Sustainability criteria and
'significance' in EA
Professor Bob Gibson, University of
Waterloo, is continuing his seminal work around sustainability
issues. This particular report was supported by the Research and
Development Program of the Canadian Environmental Assessment
Agency. Just to whet your appetite here is the list of seven
"General sustainability principles" he uses as a basis for his
recommendations: integrity; sufficiency and opportunity; equity;
efficiency; democracy and utility; precaution; and immediate and
long term integration. Visit the CEAA site for the complete
report
"Specification of sustainability-based environmental assessment
decision criteria and implications for determining
"significance" in environmental assessment".
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OAIA Membership 2002
If you haven't renewed your OAIA membership
for this year, take a moment to
read the procedures and
complete the form. Send a copy of the printed form, together
with your cheque, to OAIA, Box 2727, Postal Station D, Ottawa,
ON K1P 5W7. If you require a receipt, please check off the
appropriate box on the form.
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Board Positions Available
Won't you consider helping out with OAIA
events and proceedings? We still have Board positions available,
as well, for those who would like to contribute a bit more.
Nomination
forms are available for those interested. Communicate with
Ray Lamoureux,
Lee Doran or any
Board member for more information.
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Integration of environment into
foreign and trade policies (EU)
Dr. Shirley Conover, a former OAIA Board
member, has been heavily involved in these issues in preparation
for a Workshop at the
IAIA Annual Conference at The Hague in June. She brought to
our attention the fact that European Union Foreign Ministers
approved a European Commission strategy paper on the integration
of environment considerations into foreign and trade policies.
Pascal Lamy, European Trade Commissioner, noted that the paper
helped "to strengthen our sustainable development approach. It
complements the work which is underway in the preparation for
the Johannesburg Earth Summit." The paper is entitled
"COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER: Environmental Integration in
the External Policies of the General Affairs Council".
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Well-being and Sustainability
Did you know Canada has its own private
member's bill (C-268) to develop indicators of sustainability?
It's called
Canada Well-Being Measurement Act, and is meant "to develop
and provide for the publication of measures to inform Canadians
about the health and well-being of people, communities and
ecosystems in Canada."
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Canada vs Sweden: An Environmental
face-off
Professor David Richard Boyd, Eco-Research
Chair of Environmental Law and Policy at the University of
Victoria, looks at ten key environmental indicators covering a
range of issues to compare Canada and Sweden with respect to
environmental protection. He finds that "Sweden Clobbers Canada
9-1"!
The report also summarizes:
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What the UK is up to …
The United Kingdom also has a
Sustainable Development Commission on the go. It's Chairman
Jonathon Porritt says, "Whatever our background, occupation,
expertise or lifestyle, we have one thing in common: a
passionate determination to see sustainable development embraced
as the central organising principle underpinning all our lives."
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Workshop on Transboundary Issues
The planning for the joint OAIA/AQEI
Workshop on Transboundary issues is proceeding apace. It's
looking like a two-day event with an impressive array of
participants. Venue is expected to be Montreal. Tentative dates
for this spring resulted in a number of potential scheduling
conflicts, so the date is now likely to be in the autumn of this
year. Stay tuned for additional details before too long.
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National Biodiversity Network
We understand that the recent Conference on
developing a distributed Canadian biodiversity network was a
great success. This is a cooperative effort to provide
biodiversity information over the web to all who need it. The
hope is to provide a system that will 'engage the backyard
birder and professional consultant alike.' The plan seems to us
to be visionary and exciting as well as practical and useful. It
deserves the attention of a wide community of environmental
interests.
More
details...
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Gardening in the City
The Toronto Globe and Mail celebrated Earth
Day, this year, by publishing an article by OAIA Board member
Eva Ligeti entitled
Garden for
your lives! The article links climate change with urban heat
island issues and grounds it all in Toronto. All very fitting
and timely as the Toronto Atmospheric Fund is sponsoring an
Urban Heat Island Summit to be held on May 1-4 at Metro Hall
Council Chambers, 55 John Street, Toronto.
Additional details.
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May 10 Ottawa
AGM & Workshop on Sustainability Just
another brief reminder that our AGM will be held on May
10th at 4:00PM, in the National Capital Region,
following our one-day Workshop on Strategic Environmental
Assessment and Sustainability: Some Hopeful Canadian Trends.
We are working at finalizing the agenda and format for the
Workshop at the moment. Watch for an Announcement in the
next few days. Details on
the theme for the Workshop and an
on-line registration form
are available.
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February 5-6,
2003 Montreal
Workshop on Transboundary Impacts The Ontario
Association for Impact Assessment (OAIA) and l'Association
québécoise pour l'évaluation d'impacts (AQÉI), together with
several federal and provincial government partners (Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency, Environment Canada,
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
International Joint Commission and Environnement Québec)
will host a one and a half day workshop on the assessment of
transboundary impacts. The event will be held on February 5
and 6, 2003 at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel, 99 Viger
Street, Montreal. Preferred rates for hotel rooms are
available to workshop participants.
The workshop
program
will provide participants with a sound overview of existing
mechanisms for dealing with transboundary impacts; will
explore a number of case studies related to assessment of
transboundary impacts; and will discuss issues associated
with the assessment and mitigation of transboundary health
effects of air pollution from thermal power stations.
Simultaneous translation of all sessions will be provided,
courtesy of the Government of Canada.
This is one of the first workshops ever held on the
important topic of assessment of transboundary impacts, and
interest in the subject within the environmental assessment
community is very high. There will be room for only 130
participants, and you are advised to register early to avoid
disappointment.
Full
program and registration package.
Prior to the date of the workshop information and updates on
the workshop will be available at
www.oaia.on.ca and at
AQEI. You can also
inquire by phone at (514) 990-2193 or E-mail your inquiries
to mondorf@aqei.qc.ca
