|
The federal government has committed to establishing a new Canada Water Agency to coordinate national efforts to protect Canada’s great water resources. The first step was to prepare a Discussion Paper – Towards the Creation of a Canada Water Agency. They then began a public consultation process that has included a series of national and regional webinars and virtual workshops. The discussion paper can be seen on our cwwa.ca website here.
Naturally, CWWA has taken great interest in this process and we see tremendous potential in a more coordinated effort amongst the 20+ federal departments and agencies that address water issues. We also see the potential of national collaboration of the provinces, territories, First Nations, municipalities, nongovernmental organizations and academic centres. Most importantly, we are being recognized as THE voice of the Canada’s municipal utility sector.
CWWA members have participated in each of the consultation sessions. CWWA was very pleased to be part of a national coalition of organizations with an interest in developing a successful Canada Water Agency. CWWA was honoured to sign a joint letter from that coalition supporting the creation of the Canada Water Agency and commenting on the federal Discussion Paper.
|
|
|
|
|
However, with our unique perspective of representing our utility sector, we felt it was critical that CWWA prepare our own submission. In our submission of February 24, 2021, we identify what we feel should be priorities of the Agency and confirm our role as the voice of our sector and a conduit to our customers to assist in developing and implementing national strategies. Our submission is available on our website.
|
|
|
|
|
We would like to thank all those that attended the consultations sessions on behalf of CWWA and the task group that prepared this submission: Amy Winchester, Jay Whiteside, Hiran Sandanayake, Klas Ohman, Indra Maharjan, Adrian Toth and Robert Haller
|
|
|
|
