Authors: Alexandre Lillo, Postdoctoral Fellow, L’Universite d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Eric Champagne, Professeur agrege, Ecole d’etudes politique, Directeur, Centre d’etudes en gouvernance / Associate professor, School of Political Studies, Director, Centre on Governance, L’Universite d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Lauren Touchant, Postdoctoral fellow, L’Universite d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Marie-France Fortin, Assistant professor, L’Universite d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, and Thomas Burelli, Professeur en droit, Section de droit civil, Universite d’Ottawa (Canada), membre du Conseil scientifique de la Fondation France Libertes, L’Universite d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The federal government has been working since 2020 to create a Canadian agency dedicated to water management across the country. Public consultations ended on March 1, and the Indigenous engagement process will continue throughout 2021.
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The recently released federal budget plan 2021 includes $17.4 million of funding for this initiative over two years, starting this year. While this proposal appears to confirm government commitment, the proposed schedule may be disrupted if a federal election is called in the fall.
Eric Champagne receives funding from the University of Ottawa’s Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue.
Lauren Touchant receives funding from University of Ottawa’s Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue.
Marie-France Fortin receives funding from the University of Ottawa’s Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue.
Thomas Burelli receives funding from the University of Ottawa’s Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue.
The federal government has been working since 2020 to create a Canadian agency dedicated to water management across the country. Public consultations ended on March 1, and the Indigenous engagement process will continue throughout 2021.
But many questions and expectations remain about the nature of the new Canada Water Agency. Water governance encompasses all the administrative, social, political, economic and legal processes put in place to manage water. In other words, it is these societal processes that determine how governmental and non-governmental groups develop measures and make decisions in the area of water management.
We are members of the University of Ottawa Forum on Water Law and Governance, a research network that has identified a series of law and governance issues that need to be considered by the future Canada Water Agency.