The preservation and better management of fresh water across Canada are crucial issues that require the commitment of a number of stakeholders, including governmental departments at every level. In March of 2023, the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development announced the launch of an exhaustive study on the role of the federal government in the protection and management of Canada’s freshwater resources. A year later, the committee has received 39 briefs and heard 145 witnesses in order to evaluate the state of Canada’s fresh water and the actions recommended by the experts.
What is the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development?
The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is a parliamentary department that plays a crucial role in the study of environmental issues and sustainable development in Canada. Composed of members from different political parties, the committee is tasked with studying and producing recommendations for questions such as the conservation of biodiversity, climate change, and, in the case that interests us today, fresh water.
Who are the Members of this Committee?
The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is composed of 12 deputies. The 12 members come from different political parties in Canada.
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What is the Study on Freshwater in Canada?
The Study on Freshwater in Canada undertaken by the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development aims to evaluate the federal government’s role in protecting and managing Canada’s freshwater resources. This study examines various aspects of water management, including the quality of the water, the management of watersheds, the protection of aquatic ecosystems, technological innovation to simplify treatment and/or preservation, the management of our water, as well as water management policies.
The Committee also heard the recommendations of many witnesses and experts across the country, including the De Gaspe Beaubien Foundation, AquaAction, and several of our partners.
Testimonies and Briefs
De Gaspé Beaubien Foundation
In order to highlight our cause, the Foundation shared observations and conclusions collected over the last 10 years in a brief titled Mesures urgentes à prendre pour accroître et protéger l’innovation en matière de technologie de l’eau au Canada.
In this brief, we proposed five recommendations:
- Implementing a plan for funding and accelerator programs dedicated to helpingf young entrepreneurs in the water tech sector.
- Working together with the municipalities and relevant parties in the industry in order to create a system that could simplify young entrepreneurs’ access to various bodies of water, allowing the deployment of pilot projects in real locations.
- Putting into place a formal and solid partnership between the National Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Water Agency in order to ensure better inter-ministerial collaboration.
- Creating tax incentives and deductions for enterprises and investors that are innovating the water tech sector.
- Investing in education and training programs specifically geared towards water tech.
AquaAction
AquaAction’s recommendations presented in their brief and in the testimony of Soula Chronopoulos, President of AquaAction, focused on Canada’s strategic national interests in relation to fresh water and economic security.
Ms. Chronopoulos explained: “In our view, these practical and common-sense suggestions be‐ long in every party's platform. It's time to treat Canada's freshwater protection as both an economic and environmental issue. Let me be blunt: Canada's water-tech sector must be treated as a core component of our freshwater protection strategy.”
Water Rangers
Water Rangers is a non-profit organization that creates tools for the community monitoring of our water and provides a platform of open data accessible by the public. The platform is used by over 300 groups in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and in the United Kingdom. Kat Kavanagh, executive director of Water Rangers and winner of AquaHacking 2015, shared her experience with data collection in Canada and elsewhere in the world in front of the committee.
The entrepreneur ended her testimony with two recommendations: “First of all, we need to invest in leadership and innovation related to the collection and exchange of data produced from water monitoring in our communities. Second, we need to reinforce the communities’ long-term ability to participate in decision making based on the data collected in their communities’ local waterbodies.”
Canadian Coalition for Healthy Waters
Andrew Stegeman, then coordinator for the Canadian Coalition for Healthy Waters, also testified. He took advantage of this time to make five recommendations, similar in certain regards to those of the Foundation.
According to him, the government should:
- Play a key role in the creation and mobilization of the knowledge and tools required to understand and predict the challenges and possibilities related to water.
- Progress their commitment to reconciliation with the indigenous nations by creating access roads and supplying resources for the co-management of the waterbodies we share.
- Take measures to reinforce cooperation at the federal level for decision making and the community management of our water.
- Set the example by adopting an approach focussed on the importance of watershed delineation during the decision-making process.
- Prioritize the modification of outdated federal laws and policies on water. The focus should immediately be directed toward renewing the Law on Canada’s resources, which has remained unchanged for the past 50 years.
Réseau Environnement
Over the last 60 years, Réseau Environnement
has become the largest group of environmental specialists in Canada. The association brings together over 2000 experts from the public, private, and academic sectors working in fields such as water, waste, air, climate change, energy, soils, groundwater, and biodiversity. Their participation in this study was therefore key.
In their brief and testimony, Réseau Environnement highlights 3 of their members’ long-standing priorities:
- The underfunding of water services.
- Modernizing the sewage treatment systems.
- Ensure the success of the Canadian Water Agency
The Importance of this Study for the future of our Water
This study is of crucial importance for the future of our freshwater resources. It will identify gaps in the current management of our limitrophe and transboundary water, and collect recommendations to improve the protection and management of these vital resources from a federal standpoint while respecting provincial expertise.
By taking the opinion of experts and the scientific data into account, this study will guide the policies and federal government’s actions to guarantee the quality and availability of fresh water for future generations.
Let’s Act Now to Protect Fresh Water!
The preservation and better management of fresh water are obtainable objectives, but it is imperative to act now! Although several aspects of water management are the provincial governments’ responsibility (and that is a good thing), the Study on Freshwater in Canada undertaken by the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is a crucial step in the right direction.
The information collected will be useful to all. Benefiting from the knowledge and recommendations formulated as part of this study, the stakeholders (provinces, territories, indigenous communities, municipalities, non-profit organizations …) will be able to work together to ensure a sustainable future for our precious freshwater resources.