Charting a Course – Letter from the Vice-Chair
The NRTEE believes that the opportunity is now to put Canada on a policy path to ensure
sustainability of our water and natural resource sectors. Charting a Course, the second report by
the NRTEE examining the future of Canada’s water supply, is an important contribution to
meeting Canada’s objectives of improved water use efficiency and water conservation.
Past assumptions of water governance and management may no longer be applicable in the
face of anticipated pressures on water resources. In a world of increasing competition for access
to water, new pressures such as climate change are emerging that could put the long-term
sustainability of our water resources at risk.
This new report shows that Canada can address some of these water challenges while
maintaining a prosperous natural resources sector, by proposing several potential avenues of
solutions: improved understanding of water-demand forecasts, new policy tools, information
and data improvements, and more effective collaborative governance approaches.
The NRTEE recognizes ongoing efforts across the country to modernize and improve existing
water policies and legislation, and hopes that the insights, conclusions and recommendations
included in this report will help steer Canada on a policy path to ensure a prosperous economy
through the development of our natural resource sectors while ensuring the protection and
health of our ecosystems.
R.W. SLATER, CM, PH.D.
NRTEE Vice-Chair
© 2013