Thank you, Mr. Chair, and all the members of the committee.
My name is Andrew Stegemann. I am the former national director of Our Living Waters, as well as the former chair of the Canadian Coalition for Healthy Waters.
I am calling from Vancouver, B.C., which is on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, the Squamish and the Tsleil-Waututh.
When we consider the health of our waters, we often focus on specific problems like managing pollution, but we do so in the absence of a larger consideration of integrated watershed management. If we are to properly manage the pollution in our waters, we have to think like water.
To see the point more clearly, consider a body of water in your riding—a river or a lake or a stream you particularly like. The health of that water is, of course, impacted by what happens on the land surrounding it. If contaminants are spilled on the land, it seeps into the water.
However, the health of that water is also impacted by what happens upstream. For example, water in the St. Lawrence River flowing past MP Pauzé's riding is impacted upstream by water in the St. Lawrence flowing by Montreal in MP Scarpaleggia's riding, by water in the Ottawa River flowing by MP Chatel's riding, by water flowing in the Rouge River in MP Taylor Roy's riding, by water in Sixteen Mile Creek in MP van Koeverden's riding, by water in the Credit River in MP Ali's riding, and by water flowing in the Grand River watershed in MP Longfield's riding. All of that meets up downstream with water flowing out of the Saint-Charles River through MP Deltell's riding and into the St. Lawrence outside of Quebec City.
In that small example, we've just connected eight out of 12 members of this committee, three political parties, two provinces and countless traditional territories of indigenous peoples, in addition to regional and local governments, not to mention the impact of decisions made by our U.S. neighbours to the south. Those are a lot of interconnections—interconnections that the federal government, with a Canada-wide gaze on these issues, especially needs to consider when thinking about the management of pollution or other water health issues in general.
With this as background, I have five specific recommendations I'd humbly suggest this committee make in its final report. These recommendations mirror the five foundational pillars put forward by the Canadian Coalition for Healthy Waters, which consists of over 65 member organizations right across the country. The coalition is currently co-chaired by the Forum for Leadership on Water and the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation. They are recommendations that should be applied to every aspect of the government's policy and institutional levers, including legislation, regulations, policies, institutions like the emerging Canada water agency and all government water investments.
First, the Government of Canada should meaningfully advance its commitment to reconciliation with indigenous peoples by developing pathways and providing resources for the co-governance of shared waters with indigenous nations, including recognizing and upholding inherent indigenous water rights and authority, and fulfilling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Second, the Government of Canada should play a key role in creating and mobilizing the knowledge and tools, both western and indigenous, needed to understand, predict and respond to water challenges and opportunities, particularly against the backdrop of climate change. This includes enhanced funding to amplify existing data collection and dedicated support for community-based water monitoring.
Third, the Government of Canada should take steps to strengthen co-operation across this federation around shared water decision-making and management among different levels of government. This includes respecting the jurisdiction of indigenous nations and peoples, as well as provincial, territorial and municipal governments; and focusing on high-level capacity support while providing leadership and guidance on water management best practices.
Fourth, the Government of Canada should lead through an approach that emphasizes the importance of watershed boundaries in all decision-making. This watershed approach considers interconnected ecological, social, economic and cultural values that must be balanced to ensure the well-being of communities and ecosystems across our interconnected watersheds. This includes supporting watershed-based collaboration across this country and working to ensure adequate environmental flows to provide enough water to make certain that life thrives.
Finally, the Government of Canada should prioritize renewing outdated federal water laws and policies. The immediate focus should be on renewing the over 50-year-old Canada Water Act, in collaboration with provincial, territorial and indigenous governments.
Further, to ensure that the renewed Canada Water Act is consent-based and rooted in nation-to-nation relationships, the act should be co-drafted with indigenous nations.
Thank you for your time.