Living Water Policy Project
Fresh water policy in Canada is constantly evolving. Catalysts, such as new science, changes in political and bureaucratic leadership, local water crises and broader trends such as globalization, climate change and economic fluctuation influence policy development. How can various stakeholders - from the NGO sector to the private sector to the public - better identify and act on “windows of opportunity"? How can current and emerging trends in water policy be better understood in order to effectively contribute to the public policy dialogue and priorities? These critical questions highlight the need for accessible, up-to-date water policy information that enables effective engagement in the public policy debate.
The Living Water Policy Project (LWPP) is a group of water policy analysts and professionals that have come together to monitor changes to federal, provincial and territorial water policy in Canada. This initiative is driven by the belief that the fragmented nature of Canadian water policy inhibits effective management of our water.
The project is guided by a growing community of partners that is unified by three objectives:
- To consolidate information on provincial, territorial and federal water policy relating to water quantity and quality
- To improve access to knowledge around Canadian water policy activities
- To improve civil society’s collective ability to participate in the public policy dialogue on water
The LWPP is hosted by POLIS’s Water Sustainability Project which supports the initiative by helping maintain the library of Canadian water policy information and providing a platform for rigorous analysis and strategic action on trends and developments in water policy.
The LWPP portal provides easy-to-access, detailed water policy summaries for each province, territory and the Federal Government. It is specifically designed to enable comparison across provinces and territories. This “living” library assists water managers and broader civil society in participating in a more sophisticated and robust ongoing public policy dialogue.
