
Participant Package: Elevating Community-Based Water Monitoring in Canada
On November 27 and 28, The Gordon Foundation – alongside Living Lakes Canada and WWF-Canada – is convening a roundtable discussion in Ottawa focused on identifying steps the federal government can take to support community-based water monitoring (CBWM) across Canada.
Full two-day agenda – Click to download (Updated November 26, 2018)
Required Reading – Click to download (Updated November 24, 2018)
**To make the most effective use of our time together in Ottawa, all participants are strong urged to read the Roundtable Discussion Paper.**
Additional Helpful Reading
- Pre-roundtable survey: gordonfoundation.ca/app/uploads/2018/03/CBWM-Survey-Highlights.pdf
- Realizing the Potential of Community Based Water Monitoring in Assessing the Health of Our Waters: www.ourlivingwaters.ca/cbmreport_sep2016
- Community-Based Water Monitoring and Decision-Making (University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, 2018): www.elc.uvic.ca/cbwm/
- Linking community-based monitoring to water policy: Perceptions of citizen scientists (Carlson & Cohen, 2018): www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479718304596
- Community-Based Monitoring as the practice of Indigenous governance: A case study of Indigenous-led water quality monitoring in the Yukon River Basin (Wilson et al., 2018) – Abstract: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479718300203?via%3Dihub
DAY ONE | Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Lord Elgin Hotel (100 Elgin Street), Ottawa, ON |
8:00 a.m. | Registration and Breakfast |
8:30 a.m. | Opening Prayer, Welcome and Opening Remarks |
Elder: Elaine Kicknosway
Facilitator: Geraldine King, NVision Insight Group Inc. Opening remarks: Katarina Hartwig, Living Lakes Canada Opening remarks: Carolyn DuBois, The Gordon Foundation |
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9:00 a.m. | State of Play: How the federal government is supporting CBWM across Canada |
Hear from federal government representatives on how CBWM is being supported. Identifying the decisions, priorities, and broad strokes of what governments are already doing to support CBWM through programs, funding streams, and relationships. How do governments see the growth and potential of what CBWM could be nationally? How do they use data in decision-making?
Moderator: Tony Maas, Forum for Leadership on Water Panelists: Paul Jiapizian, Environment and Climate Change Canada Carla Torchia, Environment and Climate Change Canada Marlene Doyle, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada |
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9:45 a.m. | Drivers and approaches in Indigenous-led water monitoring |
Hear about Indigenous-led water monitoring programs. Why is water monitoring important in different contexts? What does it take to set up a monitoring program? And how does this help exercise inherent water rights and associated responsibilities?
Moderator: Brenda Parlee, Tracking Change, University of Alberta Panelists: Shaunna Morgan-Siegers, Indigenous Leadership Initiative Minister John Parenteau, Fisheries, Manitoba Métis Federation Caleb Behn, Assembly of First Nations
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10:30 a.m. | Break |
10:45 a.m. |
Ask Me Anything – Share experiences with experts from a variety of CBWM perspectives
Descriptions to follow |
1) Citizen Science models from other jurisdictions – Jeff Schloss, University of New Hampshire
What can we learn from the CBWM movement south of the border? Hear how CBWM in the US has taken shape. Jeff brings 30 plus years of experience creating federal-level supports and funding models, resulting in program longevity and ensuring CBWM data can feed into local, statewide and national assessments. Jeff can speak to challenges and lessons learned in standardization of protocols to the development of sustainable funding models, among many other topics. 2) Community-based water monitoring and federal decision-making – Tony Maas, Forum for Leadership on Water What are the most promising existing and emerging opportunities for CBWM to meaningfully inform decisions under federal laws and policies that impact freshwater? What decisions under what laws and policies? How can CBWM support implementation of proposed updates to federal environmental laws (i.e., Fisheries Act, Navigation Protection Act, Impact Assessment legislation)? 3) The water monitoring landscape in Canada – Elizabeth Hendriks, WWF-Canada and Katarina Hartwig, Living Lakes Canada Across the country, we have some incredible monitoring programs and some not so good programs and everything in between. Can we better integrate and coordinate? How can we better coordinate for better local monitoring coverage and better local to national integration? Can we build CBWM momentum by speaking the same language for watershed health comparisons across the country.? Can we build in political buffers with an integrated approach? 4) Place-based drivers for monitoring in the Mackenzie River Basin – Leon Andrew, Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated Learn about diverse community concerns driving water and climate monitoring in the Mackenzie River Basin. How are different indicators selected? How does monitoring relate to unique water management and governance systems in the Basin? 5) Community-based monitoring needs in Alberta. Climate monitoring through an Indigenous lens – Cleo Reese, Keepers of the Athabasca / Athabasca Watershed Council and Sharlene Alook, Treaty 8 First Nations-AB 6) Knowledge Sharing and community-based monitoring – Dr. Dawn Martin Hill and Rod Whitlow, Global Water Futures, McMaster University Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing is relatively new to academic discourse but ancient in practice. Our project Indigenous Water quality tools implements applies IK and TEK in ecosystem and human health to develop tools such as digital storytelling, place name heritage mapping of waterways, and co-created sensors with real time apps in the Mohawk language while building capacity in Indigenous communities to manage, govern and sustain water security. 7) Use of IK/TK in Environmental Impact Assessments – Adam Chamberlain, Gowling WLG What changes should we expect to see in the use of IK/TK with the new federal environmental impact assessment regime? What can southern Canada learn from best practices in the territorial north? |
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Noon | Lunch & Keynote: Showcasing community-based water monitoring in the Ottawa watershed
Meredith Brown, Ottawa Riverkeeper |
1:00 p.m.
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Concurrent Sessions |
Session A: Capacity Building (St. Laurent Room)
Introduction: Joanne Nelson, Decolonizing Water Project, University of British Columbia Facilitator: Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Swim Drink Fish |
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Session B: Effective Monitoring (Ontario Room)
Introduction: Alexis Kanu, Lake Winnipeg Foundation Facilitator: Simon Mitchell, WWF-Canada |
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*Your session and room are indicated on the back of your name tag | |
2:30 p.m. | Break |
2:45 p.m. | Group Discussion: Mobilizing Knowledge for Action
Report back from concurrent sessions: Geraldine King, Facilitator Presentation: Dr. Alice Cohen, Acadia University |
4:00 p.m. | Plan for Next Day – What should people be thinking about? |
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Evening Reception
Metropolitain Brasserie (700 Sussex Drive, Ottawa) Opening remarks: Sherry Campbell, President and CEO, The Gordon Foundation |
DAY TWO | Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Lord Elgin Hotel (100 Elgin Street), Ottawa, ON |
8:00 a.m. | Group breakfast and networking |
8:30 a.m. | Ignite Presentations: Snapshot of CBWM in Canada |
1. Capacity Building – Tim Anaviapik Soucie & David Atkinson, ARCTIConnexion, Pond Inlet
2. Effective Monitoring – Alexis Kanu, Lake Winnipeg Foundation 3. Regional & National Collaboration – Graeme S. Robertson, ACAP St. John 4. Data Management – Catherine Paquette and Simon Mitchell, WWF Canada 5. Mobilizing Knowledge for Action – Mike Low, Dehcho First Nation 6. Sustainable Funding – Jana Kotaska, Coastal Stewardship Network, Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative |
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9:15 a.m. | Concurrent Sessions |
Session A: Regional & National Collaboration (St. Laurent Room)
Introduction: Emma Wattie, Atlantic Water Network Facilitator: Dr. Alice Cohen, Acadia University |
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Session B: Data Management (Ontario Room)
Introduction: Carolyn DuBois, The Gordon Foundation Facilitator: Heather Crochetiere, WWF-Canada |
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*Your session and room are indicated on the back of your name tag | |
10:45 p.m. | Health Break |
11:00 a.m. | Structured Full Group Exercise: Where do we go now? – Report back from concurrent sessions |
12:15 p.m. | Wrap Up |
12:30 p.m. | Light lunch |
