The POLIS Water Sustainability Project is turning 20 this year! We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of our colleagues, partners, advisors, funders, water leaders, and many many supporters across B.C. (and beyond!) who give their time and energy and continually champion the necessary and crucial work of water sustainability and watershed security. To celebrate some of the people who have made this milestone possible, POLIS Communications Director Laura Brandes got in touch with several “POLIS alumni” to find out what they’ve been up to since leaving POLIS, and to ask if there are lessons from their POLIS days that they still carry with them…
Tony Maas joined the POLIS Water Sustainability Project as a research associate shortly after the project launched in 2003. During his time with POLIS, Tony contributed to many of our publications as a researcher, editor, and author. As the author of What the Experts Think: Understanding Urban Water Demand Management in Canada (Dec 2003), he surveyed over 20 water experts with the goal of developing a deep understanding of the major barriers to demand management in Canada. Since leaving POLIS, Tony has worked as Freshwater Program Director at WWF-Canada, Principal Consultant at Maas Strategies, and Director of Legislative Affairs at Ecojustice Canada. He currently works as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.
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Laura Brandes: When did you work at POLIS?
Tony: I last worked with POLIS in 2007.
Laura: What was your role with the team?
Tony: I was a policy researcher focused on water sustainability.
Laura: What have you been up to lately in your professional life?
Tony: I am a Senior Policy Advisor on climate, energy and the environment in the Office of the Prime Minister.
Laura: Do you have any lessons from your POLIS days that you still carry with you today?
Tony: Learn to self-edit your writing and always seek to be concise and precise.
Laura: I want to talk about some of the big concepts that are central to our ongoing work at POLIS—like ecological governance and watershed security. What do they mean to you? And, in particular, has your understanding of these ideas changed over time, based on where your career has taken you and what you’ve learned in the last 20 years?
Tony: To me, ecological governance is an iterative process toward a reconciliation of humanity’s relationship with the earth. Water security is about securing the quality and quantity of water needed to sustain socio-ecological systems for this and future generations. Sometimes when you are “in it” for so long it is difficult to mark change and progress. But I do believe we are in the midst of one of those iterations of ecological governance that is transformative. We are seeing governments recognize and take action on climate and halting and reversing loss of nature. We are seeing markets increasingly internalizing environmental costs. And we are seeing people engaging in lifestyle change and political processes.
Laura: Do you have any favourite memories from your POLIS days that you’d like to share?
Tony: I would have to say:
- Finishing my first report. It was so challenging and so rewarding.
- Travelling with Oliver [Brandes] from Victoria to Banff for a conference in his VW van.
- Michael M’Gonigle [POLIS Founder] schooling us with a dusty dictionary in hand on the proper use of “fresh water” [noun] and “freshwater” [adjective].
