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Canadian Delegation and Objectives
Delegation
The Canadian delegation, led by Karen Brown, Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment Canada, had a broad representation. It was structured to enable participation in key Forum and ministerial sessions, negotiation of the Ministerial Declaration, and participation in the Forum exhibition.
The delegation included federal representation from
This federal representation was complemented by provincial representation from Minister Joyce Murray (Government of British Columbia), Chair of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, and Deputy Minister Madeleine Paulin (Government of Quebec). The delegation also included representation from the nongovenmental organization (NGO) community, RiverSides Stewardship Alliance, selected by the Canadian Environmental Network.
In addition to the official delegation, many other Canadians participated in the Forum by giving presentations and attending sessions. Prominent Canadians at the Forum included the Right Honourable Herb Gray, Chairman of the Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission; Bill Cosgrove, Vice President of the World Water Council; and Margaret Catley-Carlson, President of the Global Water Partnership.
A number of NGOs had Canadian representation, including the Montreal-based International Secretariat for Water, which facilitated numerous activities throughout the Forum in the Citizen's House of Water, and the International Network of Basin Organizations, currently chaired by Quebec, which presented numerous sessions dealing with watershed and basin approaches all over the world. The Canadian Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology was one of ten organizations short-listed in the Water Action Contest.
In addition, Jeannette Armstrong, presented a poem at the opening plenary session of the Water and Cultural Diversity session; Hans Schreier from the University of British Columbia made a presentation at the Water Management in Mountainous Areas session; and James Beaton Johnson from J.L. Ilsley High School in Halifax participated in the Youth Forum and in the activities at the Citizen's House of Water. Gabrielle Peras, Sandra Champagne, and Nicolas Quellet, three students from Montreal and Quebec City high schools, also took part in activities at the Citizen's House of Water. They were selected during a pre-Kyoto parliamentary simulation, the World Youth Parliament for Water, held at the Quebec National Assembly in November 2002.
Ryan Hreljac, the 11-year-old also known as the "Water Boy" and founder of the Ryan's Well Foundation, also participated in a number of high profile events such as the launch of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All campaign (WASH), and joined a number of panels alongside such notables as the former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, among others.
Objectives
The Canadian delegation achieved the four main objectives of their participation at Forum:
- to promote Canadian experiences and expertise in issues related to domestic water issues and international development
- to ensure consistency with agreed outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and to help advance implementation of those commitments
- to actively participate in all areas of the Forum agenda that contribute to advancing both Canadian water policies and Canadian international development policy with respect to water
- to take advantage of the opportunity to promote a collaborative government approach to the water agenda and policies
The delegation participated in a number of specific activities that each contributed toward fulfilling one or more of the objectives above. Following are some of these activities.
- The delegation promoted Canada's experience and strengths in water management by distributing copies of Water and Canada: Preserving a Legacy for People and the Environment. Jointly produced with provincial and territorial governments, this publication outlines the collective Canadian expertise in governance, knowledge and international research, and water program support. It was well received by forum participants, government delegates, and representatives of international agencies.
- The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) hosted an information booth in the Water Fair that served as a gathering point for Canadian participants and IDRC research partners. The booth provided an excellent opportunity for IDRC to share research results and to build new relationships with Canadians and others who can benefit from what IDRC has learned about water over the past 30 years, particularly in local water management. The IDRC publication Water: Local-Level Management, which summarizes those lessons learned, was widely distributed and very popular.
- Canada maintained a positive and respectably high profile at the Forum through the delegation's presence, IDRC's active involvement, the participation and panel presentations by other Canadians (e.g., the Right Honourable Herb Gray, Chairman of the Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission; Alfonso Riveria, Chief Hydrologist at Natural Resources Canada; and Pierre Baril, of Environnement Québec as Chairman of the International Network of Basin Organizations), and high profile Canadian presence in international organizations (e.g., Bill Cosgrove, Vice President of the World Water Council, and Margaret Catley-Carlson, President of the Global Water Partnership).
- The Canadian delegation contributed the introductory text to the Ministerial Declaration, which helped to set the context under the Millennium Development Goals and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Plan of Implementation as overall targets and to reaffirm the outcomes of the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and the Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture, and Biodiversity (WEHAB) initiative as specific means to achieve those goals. The delegation also actively influenced the drafting of the Ministerial Declaration by advancing Canada's position on key issues, including public private-partnerships, governance, climate change, biodiversity, and invasive species. For some issues related to provincial jurisdictions, the delegation's position on the Ministerial Declaration were assisted by previous consultations with committees of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
- At the Ministerial Conference, the delegation advocated the value of strong governance mechanisms for all levels of government and management, and shared the Canadian experience in managing water through a federation.
- The entire Canadian delegation took advantage of broad participation in the Forum and Ministerial Conference to further develop their individual networks and contacts. In particular, the Canadian International Development Agency was able to broaden its network of contacts for potential water development projects, especially with African countries through the New Partnership for Africa's Development.
- An innovation by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) at this Forum was the webcasting of all sessions in which IDRC program staff and research partners participated. Interview with personalities on key water issues were also transmitted through the IDRC Web site. The Canadian International Development Agency, the Japanese government, and the United Nations Development Programme were financial partners in this initiative.
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