations to promote RE cooperation are proposed.

Research on the Evaluation and Influencing Factors of China’s Provincial Employment Quality Based on Principal Tensor Analysis

The research on the quality of employment in China holds immense significance for attaining high-quality employment development. Firstly, enhancing the quality of employment facilitates the optimization of labor resource allocation and enhances economic efficiency. Secondly, high-quality employment serves as a fundamental pillar for social equity and stability. Lastly, continual enhancement of employment quality caters to the requirements of social development and plays a crucial role in promoting economic transformation and achieving sustainable development. However, what is the current situation of employment quality in China? How can we scientifically measure employment quality? What are the key factors for the development of employment quality? This study aimed to use spatiotemporal tensor data to measure the level of employment quality in China’s provinces and analyzed the magnitude and direction of its influencing factors in the spatiotemporal dimension. Taking thirty provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in China from 2011 to 2020 as the research objects, the employment quality evaluation system was constructed from six dimensions: employment environment, employment status, employability, labor remuneration, social security, and labor relations. The employment quality index data were expressed in the form of three-order, high-dimensional tensor spatiotemporal data, and the employment quality of China’s provinces was measured from the spatiotemporal perspective by using principal tensor analysis. Then, the visual analysis of the development and change process of employment quality was carried out. The spatial autocorrelation analysis of employment quality was carried out, and the time–space dual-fixed-effect model of the spatial Durbin model was selected to analyze the direction and magnitude of the influence factors of employment quality on the selected and neighboring provinces. The research showed that: (1) The overall level of employment quality in China was not high, the employment quality varied greatly among provinces, and the employment quality development gap among provinces showed a trend of widening. (2) The development of employment quality in western China was relatively fast, while the development of employment quality in central China showed insufficient stamina. (3) Sichuan Province had a strong radiation effect on the development of employment quality in neighboring provinces, and Beijing and Tianjin had a strong siphon effect on the development of employment quality in neighboring provinces. (4) The level of industrialization and informatization promoted the development of employment quality in China’s provinces, while the industrial structure had a significant negative effect on the development of employment quality. According to the research findings, the following policy recommendations are proposed: (1) strengthen inter-provincial cooperation and exchange, (2) emphasize support for the central and western regions, (3) fully leverage the radiation effect of Sichuan while optimizing the siphon effect of Beijing and Tianjin, and (4) enhance industrialization and information technology levels, as well as adjust the industrial structure.

Does green finance agglomeration improve carbon emission performance in China? A perspective of spatial spillover

Promoting the synergies between economic growth and carbon reduction is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality goals. Understanding the determinants of carbon emission performance (COP) is important for improvement. However, empirical examinations of the linkages between green finance agglomeration (GFA) and COP remain limited. Utilizing a panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2007 to 2019, we measure COP via meta-frontier data envelopment analysis. We employ a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to investigate the spatial spillover effects of GFA on COP. Our findings reveal COP has a substantial positive spatial correlation between provinces. We further observe that GFA has a direct and spatially dependent impact on regional COP. The effects vary based on different green finance instruments and regions. GFA enhances COP through capital formation, energy transition, and technological advancement, although asymmetry effects exist between local and neighboring regions. Promoting regional GFA formation through interprovincial cooperation and coordination for optimizing green finance allocation is vital. Moreover, increased financial support towards green, low-carbon projects and enterprises can raise overall regional COP.

Energy-conservation model of inter-provincial cooperation that accounts GDP and social benefits

With rapid development of the global economy, economic growth is increasingly dependent on energy consumption, and the world faces the associated problems of environmental pollution and depletion of energy sources. This creates a challenge: Our ability to achieve these goals is severely constrained by the current governance based on non-cooperative energy conservation. To improve energy conservation in China, we developed an energy-conservation model based on market mechanisms. The model has three parts: (1) a two-objective (GDP and social benefits) optimization model; (2) a model that determines the optimal trading volume for energy conservation quotas in each province, including division of provinces into quota buyers and sellers and a cooperative game model for energy conservation quotas; and (3) a Nash distribution model for inter-provincial cooperation to fairly distribute the benefits from cooperation. We then used Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces for an empirical analysis of the cooperative model. With the current territorial management approach, the social benefits of the inter-provincial cooperation based on option trading increased by 2.79 %, and GDP increased by 273.636 × 109 CNY. After a reasonable distribution of the benefits, each province benefited from the cooperation. This demonstrates that our model can improve China's current energy conservation governance.

Agriculture related methane emissions embodied in China's interprovincial trade

Given that agriculture is the predominant source of anthropogenic methane, evaluating the spatio-temporal trends of agriculture related CH4 emissions embodied in trade and the related drivers is an important prerequisite for climate goals. This study first adopted the IPCC tier 2 method to account agriculture related methane emissions, by taking China as a case. The embodied CH4 emissions in the interprovincial trade were then explored by employing multiregional input-output analysis. Socioeconomic factors impacting embodied emissions were uncovered. The results show that the direct CH4 emissions from agriculture in China decreased from 15.50 Tg in 2010 to 12.49 Tg in 2020, mainly contributed by the decrease from livestock production. The direct emissions were dominated by Hunan, Sichuan and Jiangxi broken down by provinces, and rice cultivation and enteric fermentation by process. Total amount of embodied CH4 emissions increased from 11.36 Tg in 2012 to 12.10 Tg in 2015, and decreased to 11.48 Tg in 2017. Shandong had the largest embodied CH4 net inflow, while Heilongjiang had the largest embodied CH4 net outflow. The significant increases in embodied CH4 net outflow of Western China transferred from North were found. GDP per-capita and food production per unit GDP had the most positive and negative contributions to the embodied emissions, respectively. Reliability of the results was further demonstrated by using sensitivity analysis and comparing with similar studies. Finally, implications were raised, including reducing the direct emission intensities, bringing embodied CH4 emission into decision making and setting the interprovincial cooperation mechanisms.

Carbon-Emission Density of Crop Production in China: Spatiotemporal Characteristics, Regional Disparities, and Convergence

An analysis of carbon emissions of crop production provides paths for global warming mitigation. Existing studies have focused on the magnitude of the carbon emissions from crop production, which is unreasonable for inter-location comparison due to neglecting regional variations in cultivation technologies and planting scale. Different from the conventional idea, this paper estimated the carbon-emission density of crop production (CEDCP) based on carbon emissions per hectare of crop production. With the 30 Chinese provinces between 2000 and 2020 as the study area, temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of the CEDCP were explored, regional disparities of the CEDCP were discussed based on the Theil index, and the possibility of regional coordinated optimization for the CEDCP was explored by relying on the convergence tests. The results show that the average annual CEDCP in China was 1.462 t/hm2, reaching a peak of 1.576 t/hm2 in 2015. The national carbon-emission densities of agricultural materials, rice fields, soil management, and straw burning were 0.492 t/hm2, 0.390 t/hm2, 0.189 t/hm2, and 0.391 t/hm2, respectively. In many provinces, the CEDCP increased first and then decreased, presenting a spatial pattern of high in the eastern region and low in the western region. Regional disparities of CEDCP shrank early but expanded later, and the disparities within the western region had always contributed considerably to the overall disparities. The CEDCP had shown σ- and β- convergence in both national and regional scales, and the convergence process had positive spillover effects. These findings suggest that inter-provincial cooperation may facilitate the CEDCP to converge.

An inter-provincial cooperation model under Renewable Portfolio Standard policy

The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) has been implemented by a number of the world's most economically developed nations, to address the great challenges faced regarding energy problems and climate change. However, the current non-cooperation model (NCM) of the RPS in China cannot effectively overcome the bottleneck of renewable energy development due to the disparity between renewable energy-rich regions and high energy-consuming regions. To resolve this dilemma, this study proposes an inter-provincial cooperation model (ICM) under the RPS in China. The ICM consists of two parts: (1) an optimization model to obtain the lowest RPS target realization cost and ensure efficiency, and (2) cost allocation models based on the Shapley value, core, and nucleolus methods, to ensure fairness in different situations. The cases of Beijing, Shandong, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia show that the total cost of the four provincial regions covered by the ICM will be reduced by 57.07 × 108 CNY, or 8.25% compared with the NCM. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the impact of different parameter values on the ICM results. Based on these results, we propose policy recommendations to promote implementation of the ICM.

How to Decouple Tourism Growth from Carbon Emissions? A Spatial Correlation Network Analysis in China

This research aims to analyze the spatial correlation network of the decoupling between tourism growth and carbon emissions in China’s 31 provinces to promote the overall decoupling through regional cooperation. This study scientifically measures the decoupling index from 2009 to 2019 based on a “bottom-up” method and the Tapio decoupling model. It analyzes the spatial correlation network of the decoupling and its driving factors by using social network analysis. The conclusions show that the decoupling between China’s tourism economic growth and carbon emissions was dominated by an expansive connection, which indicates a nonideal decoupling state. Among the regions, decoupling was stronger in the eastern provinces and weaker in the middle and western districts. The spatial correlation outside the plates was more significant, while the internal correlation was weaker. Beijing and Shanghai were in the center of the network, and the eastern developed provinces were in the subcentral place, both of which had more muscular control over the network. In contrast, the middle and western regions were on edge positions, playing passive roles in the network. In addition, the economic development level was the most vital driving force behind the spatial correlation, followed by spatial adjacency and government policy. In contrast, the industrial structure and technological level were negative influencing factors. These research findings indicate potential interprovincial cooperation in terms of tourism decarbonization, which provide a profound reference for the whole sustainable development of China’s tourism industry.

Spatial correlation evolution and prediction scenario of land use carbon emissions in China

Carbon dioxide emissions are the main drivers of global warming and extreme weather disasters caused by global warming have posed a threat to sustainable development and even to human survival. Land use has an important impact on carbon emissions and carbon storage. This study quantified land use carbon emissions, constructed land use carbon emission grid, and simulated future land use patterns under different scenarios in China during 2000–2018. Land use carbon emissions were found to increase by 400.29% in this period and were higher in the northeast. We discerned obvious spatial correlations between land use carbon emissions in various provinces of China and thus, recommended stronger inter-provincial cooperation in China to achieve overall emission reduction in the country. The carbon emissions spatial correlation network revealed that regions with superior economic and geographical location were in the center of the network. Compared with the carbon emissions in 2018, the simulated natural development scenario and ecological protection scenario indicated that the China's land use carbon emissions decreased in 2030. Thus, the results indicate that the individual provincial governance mode overlooked the spatial correlation between land use carbon emissions across various provinces, due to which these carbon emissions were not effectively reduced. The study highlighted the importance of ecological land protection, which is significant for promoting sustainable land use, increasing land use carbon sink, and reducing carbon emissions.

Multi-objective optimization of energy-water nexus from spatial resource reallocation perspective in China

With China’s vast territory and high regional heterogeneity in the spatial energy and water resources distribution, provincial-level embodied energy (EE) and virtual water (VW) reallocation are critical to regional energy and water recourse management but unfortunately, remain far from completed. In this paper, considering the heterogeneity of energy and water resources endowments among provinces, we constructed a dual objectives optimization framework to minimize national energy stress and water stress. Also, we evaluated the EE and VW flows’ synergy impact on mitigating energy and water stress. We found that the spatial resources reallocation has a significant role on mitigating energy and water stress in high-stress regions. The results show that the net energy inflow can increase by 33.5%, and the net water inflow can increase by 42.1% in high-stress regions. The EE and VW flows’ impact on mitigating resource stress is affected by the spatial resource endowments’ heterogeneity. The flows that have the most positive impact on mitigating regional energy and water stress are Shanxi-Jiangsu and Jiangxi-Shanghai, respectively, while the most negative flows are Jiangsu-Henan and Xinjiang-Heilongjiang, respectively. The EE and VW flows among provinces have synergy in mitigating energy and water stress. Policy makers should not only focus on the local resources’ consumption, but on the inter-provincial recourse flow and spatial resource endowments’ heterogeneity. Inter-provincial cooperation is recommended, with reducing the scale of EE and VW trade that has negative impact, which can mitigate regional energy and water stress.

Spatiotemporal analysis of rural energy transition and upgrading in developing countries: The case of China

Rural energy upgrade in developing countries is an essential part of the world climate mitigation work. To systematically promote rural energy upgrade, we took the case of China and used a spatiotemporal model to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of energy ladders in agriculture and rural life of developing countries. The proportion of clean energy consumption in agriculture showed an interprovincial competition effect, whereas the proportion of oil consumption in rural life showed a demonstration effect. Severe reliance on coal hinders energy upgrade. Urbanisation has improved the clean level of energy use in agriculture but does not significantly affect the in rural life. Technological progress has increased the proportion of clean energy consumption but has little impact on the proportion of oil and gas consumption. The abundance of coal resources has prompted the massive use of coal and coal-fired power. Energy-use habit promotes the use of all types of energy. Except for that of gas, the consumption of different types of energy in agriculture and rural life mutually promotes. In summary, the development of energy technologies should be established based on the regional resource endowment and economic development level. Also, subsidy principles for clean energy projects should be established based on the development level of the agriculture and residents’ income. Rural energy upgrade is coordinated with urbanisation and the modernisation of the agriculture and rural life styles while paying attention to the mutual promotion between the agriculture and rural life. During the change of the energy-use habit under policy guidance, attention must be paid to interprovincial cooperation. Finally, a reasonable market mechanism should be established to promote energy upgrade.

Analysis on shadow price and abatement potential of carbon dioxide in China's provincial industrial sectors.

CO2 emission performance evaluation is crucial to make abatement policies. Knowledge about the potential and costs of CO2 reduction could provide information guides for policymakers and help them implement targeted measures. However, relevant studies are rarely subdivided into detailed industrial sectors, and results are lack of inter-industry comparisons. To fill this gap, this study estimates provincial technical inefficiency, abatement potential, and shadow price of CO2 from fuel combustion in China's 25 industries in 2001-2017. Results show that China's industry could ideally reduce CO2 emissions by a further 22.01-33.27%, averaging 1645.96 MtCO2. Technical efficiency, abatement potential, and cost vary across provinces and industries and should therefore be fully considered when designing emission reduction targets and control policies. Provinces and industries with low technical efficiency, large-scale emissions, great abatement potential and low shadow price are the key to emission reduction. We thus identify key provinces and industries that need to take on more abatement responsibility. Those findings are of great significance to the formulation of carbon reduction targets and the implementation of abatement policies, and prove the feasibility of China's trans-regional carbon trading. It is suggested to prioritize key industries into the trading system and further promote inter-provincial cooperation through carbon trading.

Bibliometric analysis of pharmaceutical papers from Double First-rate universities in China

Objective To understand the development status in the subject of pharmacy and provide recommendations for the construction of universities and the development of pharmacy by the bibliometric analysis of pharmaceutical papers from Double First-rate universities in China. Methods China National Knowledge Network (CNKI), Wanfang and VIP databases were searched for Chinese literature, and Scopus database was searched for English literature. Duplicates and non-research literatures were deleted. 12 028 literatures were included. Excel 2016 software was used for statistical analysis. Results From 2014 to 2019, the total number of papers published by Double First-rate universities increased year by year, with the highest increase rate of 14%. From 2014 to 2020, 11 178 papers were published in international journals, while only 850 were published in domestic journals. Nearly 93% of pharmaceutical papers flowed to foreign journals. Peking Union Medical College published the most papers in international journals. Sun Yat-sen University published the most SCI papers. Peking University published the most papers in domestic journals, while Fudan University published the highest number of papers in Q1 area. Only a few papers published with international coauthors from colleges or universities. The cooperation works were limited in the same province or municipality directly under the central government. Conclusion Double First-rate universities should focus on strengthening international cooperation and inter-provincial cooperation, improving industry-university collaboration, and accelerating the transformation from scholar research to productions.

Promoting the High-Quality Development of Central China Through Energy Revolution: Theoretic Analysis and Implementation Paths

The rise of Central China is a major strategy for China’s regional development. In recent years, Central China has gained a notable late-mover advantage. As China enters the stage of high-quality development, Central China needs to keep up with this trend to improve its comprehensive strength and competitiveness. As energy is the foundation for economic and social development, high-quality development requires a high-quality energy system and should be supported by energy revolution. The five provinces (i.e., Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangxi) from Central China have excellent resource endowment; however, the new energy potentials and total energy production of these provinces are inadequate, and the energy supply and demand are imbalanced. In this article, we analyze the internal mechanism of promoting the rise of Central China through energy revolution, and conclude that the quality of energy consumption should be optimized in Central China to promote the rise of this region in terms of economy, society, and ecology. Moreover, the overall goal for the medium- and long-term energy development in Central China is discussed. To this end, Central China should promote energy conservation and emission reduction to improve energy efficiency and green development, develop multi-energy complementary technologies to promote clean energy consumption, and strengthen inter-provincial cooperation in energy to ensure the security of external energy supply. Specifically, several implementing paths are proposed including green and low-carbon development, supply-side reform, innovation-driven strategy, energy allocation optimization, and multi-energy integration.

China's glacier tourism: Potential evaluation and spatial planning

Abstract To investigate the advantages of glacier tourism resources in China and evaluate their potentials, a spatial assessment system based on an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is established here and takes into account some of the key impacting factors on China's glacial tourism, such as location and transportation, resources and environment potential, infrastructure and development level, and socio-economic conditions. The system also evaluates glacier tourism potential based on the administrative-district level in western China using a weighted integrated method. The results show that regions with higher integrated potential indices include better traffic conditions, richer glacier resources, more robust economic and social bases, closer tourist markets, and better accessibility to glacier areas, and richer tourist resources. Reginal development strategies with higher and lower potentials are also discussed in order to improve tourism competitiveness and spatial attractions. The rich, unique glacier tourism resources, accompanying with the implementation of inter-provincial cooperation projects (for example, the Silk Road Tourist Belt, the Qing-Tibet Rail Tourist Belt, and the Shangri-la Ecotourism Zone), will lead to a stronger appeal for China's glacier tourism, for both domestic and foreign tourists.

The measurement and influencing factors of carbon transfers embodied in inter-provincial trade in China

Based on a measurement model for carbon transfers in bilateral trade between regions and an improved log-mean Divisia index decomposition method, this study estimates carbon transfers caused by inter-provincial demand and inter-provincial exports for 2007, 2010, and 2012 and investigates the main factors that affect net carbon transfers between provinces. The results show the following. First, in 2007–2012, the average carbon emissions caused by inter-provincial demand and inter-provincial exports account for about 35.4% and 8% of total production-based carbon emissions, respectively, which indicates that carbon transfers between provinces are widespread. Second, total carbon transfers caused by inter-provincial demand keep increasing, and in 2012, 19 provinces show net carbon outflows, and provinces located in the northern and central regions receive most net carbon inflows. By contrast, net carbon outflows induced by inter-provincial export keep decreasing and are concentrated in eight provinces in the Beijing–Tianjin, eastern, and southern coastal areas. Third, the scale and structural effects increase net carbon transfers between provinces in 2007–2010 and 2010–2012, respectively, whereas the technological effect reduces net carbon transfers between provinces in 2007–2012. Our empirical results suggest that carbon emissions and inter-provincial carbon transfers can be reduced effectively through inter-provincial cooperation and narrowing provincial differences in emissions reduction technology.

Spatial Impact of High-speed Railway on the Urban Scale:An Empirical Analysis from Northeast China

The emergence of rapid transit, primarily represented by high-speed railway (HSR), while reshaping the regional traffic patterns, leads to the reconstruction and redistribution of population and industry. This leads to either shrinkage or expansion of urban scale. However, research on the influence mechanisms of the urban scale has mostly concentrated on historical, economic and social factors. The influence of traffic factors is rarely mentioned in current research. Therefore, this study examines Northeast China, where the change in urban scale is most significant, to discuss the spatial impact of high-speed railway on the urban scale. This is of great significance in terms of enriching current understanding of the factors affecting the urban scale. The results included the following: 1) The high-speed railway produced considerable space-time convergence effects, however, simultaneously aggravated the imbalance in traffic development in Northeast China. The increase in accessibility presents attenuation characteristics from the high-speed railway. Additionally, the high-speed railway has changed the mode of cooperation between cities in the provinces, inter-regional and inter-provincial cooperation models gradually become popular. 2) The change rate of accessibility and the urban scale present significant spatial coupling phenomena, with the change rate of the Harbin-Dalian trunk lines and its surroundings being more significant. 3) There are predominantly four modes of the influence of high-speed railway on the urban scale, which make difference city present expansion or shrinkage.

Canadian multilateral intergovernmental institutions and the limits of institutional innovation

ABSTRACTIn 2003, the premiers of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories established the Council of the Federation (CoF) to strengthen interprovincial cooperation and exercise leadership on national issues. However, the purpose of COF in practice has not been the subject of systematic study. Against the backdrop of its predecessor, the Annual Premiers’ Conference, and the broader institutional and economic forces that contribute more generally to weak institutionalization of Canada’s multilateral intergovernmental forums, this paper considers the functioning of CoF in practice by analysing the nature of the joint positions of premiers expressed in communiqués it has issued to the end of Conservative government rule, 2015. This analysis reveals the spectrum of ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ measures that CoF has undertaken, and the nature of integration of CoF with other multilateral intergovernmental forums. It concludes that CoF is not immune to the underlying forces contributing more generally to the weak institutionalization of multilateral intergovernmental councils.

Donor Anonymity in Canada: Assessing the Obstacles to Openness and Considering a Way Forward

This article discusses donor anonymity in Canada and the need for law reform in this area. Currently, assisted reproduction is regulated by both the provincial and federal governments, meaning this area is regulated in a piecemeal fashion. Disclosure of donor identifying and non-identifying factors is restricted to limited information, utilized only to keep statistical records. Due to the law limiting identifying information, donor-conceived persons struggle in their attempt to discover their genetic origins. Further, provincial family law does not recognize third party reproduction, which leaves modern family units unprotected. A definition of openness in gamete donation is given in Part II. Part III addresses the law-making and assisted reproduction difficulties arising from the division of powers. Part IV analyzes the potential impact of federal prohibitions on the purchase of sperm and eggs and whether disclosing a donor’s identity will negatively impact gamete supply in Canada. The final two sections discuss the failure of provinces to enact family laws which protect the parental status of intended parents and how past cases under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms have been challenging for donor-conceived persons. The authors propose that reform should be dealt with by the legislature in four areas: provincial family law reform where necessary; robust and meaningful public consultation; interprovincial cooperation if possible; and, consideration of law reform in other jurisdictions