Although natural resource management is a major concern in recent Canadian policy literature, analysts have devoted little attention to parks and protected areas. "Taking the Air" remedies this gap: it scrutinizes the policy-making process for national parks since the mid-1950s and interrogates the rationale and policies that govern them.Paul Kopas argues that national parks and park policy reflect not only environmental concerns but also Canadian political and social attitudes. "Taking the Air" analyzes the role and contribution of various policy participants, including bureaucrats, the general public, interest groups, Aboriginal peoples, and the courts. These groups" agendas play out against a background of ideas that influence the shape and weight of their contributions.In the context of Canadian nation-building and environmental policy, this book will be useful to policy analysts, planners, academics, and students in fields ranging from environmental studies to tourism and...