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Nrt NatioNal water forum report:
MOVING
TO ACTION
SETTING PRIORITIES FROM
NRTs CHARTING A COURSE
RECOMMENDATIONS
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MESSAGE FROM THE NRT VICE-CHAIR
AND PRESIDENT & CEO
This report, on the National Round Table on the Environment and the
Economys (NRT) National Water Forum, provides the start o an action
plan that will make important contributions to the management and
governance o Canadas water resources. The NRTs report, Charting a
Course, Sustainable Water Use by Canadas Natural Resource Sectors, brings
together the ecological and economic importance o water highlighting
the need to improve water management and governance to ensure healthy
ecosystems and prosperous natural resource sectors. The Forum brought
together experts rom across Canada in January 2012 to discuss the NRT
recommendations in Charting a Courseand provide advice on how they
could be put into action.
There was clear consensus among the experts and participants at
the Forum that now is the time to begin acting on many o our
recommendations or better water governance, exploring the use o water
pricing and investing in water-use orecasting and data. Participants
elt so strongly about the importance o these issues they developed a
new recommendation to create a charter arming the legitimacy o
collaborative water governance processes.
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The NRT strongly encourages governments, industry, and others to act
on these recommendations. A number o initiatives and activities already
underway could embrace some o the NRT priority recommendations
and move them orward, such as the Council o the Federations (CoF)
Water Stewardship Council, the Canadian Council o Ministers o
the Environments (CCME) water action plan, the Canadian Water
Resources Associations (CWRA) work on a Canada-wide water
strategy, and provincial and territorial water strategies and policies
that are currently under renewal. In the current scal situation, it will
be impossible or any one government or organization to move all
these recommendations orward, but through new collaborations and
partnerships, we can make real progress on sustaining Canadas most
valuable resource our water.
R.W. SLATER, CM, PH.D.
NRT Vice-Chair
DAVID McLAUGHLIN
NRT President and CEO
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRT)
would like to express its sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in our
National Water Forum. This report would not be possible without their ideasand contributions. We hope that this report captures the essence o their many
interventions and insights.
A special thank you to the expert panel members or their time in preparing
thoughtul and engaging presentations: Tony Maas, Anthony Watanabe, Steven
Renzetti, Kirsten Vice, David Marshall, Don Pearson, David Brooks, Jean
Cinq-Mars, and Cairine MacDonald. Their considered perspectives sparked our
debate and helped shape the dialogue.
Thanks to George Greene o Stratos Inc. or acilitating the orum so capably.
The NRT Secretariat put orth an exemplary eort to deliver an engaging event.
A special note o thanks is due to the Communications team or its eorts to
extend the reach o our events through our rst-ever live webcast.
Finally, thanks to the NRT members who also took time to participate in the
orum: Robert Slater, Mark Parent, Christopher Hilkene, Robert Kulhawy, and
Dianne Cunningham.
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TAblE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1
- The NRT National Water Forum ........................................ 6
SECTION 2
- Key Forum Themes ............................................................. 8
SECTION 3
- Priority Recommendations and Starting to Act ................. 15
SECTION 4
- Perspectives ....................................................................... 22
SECTION 5
- Top Recommendations ...................................................... 25
APPENDIx I
- List o NRT Charting a CourseRecommendations ............ 27
APPENDIx II
- List o Water Forum Participants ...................................... 30
APPENDIx III
- Water Forum Agenda ........................................................ 33
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SECTION 1T H E N R T N A T I O N A L WA T E R F O R U M
In 2011, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRT) published
Charting a Course: Sustainable Water Use by Canadas Natural Resource Sectors, which provided
18 recommendations or improving water management and governance.1 The report discusses
and explores water orecasts, water-quantity data and inormation, policy instruments with an
emphasis on water pricing, and collaborative water governance. It concluded that or Canada to
ensure the sustainability o its water supply which is crucial to the prosperity o its industries
in the natural resource sectors governments at all levels need to engage in collaborative models
o governance, develop and publish a regularly updated national Water Outlook, and urther
explore the use o water pricing or the natural resource sectors to encourage conservation.
All levels o government in Canada share responsibility or water management and governance.
As the major users o water, the natural resource sectors have a signicant stake in water
management as well. Many eorts are underway in dierent regions o Canada to improve waterstrategies, regulations and policies, and collaborative approaches. The recommendations set out
in Charting a Courseprovide inormation and advice to help provinces, territories, and ederal
departments improve policy approaches and achieve their respective water management objectives.
1 See Appendi I for f isting of recommendations.
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 7
In January 2012, the NRT convened a multi-stakeholder meeting with 50 Canadian water
experts, government representatives, academics, and industry representatives.2 Participants
rom across the county discussed, deliberated, and ranked the recommendations in Charting a
Course, suggesting ways to move the recommendations rom argument to action.
In this report, the NRT summarizes these discussions, identies key points, and brings
orward what orum participants thought was most important. We report on how the
recommendations can be strengthened and provide the top priority recommendations as
identied by this national group o water experts. Participants went on to identiy organizations
or groups that might be able to lead or contribute to moving the recommendations orward. This
report demonstrates that there is signicant momentum to act on the NRTs recommendations
and sets out suggest ions or what can be acted upon now.
2 See Appendi II for the ist of participants.
Canadians need t set tediscssin estimating,recasting, mnitring,and managing water se,demand, and spp in tecntext ecsstems andsstainabiit.
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SECTION 2K E Y F O R U M T H E M E S
This section summarizes the key themes discussed in the morning panel sessions o the Water
Forum.1 While many challenges are involved in implementing the NRT recommendations, we
take note o one particularly dicult challenge or each topic.
Water Forecasts and the Imp ortance oFWater data and InFor matIon
Although many o the NRT recommendations related to water orecasts and data were viewed
as relevant and important, our key themes emerged rom the discussions:
Abroaderecologicalandsustainabilitycontext
Dataandinformationcollectionwithpurpose
Forecastinggood,backcastingbetter
Accessibleandopendata
3 See Appendi III for Water Form Agenda.
3
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 9
a broader ecologIcal and sustaInabIlIty context
Canadians need to set the discussion o estimating, orecasting, monitoring, and managing
water use, demand, and supply in the context o ecosystems and sustainabil ity. A sector approach
to collecting water data can be useul. Even more benecial, however, is a broader approach that
integrates measuring, monitoring, and orecasting water use with ecosystem needs and directly
correlates this to a desired management outcome.
A singular ocus on quantitative water use misses issues o water qual ity, biodiversity, and
ecological integrity. Many participants noted that a signicant gap in our knowledge centres
on in-stream fow needs and the sustainable withdrawals that can be accommodated. Such
inormation is necessary both within a watershed context and with a temporal component to
capture seasonal fows and withdrawals.
Without taking climate change into account, data collection does not provide or good orecasting.
Water-use orecast ing needs to integrate changing climate patterns, which directly aect
hydrological conditions. The idea o stationarity where past hydrological conditions
(precipitation, runo or other fows) are seen as key inputs to uture projections no longer
prevails; with climate change, historical water use may not be representative o uture use due
to diering hydrology and water temperatures.
data and InFormatIon collectIon WIth purpos e
Data or the sake o data is latent potential it needs meaning in terms o how it links
to economic growth and industrial competitive advantage on a specic watershed or sector
basis. At a strategic level, it is necessary to rst set the conditions society wants or economic
development and ecosystem health and then develop monitoring and inormation programs
that refect those conditions.
Data and inormation can be viewed as an economic opportunity. Considerable inormation
already exists on water resources, but its scattered. Communities need to think about
opportunities or integrating data and knowledge and explore the economic opportunities o
working with inormation technolog y sectors to develop processes and programs that can be
leveraged, used, and exported to other parts o the world.
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10 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
ForecastIng good, backcastIng better
Forecasting provides a way o looking toward a uture based on current conditions. Participants
agreed that a more substantive but not necessarily perect water-demand and use orecast is
needed. They agreed with the recommendation in Charting a Coursethat this be done at a basin
level and that the results be integrated with the supply-side hydrological data creating water
balances. In this way, questions about uture water demands could be better understood.
While orecasting water use and demand was seen as a useul and important tool, it was suggested
it be used in a dierent way. Rather than simply orecasting uture demand, participants
recommended that a better approach would be to backcast. Backcasting sets a sustainability
agenda or water, envisioning a desirable state o a watershed in the uture and then uses water
orecasts to gure out how that vision could be achieved. This backcasting approach is based on
the Water Sot Path Approach2 that uses strategic thinking to envision a desirable uture and
then integrates policies, plans, and technological innovation accordingly.
accessIble and open data
The NRTs recommendation to have a national water portal was avourably viewed. As many
noted, industry, governments, and non-government organizations hold a considerable amount
o data; what is required is a means to collect and use that data in a more transparent, open,and accessible way. To move this idea orward, participants suggested we look or best practices
within provincial initiatives and adapt them or a nat ional portal. Two examples are the Water
and Environmental Hub (WEHUB) and the Alberta WaterPortal. More work is needed to
standardize data, decide on its best use, and determine appropriate levels o disclosure. In an
era o transparency in which consumers demand product provenance, chain o custody, and ull
ingredient disclosure, governments should be leading the way to democratize data.
noted challenge
Data and inormation collection, dissemination, and interpretation require sustained andocused eorts. Moving these recommendations orward will require new human and nancial
resources, not an easy challenge to overcome in the current nancial situation acing many
governments. Leadership and accountability are essential to ensuring the collection o water
data and inormation over the longer term.
4 Advocated the Pois Project on Ecoogica Governance: http://poiswaterproject.org/softpath
4
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 11
puttIng a prIce on Water
The NRTs research on the potential use o pricing water, specically with the use o volumetric
charges, was viewed as innovative and applauded as a necessary rst step toward urther exploring
this much talked-about, but not well understood, policy tool. The recommendations were
largely accepted by Forum participants. Their discussions on water pricing revealed two themes:
Signalthevalueofwatertochangebehaviour
Waterpricinghasrealpotentialasawatermanagementtoolbutneedsfurtherinvestigation
sIgnal the value oF Water to change behavIour
Using economic instruments, such as water charges, encourages conservation by moving wateruse to its higher value. This will ultimately change the way industry uses water. Currently,
all Canadian provinces and territories have the legislative authority to charge or water use.
However, the charges or the most part refect administrative ees, not the true value o
water. Existing ees charged by governments are too low to aect the behaviour o the users.
Water markets, another economic instrument, are in l imited use in Canada, but exist or water
quantities being traded in the South Saskatchewan Basin and water quality being traded in
Ontarios South Nation Watershed.
In an era transparenc inwic cnsmers demandprdct prvenance,cair cstd, and ingredient discsre,gvernments sdbe eading te wa tdemcratie data.
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12 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
In signalling a value or water we have the option o volumetric charges versus water markets.
The proposal put orward at the Forum was not to choose one, but to use both where
appropriate water management strategies could include integrated water management
rameworks using both water charges and water markets. Participants also recognized that
pricing is but one tool to change behaviour; others, such as stewardship programs, also induce
behavioural change. Having a suite o policy instruments is necessary in water management as
the issues will vary rom region to region. The instruments being applied should t the problem.
Water prIcIng has real potentIal as a Water management tool
but needs Further InvestIgatIon
The NRTs recommendation to investigate the use o water pricing scenarios on a watershed
and/or rm basis was strongly supported. The modelling was heralded as a good and important
rst attempt; however, the conclusions were directional. To urther advance water pricing as
a viable option it will rst be necessary to rene denitions o water use and then to integrate
inormation about the unique eatures and uses o the natural resource sectors. These denitions
and inormation can then be used to inorm the actual design o pricing policies and water
conservation and management policies.
noted challenge
The biggest challenge acing the implementation o the recommendations on water pricing
is that we simply do not yet have the capacity in place intellectually and institutionally
to move orward briskly. We need to develop the analytic capacity (modelling, ramework,
orecasting), and understand how water pricing could impact industries and rms. One
suggestion or addressing the deciency was to undertake specic case studies in watersheds
that are already stressed to investigate what the impact o markets and/or pricing might be.
Related to this, the scope, depth, and nature o the data currently available is likely insucient
to advance water pricing policies in the immediate uture. The analytical modelling is only
as good as the data that is used, and this needs to be improved to achieve more accurate and
reliable results.
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 13
collaboratIve Water gov ernance
Collaborative water governance is happening across Canada more than ever. It is here to stay
because
peopleunderstandtheimportanceofworkingtogether,toensuresustainablemanagement
o our resources, and in doing so maximize benets and minimize costs;
multi-disciplinaryandmulti-interestapproachesarenecessarybecauseofthecomplexityof
resource management issues;
itreducespotentialforconictlaterandpromotesmoreharmoniouscommunities;and
itenhancestrustamongwaterresourceusers.
The discussion o collaborative water governance val idated and reinorced the NRTs
recommendations. Participants noted that all our recommendations are essential or
collaborative water governance to work. They are not mutually exclusive; rather they are inter-
related and must be implemented in parallel. Two key themes arose rom the discussions:
collaborativewatergovernanceworksatthestrategiclevel
governanceisasharedresponsibilityandstakeholdersotherthangovernmentwillneedto
help implement the recommendations
collaboratIve Water governance Works at the strategIc level
Collaborative processes should be used or strategic-level matters such as assessing, planning,
and developing water strategies at the watershed level. The Forum armed the NRTs
conclusion that collaborative water governance processes work when requiring input rom
multiple stakeholders into decision making on big picture or strategic issues. This reinorced
our nding that it is not an appropriate approach or all water-related decisions: or example, it
is not necessarily a tool or project-specic decisions requiring clearly legislated decisions such
as regulatory approvals.
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14 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
governance Is a shared responsIbIlIty and stakeholders
other than government WIll need to help Implement therecommendatIons
Participants recognized that in many regions, governments are not in a nancial position to
lead collaborative water governance processes. Signicant cuts to key ministries responsible
or water would have enormous implications or this approach. Thereore non-government
entities are stepping in to lead the way. Participants suggested that even i governments cannot
lead, they could assist by changing the water governance rameworks, removing some o the
institutional barriers to collaborative water governance approaches. Water governance and
management includes a big responsibility or other stakeholders to step up: industry clearly will
i the right incentives and conditions are in place.
noted challenge
Collaborative water governance approaches by denition means shared responsibility. The
main concern with these processes centres on the possibility that shared responsibility is
no responsibility. Forum participants were challenged to gure out how to overcome this
key issue. They suggested that despite this challenge, a movement toward collaborative water
governance that puts the responsibility o water management into the hands o collaborative
multi-stakeholder groups is still a good step in the right direction.
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SECTION 3P R I O R I T Y R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S A N D S TA R T I N G T O A C T
This section identies the priority recommendations within each theme, as determined by
participants at the Water Forum. They proposed changes to modiy and strengthen some o the
NRTs original recommendations, and these are noted. Two new recommendations were also
put orth and identied as priorities.
To move these priorities orward, Forum participants oered solid ideas on actions in the
short to medium term aimed at giving the recommendations traction. Initial suggestions were
made about organizations or groups that could either take a leadership role or contribute to theimplementation o the recommendations and actions or the top priority in each category.
Water For ecastIng
The recommendation noted as being o highest priority was the ollowing, but with modi-
cations, noted in italics:
PRIORITy #1
Recognizing that accurate water orecasting requires improving how and what we
measure and report water-quantity data, governments and industry should work
collaboratively to develop appropriate measurement and reporting requirements on a
sector-by-sector and basin-to-basin basis.
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16 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
This recommendation was seen as a necessary rst step as it builds the oundation or the other
two priority recommendations, noted below. Accurate orecasting determines how and what is
measured. A number o short-term actions were suggested to implement this recommendation:
Act io n LeAd ers An d/ or pAr ti ci pAn ts
Identi regina pririt actin pans rmeasrement and reprting
Regina/basin/cnservatin-eve atrities
Initiate apprac r prvincia regatrmanagement r data cectin
Prvincia gvernments
Identi critica pic estins tat weare tring t answer n a regina basis
Prvincia gvernments and staeders; maincde edera gvernment i bndar watersare invved
Identi apprpriate mecanisms andinstittins t cate data and prvide aregina pictre
N grp identifed
Wen tacing tgisses sc as watermanagement andgvernance, we need tbetter nderstand teinages between teenvirnment and teecnm, tat te tware snergistic.
Cairine MacDnad
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 17
These steps could then allow a pilot study to be conducted within the target area to identiy
needs and issues, that should be led by regional, watershed or conservation authorities.
The implementation o the recommendation above would then enable the ollowing two
priorities to move orward:
The idea that governments begin collaborating to develop water quantity data is critical ly
important. Data collection and knowledge generation needs to be viewed less as something
that is reluctantly required and more as an incredibly important input into water management.
This will drive questions o what is the best, most eective and ecient inormation to collect.
PRIORITy #2
Governments should develop new predictive tools, such as water orecasting, to improve
their understanding o where and when water demands might increase. The inormationprovided by orecasts will be important to inorm water allocations and management
strategies in the uture.
PRIORITy #3
The ederal, provincial, and territorial governments should collaborate in the
development and publication o a national water-use orecast and water-use forecasts for
major basins, updated on a regular basis a Water Outlook the rst to be published
within two years. This could be led by a nationa l organization such as the Canadian
Council o Ministers o the Environment.
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18 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
Water data and InFormatIon
One water data and inormation recommendation was noted as being o highest priority:
It was suggested that while the other NRT water data and inormation recommendations are
important, this one had to be implemented rst or the other data-related recommendations
to be possible. The development o protocols o water data collection and the availability o
accessible water portals, leading to better data and inormation, would enable the development
o more accurate water orecasts. To move this recommendation orward, the ollowing two
short-term actions were put orth:
In the medium term it was suggested that governments develop and implement a regulatory
ramework to ensure water data reporting, one that addresses condentia lity issues. It was noted
that a ew innovative water data management and water portals have recently been developed.
In moving this recommendation orward, these pilots should be examined to see i they could
serve as models or other jurisdictions in the country.
Acti on LeAd ers An d/ or pAr ti ci pAn ts
Set Canada-wide gas t defne teacta data needs.
Cnci Federatin Water StewardsipCmmittee
Devep a cmmn prtc andangage based n internatina
standards.
Statistics Canada, Natra Resrces Canada,Canadian Cnci Ministers
te Envirnment, NRT
PRIORITy #1
In collaboration with partners and stakeholders, governments at all levels should develop
protocols or transparent access to water data. Provinces and territories should continue
establishing their own water-data portals. The ederal government should develop a
national web-based water portal, in collaboration with the provinces and territories,that also provides access to provincial and territorial water portals.
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 19
Water prIcIng
Participants proposed a new recommendation that was agreed upon as the rst priority in
this category:
Participants agreed that this new recommendation was more comprehensive and articulates the
direction in which Canada needs to go to sustainably manage its water resources. As a starting
point or implementing this recommendation, two short-term actions were seen as necessary to
developing a robust yet manageable ramework and methodology or estimating the value o water.
Participants suggested that two o the NRTs water pricing recommendations be combined into
one. This became the second priority:
PRIORITy #1
Estimate the value o water.
Act io n LeAd er s An d/ or pAr ti ci pAn ts
Identi state--te-art cncepts andmetds r vaatin.
Canadian Cnci Ministers te Envirnment,Cnci Federatin Water StewardsipCmmittee, Cnci Canadian Academies
Carr t case stdies in a crdinatedasin acrss te cntr n w tvae water.
Prvincia gvernments, cnservatin andwatersed atrities, CWRA
PRIORITy #2
Develop the capacity to price water and anticipate impacts.
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20 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
Three important enabling conditions will be necessary beore Canadians can implement these
recommendations on water pricing:
developasocialmarketingcampaigntoconvinceCanadiansoftheneedforthevaluation
o water and to explain what this means;
buildcapacityintellectualandorganizationalwithingovernments,academia,and
sectors; and
conductmoremodellingofwaterdemandsandtheimpactsofpricing,andexplorewater
quality trading.
collaboratIve Water governanc e
All our o the NRTs recommendations related to collaborative water governance were noted as
necessary and important. Some participants considered the proposed recommendations in the
context o national, provincial/territorial, and regional jurisdiction and initiatives, concluding
that the ederal government alone would have trouble articulating any kind o national approach
to collaborative water governance. To make it workable, the our NRT water governance
recommendations were combined, bringing in partners with national scope. This was the most
highly ranked priority o the Forum.
PRIORITy #1
A coalition o the Council o the Federation, the Federation o Canadian Municipa lities,
the Assembly o First Nations, and the resource sectors, with the support o the
Government o Canada, should develop a charter that arms the legitimacy o
collaborative water governance. This charter should articulate the guiding principles that
coalition members will adopt in developing their own regional, provincial/territorial,
or local structures, including roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, mechanisms orenabling participation, and integration with other planning processes and policies.
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 21
This new recommendation creates a ramework based on principles that al low local needs to
be articulated in response to specic problems but giving it national importance. Participants
suggested that the Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) is well positioned to lead
this initiative as it is well aligned with its proposed work on a Canada-wide water strategy and
could develop the charter in a period o 12 to 18 months or consideration. O course all levels
o governments would ultimately be required to ully participate and arm the legitimacy o
the charter once drated.
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SECTION 4P E R S P E C T I V E S
Toward the end o the Water Forum, three dist inguished speakers provided their nal
perspectives on both the report and what they heard during the day. This section highlights
a ew o those views that either add to or build upon some o the priorities and opportunities
proposed during the event.
davId b. brooks, dIrector, Water soFt path research,polIs project on ecologIcal governance
Dr. Brooks comments were linked to the themes o renewing the socia l licence or the natural
resource sectors to operate and increasing the contribution o the sectors to public welare. He
presented three priorities or consideration. The top priority has to be to measure water use. In
the absence o inormation about water use, proposals or greater eciency and conservation
will be l ittle more than guesswork. Regrettably, except in urban areas, where ew components
o the resource sector are based, stable long-term unding or measuring water use has been
declining, not increasing, in recent years.
The second priority is to put a value on water and then to start charging water users on a
volumetric basis, echoing the strong support o the orum participants earlier in the day. Final ly,
as a third priority Dr. Brooks suggested that while the recommendations in the NRT report are
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 23
all relevant forthe agriculture sector, they are not directly applicable to agriculture. Thereore
Dr. Brooks urged the NRT to research and develop a set o recommendations or agriculture
that begin rom what has just been published in Charting a Course.
jean cInq-mars, commIssIoner oF sustaInabledevelopment, q ubec
Mr. Cinq-Mars agreed with all the recommendations that participants deemed to be o highest
priority, saying that Canada has to move orward with a national water strategy especially as
Canada is negotiating a ree-trade agreement with the European Union (EU). In this regard,
Canada has to be aware o the EUs broad environment policies to ensure that its own policies
are consistent or trade and environment purposes. However, Canada is liv ing through a period
o constraint and cannot tackle everything. Given this, one way orward could be to manage
water on the basis o risk management. With climate change, companies, especial ly those in
the natural resource sector, ace two kinds o risks today: reputational and environmental. First,
reputational risks aect Canadian rms operating internationally as they are exposed to more
scrutiny and audits. To avoid this risk, Canada and Canadian rms could adopt internationally
acceptable policies, standards, and best practices, including water monitoring reporting practices.
Second, the environmental risk comes rom changing environmental conditions disrupting
companies supply chains as a result o fooding, drought, shipping issues, ice-roads melting,etc. These risks, i not managed wisely, can signicantly aect the protability o a rm.
Mr. Cinq-Mars endorsed the NRT report conclusions and recommendations that called or
urther exploration o water governance and management at a regional and/or watershed scale.
Such case studies would help to better understand the potential implications and application o
what the NRTs research has directional ly provided.
caIrIne macdonald, deputy mInIster, envIronment,
government oF brItIsh columbIa
In August 2010 all Canadian premiers signed the Council o the Federation (CoF) Water
Charter. Cairine is the chair o its Water Stewardship Council, the group tasked with
implementing the Charter. This group is tackling the Charter commitments with a whole-o-
government approach in partnership with business, ENGOs, academia, and interested citizens,
an approach that she noted is consistent with the #1 priority o the NRTs Water Forum, which
is to orm a coalition to address collaborative governance processes. Many o the commitments
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24 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
in the Charter support the NRT recommendations: making water use more ecient by
challenging water-use sectors to prepare water conservation and eciency plans, enhancing
water monitoring eorts, and co-operating and sharing inormation. Cairine undertook to
bring the NRTs recommendations to the CoF or consideration.
Cairine reinorced the idea that water has value, and that Canadians must start to treat water
as a valuable resource. She suggested that a common language is needed to say that water has
value, to pinpoint the common components o water that are valued, and to recognize how
that plays out in dierent situations and regions o the country. Many lessons outside the
water realm i llustrate how to put a value on a resource. The example she cited was electricity
deregulation in Alberta, especially as it pertains to time o use and dierentiation between
dierent kinds o power. Possible parallels can be drawn between electricity deregulation and
water (the latter in terms o its temporal use and dierent uses by the natural resource sectors),and valuable lessons learned as we move orward on valuing water.
Finally, Cairine stressed that there is no more urgent conversation today in Canada than that
involving both the environment and the economy, emphasizing the importance o the work the
NRT has undertaken in its water program. Implementing many o the solutions or issues o the
environment and the economy will require better communication. When tackling tough issues
such as water management and governance, we need to better understand the linkages between
the environment and the economy, that the two are synergistic. In closing she emphasized,
We as Canadians can get it right.
Te tp pririt as t bet measre water se. Inte absence inrmatinabt water se, prpsasr greater efcienc andcnservatin wi be ittemre tan gesswr.
Dr. David B. Brs
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SECTION 5T O P R E C O M M E N DA T I O N S
O the original 18 NRT recommendations in Charting a Course, participants identied seven
as being o top priority:
Water ForecastIng
Recognizingthataccuratewaterforecastingrequiresimprovinghowandwhatwemeasure
and report water-quantity data, governments and industry should work collaboratively to
develop appropriate measurement and reporting requirements on a sector-by-sector and
basin-to-basin basis.
Governmentsshoulddevelopnewpredictivetools,suchaswaterforecasting,toimprove
their understanding o where and when water demands might increase. The inormation
provided by orecasts will be important to inorm water allocations and management
strategies in the uture.
Thefederal,provincial,andterritorialgovernmentsshouldcollaborateinthedevelopment
and publication o a national water-use orecast and water-use orecasts or major basins,
updated on a regular basis a Water Outlook the rst to be published within two
years. This could be led by a national organization such as the Canadian Council o
Ministers o the Environment.
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26 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
Water data and InFormatIon
Incollaborationwithpartnersandstakeholders,governmentsatalllevelsshoulddevelop
protocols or transparent access to water data. Provinces and territories should continue
establishing their own water-data portals. The ederal government should develop a
national web-based water portal in collaboration with the provinces and territories, which
also provides access to provincial and territorial water portals.
Water prIcIng
Estimatethevalueofwater. Developthecapacitytopricewaterandanticipateimpacts.
collaboratIve Water governanc e
AcoalitionoftheCounciloftheFederation,theFederationofCanadianMunicipalities,
the Assembly o First Nations, and the resource sectors, with the support o the
Government o Canada, should develop a charter that arms the legitimacy o
collaborative water governance. This charter should articulate the guiding principles that
coalition members will adopt in developing their own regional, provincial/territorial, or
local structures, including roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, mechanisms or enablingparticipation, and integration with other planning processes and policies.
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 27
APPENDIx I :
lIST OF NRT CHARTING A COURSERECOMMENDATIONS
panel I
Water ForecastIng
Thefederal,provincialandterritorialgovernmentsshouldcollaborateinthedevelopment
and publication o a national water-use orecast, updated on a regular basis a Water
Outlook the rst to be published within two years. This could be led by a national
organization such as the Canadian Council or Ministers o the Environment.
Governmentsshoulddevelopnewpredictivetools,suchaswaterforecasting,toimprove
their understanding o where and when water demands might increase. The inormation
provided by orecasts will be important to inorm water allocations and management
strategies in the uture.
Recognizingthataccuratewaterforecastingrequiresimprovinghowwemeasureand
report water-quantity data, governments and industry should work collaboratively to
develop appropriate measurement and reporting requirements on a sector-by-sector basis.
Water data and InFormatIon
Provincialandterritorialgovernmentsshouldestablishdemand-sidedatasystemsthat
have clearly dened reporting requirements or water licence holders. These systems would
have common obligations to report provisions, contain dened time periods or reporting,
and introduce enorcement programs to ensure reporting o water use by water licence holders.
Theprovincesandterritories,incollaborationwithstakeholdersandpartners,should
develop common measurement techniques to collect water-quantity data.
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28 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
Theprovincialandterritorialgovernments,incollaborationwiththenaturalresource
sectors, should research the sector-specic uture water data needs o their jurisdictions.
These initiatives would help jurisdictions identiy and develop data-management
approaches and systems that have buy-in rom the natural resource sectors.
Governmentsatalllevelsshouldcollaboratewithpartnersandstakeholderstodevelop
and integrate water-quantity data or use as a water-management tool at a local watershed
scale. Provinces and territories should rst develop integrated water-management tools
within their jurisdictions at a ner spatial resolution, as it is easier to roll-up small-scale
assessments to larger scales rather than to disaggregate an initial assessment perormed at
a larger spatial scale.
Incollaborationwithpartnersandstakeholders,governmentsatalllevels,shoulddevelop
protocols or transparent access to water data. Provinces and territories should continue
establishing their own water-data portals. The ederal government should develop a
national web-based water portal in collaboration with the provinces and territories, that
also provides access to provincial and territorial water portals.
panel II : puttIng a prIce on Water
Governmentsshouldresearchtherelationshipbetweenwateruseandpricingneedsbefore
they implement water pricing on a volumetric basis. Specically, they need to better
understand the potential implications on sectors and rms. In order to do so, data on
water-use needs to improve, to gain a better understanding o water intakes, recirculation,
and recycling within acilities.
Thenaturalresourcesectorsshouldlookcloselyattheirwaterintakeandwherethecosts
rest within their use o water. Incorporating the value o water into operations may
reveal opportunities or cost savings, through implementation o improved technologies or
best management practices, possibly leading to overall water intake reductions.
Ifapriceisputonwaterusebythenaturalresourcesectors,revenuesshouldbedirected
to support watershed-based governance and management initiatives, rather than put into
general revenue o the province or territory.
Recognizingthatfurtherresearchisrequiredontheuseofeconomicinstrumentswithinthe
context o watersheds, governments intending to use EIs should evaluate their environmental,
economic, and social implications, allowing or an inormed discussion o trade-os.
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 29
panel III : collaboratIve Water gover nance
Governmentsshouldafrmthelegitimacyofcollaborativewatergovernanceand
demonstrate that collaborative governance bodies have an important role to play.
I governments choose to invest in collaborative processes, they must act on the
recommendations provided by the collaborative process as much as possible and commit
to provide ormal eedback to the group when recommendations are ignored. Otherwise,
participants rom the natural resource sectors will lose condence and leave the process,
given the signicant time and nancial commitment or them.
Governmentsmustrecognizethatcollaborativewatergovernancestructuresrequireclear roles and responsibilities and well-dened accountability rules. Most people and
organizations involved in collaborative water governance across Canada, including the
natural resource sectors, believe that there is insucient clarity about authority and
accountability or decision making within the current rameworks. As a minimum, the
Terms o Reerence or the collaborative processes require a written description o roles
and responsibilities. A more ormal document would strengthen the accountability, and in
some cases, governments may want to enshrine the governance structure into a new piece
o legislation.
Collaborativewatergovernanceprocessesshouldbedevelopedandimplementedinacoordinated manner with other planning processes and policies. Water governance is
not only about water and cannot take place in isolation rom other planning processes
aecting and involving the natural resource sectors, such as municipal land use planning or
orest management plans. As these processes operate at various scales and involve several
orders o governments, policy alignment will require coordination between a number o
governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Governmentsshouldprovideincentivesforparticipation.Effectivecollaborativewater
governance requires the involvement o a broad range o stakeholders, including the major
water users in the natural resources sectors. For collaborative water governance processes
to become operating concerns in the natural resources sectors (rather than optional
activities), government must identiy them as a priority. This could be done by making
participation mandatory, through regulation or as a condition o water licences.
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30 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
APPENDIx IIlIST OF WATER FORuM PARTICIPANTS
JIll BAkER
National Round Table on
the Environment and the Economy
JEAN-FRANoIS BARSouM
IBM
GEMMA BoAGAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada
RoN BoNNETT
Canadian Federation o Agriculture
BIll BoRlAND
AMEC Earth Environmental
DAVID B. BRookSPOLIS Project on
Ecological Governance
JIM BRuCE
Consultant
BEN ChAlMERS
Mining Association o Canada
JEAN CINq-MARSCommissaire au dveloppement
durable du Qubec
kAREN ClARkE-WhISTlER
TD Bank Financial Group
BERNADETTE CoNANT
Canadian Water Network (CWN)
loIS CoRBETT
Blue Economy Initiative
DIANNE CuNNINGhAM
National Round Table onthe Environment and the Economy
VICToRIA DAVID
Cenovus
REN DRolET
National Round Table on
the Environment and the Economy
DIANE DuPoNTBrock University
GEoRGE GREENE
Stratos Inc.
MARk hENRy
Statistics Canada
ChRISToPhER hIlkENE
National Round Table onthe Environment and the Economy
TED hoRBulyk
University o Calgary
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 31
JIll JENSEN
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada
hEAThER klEB
Canadian Nuclear Association
lyNN kRIWokEN
Ministry o Environment,
British Columbia
TIM kRyWulAk
Council o Canadian Academies
RoBERT kulhAWy
National Round Table on
the Environmental and the Economy
BoB lARoCquEForest Products Association o Canada
MARIE-ClAuDE lEClERC
Regroupement des Organismes de Bassins
Versants du Qubec
ToNy MAAS
World Wild lie Fund (WWF) - Canada
CAIRINE MACDoNAlD
Government o British Columbia
DAVID MARShAll
Fraser Basin Council
DoN McCABE
Ontario Federation o Agriculture
DAVID MclAuGhlIN
National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy
RICk MEyERS
Mining Association o Canada
FRANCIS MIChAuD
Oce o the Auditor General
o Qubec
BRENT MooRE
Devon Canada Corporation
SANDEEP PANDhER
National Round Table onthe Environment and the Economy
MARk PARENT
National Round Table on
the Environment and the Economy
DoN PEARSoN
Conservation Ontario
RAlPh PENTlANDCanadian Water Issues Council
RIChARD PhIllIPS
Bow River Irrigation District
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32 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
ANDR PlouRDE
Carleton University
STEVEN RENzETTI
Brock University
TARA ShEA
Mining Association o Canada
RoBERT SlATER
National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy
FRANoIS SoulARD
Statistics Canada
ANDR ST-hIlAIRE
INRS ETE
MARy TRuDEAu
ICF Marbek
kIRSTEN VICE
National Council or Air and
Stream Improvement, Inc. (NCASI)
BERNARD VIGNE AulT
Natural Resources Canada
JENNIFER VINCENT
Environment Canada
ANThoNy WATANABE
The Innovolve Group Inc.
NADIA zENADoCChIo
Oce o the Auditor General o Qubec
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NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 33
APPENDIx I I I : WATER FORuM AGENDA
8:00 8:30 Registratin and Breaast
8:30 8:45 Wecme and opening RemarsRbert SaterNRT Vice-Chair
8:45 9:00 overview Charting A CourseRecmmendatins Ji Baer, NRT
9:00 9:50
Pane I: Water Frecasts and te Imprtance Water Data and Inrmatin
* All panel presentations to be followed bydiscussion with participants
Tn MaasWWF Canada
Antn WatanabeInnovolve
9:50 10:45 Pane II: Ptting a Price n Water
Steven RenettiBrock University
kirsten ViceNCASI
10:45 11:00 heat Brea
11:00 11:50 Pane III: Cabrative Water Gvernance
David MarsaFraser Basin Council
Dn PearsnConservation Ontario
11:50 12:00 Instrctins r te Aternn SessinFaciitatrGerge GreeneStratos Inc.
12:00 13:00 Netwring lnc
13:00 15:00 otining an Actin Pan Sma Grp Discssin
15:00 15:15 heat Brea
15:15 16:15Pane IV: Starting t ActMderatr: Mar Parent, NRT Member
Cairine MacDnad,Government of BritishColumbia
Jean Cin-Mars,Government of Qubec
David B. Brs, POLIS
16:15 16:30 Csing RemarsRbert SaterNRT Vice-Chair
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34 NRT NATIONAL wATER fORUM REpORT: MOVING TO ACTION
ABOUT US
Through the development o innovative policy research and considered advice, our mission is to
help Canada achieve sustainable development solutions that integrate environmental and economic
considerations to ensure the lasting prosperity and well-being o our nation.
Emerging rom the amous Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, the NRT has become a model
or convening diverse and competing interests around one table to create consensus ideas and viable
suggestions or sustainable development. The NRT ocuses on sustaining Canadas prosperity
without borrowing resources rom uture generations or compromising their ability to live securely.
The NRT is in the unique position o being an independent policy advisory agency that advises the
ederal government on sustainable development solutions. We raise awareness among Canadians
and their governments about the challenges o sustainable development. We advocate or positive
change. We strive to promote credible and impartial policy solutions that are in the best interest o
all Canadians.
We accomplish that mission by ostering sound, well-researched reports on priority issues and by
oering advice to governments on how best to reconcile and integrate the oten divergent challenges
o economic prosperity and environmental conservation.
The NRT brings together a group o distinguished sustainability leaders active in businesses,
universities, environmentalism, labour, public policy, and community lie rom across Canada. Our
members are appointed by the ederal government or a mandate o up to three years. They meet in
a round table ormat that oers a sae haven or discussion and encourages the unettered exchange
o ideas leading to consensus.
We also reach out to expert organizations, industries, and individuals to assist us in conducting
our work on behal o Canadians.
The NRTEE Act underlines the independent nature o the Round Table and its work. The NRT
reports, at this time, to the Government o Canada and Parliament through the Minister o the
Environment. The NRT maintains a secretariat, which commissions and analyzes the research
required by its members in their work.