Date: December 7th, 2021
At this webinar, speakers shared proposed directions for the B.C. Watershed Security Fund from a new strategic directions paper released by the Sustainable Funding Working Group—an independent group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts. With its current mandate, the provincial government is committed to creating this Fund, which has the potential to be a game-changer for watersheds, Indigenous governance, and community health and security into the future.
Tim Morris (BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative) and Susi Porter Bopp (First Nations Fisheries Council) set the stage, discussing the background and current timelines for the Fund. Tara Marsden (Watersheds BC) then shared the Sustainable Funding Working Group’s findings and proposed directions for the Fund.
A panel of working group members, featuring Toni Boot (District of Summerland) and Shannon Waters (Vancouver Island Health Authority), discussed how the Fund can make a difference in our watersheds. And Coree Tull (BC Watershed Security Coalition) offered final remarks on what will happen next and how participants can get involved.
This webinar was the first in a broader series designed to spark dialogue and raise awareness about the priority and potential of the Watershed Security Fund, as the provincial government begins its broad consultation processes. The dialogue series is being co-hosted by the First Nations Leadership Council, First Nations Fisheries Council, BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative, Refresh Lab, and the POLIS Water Sustainability Project.
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The Creating a Blue Dialogue webinar series brings together expert water practitioners and thinkers, as well as emerging water leaders, to engage with innovative ideas on water policy and governance in Canada. By creating an online community of interest, the series strengthens the national capacity to engage with and solve problems, and raises awareness about emerging Canadian water issues, best practices, and policies. The series began in 2010 and is hosted by the POLIS Water Sustainability Project at the Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria.
