Environment Committee on Feb. 8th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Colleagues and witnesses, good afternoon.

I would like to welcome the Hon. Helena Jaczek, who is here today as a guest, a substitute—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Chair, is there any word on the Dubai expenses yet?

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

No, I have no word on the Dubai expenses. I will take the opportunity to maybe buttonhole one of the staff members to ask. Let me write that down.

The sound tests have been conducted, and everything is good.

We have a very interesting meeting today. We will be discussing, in large part, water technologies and the water technology industry.

We have our first panel ready to go. We have Professor Oliver Brandes from the University of Victoria; Alan Shapiro from the BC Net Zero Innovation Network; and, from the Canadian Water Quality Association, we have Shelley Peters and Jason Jackson.

Also with us is Ms. Patricia Gomez, from the Centre des technologies de l'eau.

Mr. Brandes, you have five minutes for your address.

[Oliver Brandes, Co-Director, POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria, As an Individual]

Thank you very much.

Water will define the century and the decades ahead. By that, I mean water and how we manage and govern it will decide whether we are a wealthy and prosperous nation or slump into mediocrity and missed opportunity. As we all know—and you know the facts better than I, after many months of submissions and testimonies—the simple fact is that the climate crisis is a water crisis.

I'm Oliver Brandes, as introduced. I am here on behalf of the POLIS project at the University of Victoria Centre for Global Studies, and also the Forum for Leadership on Water. I bring you greetings from Canada's far west and Vancouver Island, in the territory of the Lekwungen speaking peoples.

I am not a technology person; I am a carry-over from a previous event. However, fortunately, all the issues of the day, whether it's technology, food security, housing, prosperity, health, economic development, community, quality of life, salmon and other species—the list goes on—connect to water. The notion of water and watershed security is absolutely fundamental. In fact, watersheds are part of our health infrastructure, and fundamentally about material security and a sense of agency and future for communities and businesses.

Water affects issues, such that 90% of natural disasters are water-related. By 2025, climate impacts and disasters will slow down Canada's economic growth by $25 billion annually, the equivalent of 50% of the projected GDP growth.

I spent much of my day today already talking to media, because in B.C., we like to talk about the four horsemen of the water apocalypse—drought, fire, flood, water contamination. Historic mega droughts, record wildfires and atmospheric rivers have hit B.C. hard in the last couple of years. This is real, and it affects people in a real way; and the federal government have largely been absent. The many promises to build back better remain unrealized. This brings me to you here today.

What we need is for the federal government simply to do its job. Now, it's important to realize that that job has changed over the years. Government can't make it rain, but it sure as heck can help communities prepare for the trouble ahead and make sure everyone is doing their part.

It's easy to say that we don't need government and just get government out of the way. In the water context, this is wrong, wrong, wrong. It requires communities, mayors, chiefs, farmers, ranchers, businesses and community leaders to work together, to co-operate, to collaborate. Water is fundamentally a shared resource.

The federal government has a critical role in this. Managing water well is about planning, knowing what to expect and being prepared for the unexpected, but also knowing how we will share and how we will work together to be good neighbours.

When the water does not come or when it all comes at once, or when the watershed is on fire, we need to do this work well in advance. The federal government has been absent too long, and there are numerous opportunities or elements to help us deal with this.

The Canada water agency and the Canada Water Act renewal are two such opportunities. The Canada water agency is the first. It is how the federal government can and should show up, and how they can show up effectively. It provides a mechanism of governance that allows for efficiency, national and global leadership and certainly co-operative federalism across Canada. It will ensure that water investment is done pragmatically, efficiently and urgently with maximum local impact. It is how they show up to be effective, and that helps people in place.

The other piece of the puzzle will be, number one, a renewed Canada Water Act. This is an opportunity. There are five elements to building a 21st-century water act. Enable, enhance and require the ability to predict and respond to water problems. This will help protect people, communities and infrastructure from a changing hydrology.

Number two is advanced reconciliation. This is fundamental. It is consistent with the TRC and UNDRIP . It is fundamental for impact and process—for example, employing a co-drafting process.

Number three is integrated river basin planning and management that protects, restores and maintains the ecological integrity of the nation's waters.

Number four is a 21st century transboundary water management institution, and number five is designating a national water fund.

B.C. offers us a good model in its watershed security fund. It manages water for the well-being and prosperity of current and future generations.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you very much.

We'll go now to Mr. Shapiro for five minutes.

[Alan Shapiro, Strategic Advisor, BC Net Zero Innovation Network, As an Individual]

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

My name is Alan Shapiro, and I am joining you from the traditional, unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waututh nations in Vancouver. I hold a number of water-technology and business-focused roles, including as an environmental consultant and strategic adviser for Foresight Cleantech Accelerator's BC net zero innovation network.

Today I am asking the committee to consider three recommendations in its final report: first, that freshwater priorities be directly aligned with other environmental and economic focus areas; second, that water technology be embedded in federal freshwater discussions, including the Canada water agency and the freshwater action plan; and third, that more effective mechanisms be considered to deploy water solutions across Canadian communities and sectors.

I'd like to start by defining the landscape of water technology and blue economy in Canada. As the committee has already heard, water cuts across most of Canada's major sectors, from mining to agriculture, with significant intersections between water and climate. Water technology refers to products and services that support water quality, quantity, supply and stewardship across the water cycle. This includes water treatment technologies, such as ultraviolet disinfection and sensors to detect emerging contaminants in the environment; irrigation systems to reduce agricultural water usage; and platforms to help water facilities reduce energy and chemical consumption. All of these are examples of successful water solutions developed in Canada today.

“Blue economy” refers to the sustainable use and conservation of ocean and freshwater resources to support jobs and economic growth. Despite Canada's established brand as a global water leader, Fisheries and Oceans Canada's blue economy strategy has been framed as “an opportunity to harness [Canada's] ocean growth potential”. This oceans-only blue economy definition sidelines fresh water, a massive omission given that the Great Lakes alone generate more than 1.5 million jobs and $60 billion in annual wages across Canada and the U.S. Plastic pollution is a good illustration of this breakdown. While plastic is a major issue facing the world's oceans, most of the eight million tonnes of plastic that end up in the oceans every year are contributed by rivers.

While no direct export data exists for water-related technologies and services, Statistics Canada reported nearly $18 billion of environmental and clean-technology exports in 2021, including in a number of water-related categories. Investments in water research, innovation, infrastructure and stewardship not only translate into public and non-profit sector jobs but also drive private sector growth, supporting high-paying jobs in technology development, manufacturing, skilled trades and business.

While Canada has strong foundations in water research and innovation, domestic technology adoption continues to be a major challenge. Studies identify risk aversion, conservative procurement processes, and poor environmental and economic incentives as barriers. Under current conditions, Canadian technology frequently needs to find an export market in order to be tested and deployed. A lack of local adoption opportunities limits the environmental and economic potential of these solutions. Local governments in particular are significantly under-resourced for making water-related investments.

There are a number of emerging initiatives across Canada that support water-tech adoption, such as Foresight Canada's clean-tech adoption platform and BC net zero innovation network.

I'd like to leave the committee with three recommendations.

First, given that water cuts across most of Canada's major sectors, it is critical to align freshwater priorities and investments with other environmental and economic focus areas, including workforce development, infrastructure planning and climate change.

Second, water technology must be embedded in federal freshwater discussions, including the Canada water agency and the freshwater action plan. Canada's established strength in applied water research and technology development are of limited value when not integrated into broader water policy and funding priorities. It is also critical that fresh water receives sustainable, long-term funding, including the federal government fulfilling its commitment to invest $1 billion in the freshwater action plan.

Finally, we need more effective mechanisms to demonstrate and deploy water technologies across Canadian communities and industries, including economic incentives, environmental regulations, and procurement processes. This is particularly important in regions and sectors facing acute water scarcity and climate impacts.

I thank the committee for studying this critical topic, and I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you, Mr. Shapiro.

We'll go now to Ms. Peters from the Canadian Water Quality Association.

[Shelley Peters, Executive Director, Canadian Water Quality Association]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, vice-chairs and all the members of the committee, for the opportunity to address the importance of fresh water in Canada.

My name is Shelley Peters, and I have had the opportunity to work in the water quality industry for over 30 years.

I'm appearing before the committee today in my role as executive director of the Canadian Water Quality Association, or CWQA. With me today is Jason Jackson, professor, licensed tradesperson and CWQA education consultant. We would like to thank the committee for inviting us, and to thank those members of the committee whom we have spoken with in the past for their time.

The Canadian Water Quality Association is the national voice for the residential, industrial, commercial and institutional water treatment industry throughout Canada. Since our founding in 1956, we have grown to represent over 200 small and medium-sized businesses. We train, certify and advocate for over 1,000 companies in the industry nationwide. These businesses are water quality dealers, retailers, installers, plumbers, small drinking water system providers, wholesale distributors and manufacturers of water quality systems and components, and in total we contribute an estimated $1.2 billion of economic activity in Canada. We believe that safe, healthy water should be available to all Canadians.

Our members are often at the forefront when a Canadian citizen has a question about the water coming out of their taps. They work directly with homeowners, building managers, municipalities, first nation communities and small towns in rural and remote settings to find solutions for local water quality problems. Like for many other industries, it is becoming more challenging to fulfill our customers' needs with respect to water.

Today, new water quality and quantity concerns are becoming prevalent as droughts, floods and wildfires are changing our landscapes and affecting surface and groundwater sources. Another problem facing our industry is that consumer education around water remains low, and recruiting and retaining water quality specialists is a barrier to providing better services to more Canadians.

As our population, economy and communities grow, we put greater and greater pressure on the ecosystems and the sources of water we use for drinking, washing, cooking, recreation and industrial processes such as mining. Fresh water is simultaneously Canada's most important natural resource, and the one we take most for granted.

The water quality industry will play an increasingly important role in preserving freshwater quality over the years and decades ahead. New contaminants like PFOA and PFOS, and emerging contaminants like arsenic, pathogens and even microplastics threaten the health of Canadians. These new realities mean that communities will need new and updated water treatment facilities and processes, and families will need the expertise of water quality professionals to provide treatment options to promote health and quality of life.

Filtration, water softeners, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet and other technologies are important tools to treat water that comes from all sources, including wells, municipal utilities, and lakes and rivers. In some cases, droughts can reduce the quantity of water, and flooding caused by atmospheric rivers or more intense storms can cause water sources to surge, overwhelming municipal treatment facilities and leaving residents with unsafe, untreated water.

These challenges come as no surprise to people residing in communities that have not had access to clean, safe drinking water for years. Where central community-wide water treatment solutions have been ineffective, household point-of-entry and point-of-use alternatives, appropriately installed and serviced, may provide a valuable solution to clean drinking water needs.

Providing more options for household water treatment will be an important consideration moving forward. We have urged the federal government to invest in the creation of a national, accessible water quality map that can provide better information about water contaminants to governments, businesses and mainly consumers. Such a map would also provide water quality specialists who have a depth of experience in providing solutions with more accurate data to suggest solutions for homeowners, residents and business owners to make informed choices about their water treatment needs.

With knowledgeable consumers and water treatment professionals, selecting water treatment technologies can improve water quality, provide more efficient technologies and help to better understand how to mitigate potential issues with quality and quantity by building efficient, sustainable and resilient systems that are affordable to all Canadians.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak about these issues, and we look forward to answering the committee's questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you, Ms. Peters.

Ms. Gomez, you have the floor now for five minutes.

[Patricia Gomez, Scientific Coordinator, Co-Founder of Clean Nature, Centre des technologies de l'eau]

Hello Mr. Chair and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you as part of this key study on fresh water.

I’m representing Cteau today, a non-profit organization and one of the only technology accelerators specializing in water. I’d like to share my experience as an entrepreneur and co-founder of Clean Nature—a clean tech startup—to shed light on the technological innovation landscape.

I’ve always been passionate about protecting water, and my personal and professional paths have given me the opportunity to look at water issues from many angles, both in science and research and in the industrial, municipal and private sectors. As a Canadian born in Colombia, when I first arrived, I was amazed by Canada’s many fresh water resources and, at the same time, frightened by the false sense of security around its accessibility and sustainability. Since water is our most precious natural resource, Canada must develop an effective strategy to protect it. That means supporting the water technology sector so it can deliver innovative solutions.

So today I’m going to talk about three things in particular: the need to accelerate the development of technological solutions, the severe shortage of support for promising and innovative ideas, and the need to support the technology acceleration and transfer ecosystem.

Firstly, we need to accelerate the development of technological solutions, because freshwater protection issues are constantly changing, requiring innovative solutions. A few examples are contamination, pollution, climate change and resource use. Traditional methods will likely no longer be enough to address these issues. It’s therefore crucial that we bolster technological development and innovation in Canada.

With 20% of the world’s freshwater resources, Canada must be a leader in developing clean technologies for water. This requires support for innovative solutions, emerging companies and technology accelerators so that these solutions can move from idea to market and contribute to protecting water and growing the economy.

Secondly, there is a severe shortage of support for promising and innovative ideas. Although there are programs to support technological development, there’s still a shortage of appropriate financial support for companies in early development stages. Every new technology must go through ideation, prototyping and validation before launching.

As an example, I’m going to tell you about Clean Nature, a start-up I founded with two colleagues in the water sector. It’s based around an innovative new technology that got a lot of attention from the market, the media and Innovation Canada. Despite that, four years later, we still don’t have the financial and technological backing we need to fully commit to launching our idea. I have no doubt that many start-ups are facing the same barriers.

While it’s easier for medium and large companies to access financial resources, there aren’t enough technology acceleration resources for Canada to become a leader in the water sector and use the best technologies to protect this resource. The risk is that Canada will lose out on promising ideas and technologies.

Thirdly, we need to support the technology acceleration and transfer ecosystem, because innovative companies need both financial resources and technological support. To guarantee their success, access to technology accelerators like Cteau and business accelerators like AquaAction is crucial. They’re vital to developing clean technologies in Canada.

There’s a desperate need. For example, over the past four years, Cteau saw a 400% growth in both revenue and number of projects involving technical assistance, validation and solution scaling.

Sadly, despite all this growth, lack of public funding is limiting our ability to fully meet the needs of innovative companies in a market that is becoming increasingly aware of how important water is.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you very much for your testimony.

I'm now giving the floor to Mr. Deltell.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair

Good afternoon to my colleagues.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your House of Commons.

Ms. Gomez, I'd like to hear more about your company and your experience with it.

First of all, what' s your company called and what technology are you developing?

Let's start with that, and we can then look more closely at the problems you will have to address.

[Patricia Gomez]

Okay.

Clean Nature is a start-up company working on developing artificial intelligence based technologies to optimize de-icing salt dispersal. This road salt is very harmful and affects water quality. my colleagues and I began to work on the idea four years ago. We were three female students who met at university. As masters and doctoral students, we developed a concept and got involved in various innovation challenges, like the AquaHacking Challenge. Our solution, which uses artificial intelligence, showed a lot of potential.

I' m going to explain the problem faced by start-ups. When you're at university and you come up with a promising idea, there is mentoring, and it's possible to obtain support as a university researcher, for example. However, once you leave university, it's hard to get funding. Financial support is available to more highly developed companies, but a company has to have existed for two or three years and have a certain number of full-time employees, which is very difficult for a start-up.

So I would say that the first barrier is finding the support needed to be able to spend all our time and resources on growing the company. For Clean Nature, there were just the three of us, with only one managing to obtain a postdoctoral fellowship. As a result, she was able to work on the company's technological development.

Technological development is not the only hurdle. A business model also has to be developed. We have a good understanding of this model, and we've worked on it. However, if we had adequate support and resources, we clearly could have made much more progress on its technological development.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

You mentioned using artificial intelligence to manage road salt dispersal. That's not a narrow niche. Your product would be of interest to lots of people. Everyone needs to do some de-icing, whether on house laneways and walkways, access roads to parks or even municipal sidewalks and streets. You have hundreds of thousands of potential clients. From coast to coast, that would be millions of potential clients, not to mention those in northern countries.

Without giving away any secrets, how come you never got any support from a city?

[Patricia Gomez]

I can give you a few more details. We had a lot of support, particularly from organizations like AquaAction. They made it possible for us to launch a pilot project. Getting to that stage involves another barrier, and it's likely very important to give it some thought.

Apart from economic considerations, and the time and resources needed to develop the technologies, there are regulatory hurdles. With municipal by-laws, people are always afraid of change. We went and met municipal representatives to tell them that our solution would reduce their use of salt for de-icing by 40% to 50%. The authorities told us that they'd rather spread more salt than take a safety risk. We understand this argument. However, if we are to validate our solution, tests are needed. Fortunately, we succeeded in launching a pilot project that is still under way in the city of L'Assomption.

It's thanks to support from accelerators like AquaAction and IVEO that we succeeded in getting through to the municipalities. However, we needed intermediaries for them to listen to us. We received numerous calls from potential individuals and clients who were interested in the technology, but who in the end found that it was not yet as highly developed as they would like. We can understand that, but to develop the technology, we need support, mentoring and deployment opportunities.

I also do entrepreneurial work, for Cteau among others. I look at innovative companies trying to develop new technologies, and see that they encounter the same challenges.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Lots of mayors would like to talk to you. I think that Ms. Pauzé, who happens to be from the city of L'Assomption, would be keen to hear about it. She seems to be well aware of things, of course, because that city is in her riding.

If the city of L'Assomption said yes, then I find it hard to believe that other cities wouldn't be prepared to support you.

What do you have to say about that?

[Patricia Gomez]

Some cities are interested in the project, but as I said earlier in my address, even though your algorithm and your technology are working, the technological development requires several phases.

We can carry out tests and run pilot projects, but to get to the point at which we can market our product and say that we're ready to deploy the technology across Canada, a lot of time and dedication are required. It takes time to find the resources needed to successfully develop fully functional technology that can be successful both economically and environmentally.

I think that we are making progress, but very slowly, even though the market and municipalities are interested.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

You have about 15 seconds left, Mr. Deltell.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Ms. Gomez, I would just like to wish you every success. I think that your testimony might well be disseminated elsewhere. I'm sure that some of the mayors will want to talk to you. There seems to be significant interest in this technology. As long as we keep having winters, we're going to need you. It's a reality that affects all Quebeckers and all Canadians.

Thank you, Ms. Gomez.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you, Mr. Deltell.

Ms. Taylor Roy, please go ahead.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of the witnesses. Your collective experience and passion for this area are appreciated. We also appreciate your being here.

There are so many different areas, but I want to focus on water technology.

The Government of Canada has many different sources of funding for developing clean technology and helping at different stages of that development.

Shelley and Patricia, I think you've both been working in different areas of this.

Have you had interaction with the government through the National Research Council, Sustainable Development and Technology Canada, or Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada regarding any of the programs they provide? What have your experiences been?

[Patricia Gomez]

Perfect.

I should point out that Cteau is a type of organization that's called a technology accelerator.

We know about the various sources of government funding. Indeed, there is some funding from the federal government and the provincial government, but these funds are often inadequate.

Technology acceleration centres like Cteau receive support from Quebec's ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie. However, this support is inadequate, even for financial resources.

I mentioned earlier that we experienced 400% growth over the past four years, but the base for administration costs has remained the same. At the outset, there were eight members of our team. There are now approximately 50, and yet the resources available haven't changed. They don't even cover 9% of our research operating expenses.

We need this kind of support for organizations. It's true that there are funds and programs. Cteau receives support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, NSERC, which provides some research funding. As we are a college centre for technology transfer, we have access to research funds under the ARD, the applied research and development grants program, which provides support to companies for certain projects.

If a company consults us to deal with a problem, or because it wishes to further develop its technology, we can suggest that they apply for funds through Cteau. We are entitled to a maximum of $150,000 per year. Given the operating costs, that's not enough to develop the technology.

Not only that, but not all companies are eligible for these grants, whether from the federal government or provincial governments. As I mentioned before, if a company has a brilliant idea, but the owner is the only person in charge of the project, it's not eligible for these funds.

I agree that there are funds, but the problem lies with eligibility.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Do you see a way that the Canada water agency could help with developing clean tech in the water sector?

[Patricia Gomez]

For sure.

I think that the Canadian Water Agency could play an important role, particularly if its strategy were aligned with technological development needs. The fact that water is also an ecosystem has to be kept in mind. There's more to it than just protecting the ecosystem, and while I'm not saying that doing so isn't important, familiarity with the ecosystem's problems is also essential.

It's important to be familiar with water-related challenges. Science and basic research are extremely important, but technological development is too. In my view, the Canadian Water Agency can play a role in how water protection resources are managed, and in how to develop technologies appropriate to constantly growing needs.

We've probably only seen the tip of the iceberg. Many other problems will arise, such as the rising number of emerging contaminants. It's already in evidence. We are familiar with climate change problems and everything that stems from them.

What's going to be important is the framework for the diverse strategies introduced and the various resources that will be devoted to water protection.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you.