OAIA Workshop
On May 10 OAIA hosted a workshop entitled:
Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability: Some
Hopeful Canadian Trends. The workshop, held in Ottawa in
conjunction with our Annual General Meeting, provided an
opportunity for a number of federal departments (and the City of
Toronto) to showcase what they have been doing in this important
and rapidly evolving area. The event generated considerable
interest, and the calibre of presentations was uniformly high.
From the informal comments we received, it would seem that most
participants found the workshop well worth their while. The
success we experienced in sponsoring this type of highly
focused, one-day event suggests that this might be a good model
for future OAIA events. We would welcome your comments and
opinions.
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IAIA Conference in the Hague:
Assessing the Impact of Impact Assessment
In June, a number of our members, including
Shirley Conover, Lee Doran (officially representing OAIA) and
Greg Radford, participated in the annual conference of the
International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) in the
Hague, Netherlands. The theme of the conference was Assessing
the Impact of Impact Assessment, and it proved to be one of the
most successful conferences ever held under the auspices of IAIA,
in no small part due to the exceptional efforts of the Dutch
hosts. A conference event of particular significance to OAIA
members was the presentation to Shirley Conover, a current
member and past director of OAIA, of the coveted Rose-Hulman
Award for her individual contribution to the field of impact
assessment over a sustained period. Congratulations Shirley!
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IAIA 2004 proposed for Vancouver
Our Board has been working very hard
throughout the year with both the AQÉI and our new sister
organization, the Western and Northern Canada Affiliate of the
International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA-WNC), to
create a strong capability for the Canadian affiliates of the
IAIA to operate in concert on a national basis. The founding of
the IAIA-WNC was a critically important development which has
made such national cooperation possible. The OAIA has played a
key role in fostering close linkages among the three Canadian
affiliates, building on our earlier efforts to strengthen our
linkages with AQÉI.
A major fruit of our collective labours has
been a Canadian proposal to host the International Association
for Impact Assessment's 2004 Annual Conference in Vancouver.
This proposal is being very favorably considered by the IAIA
Board, and a final decision from them is expected within two
weeks. Hosting IAIA 04 would be a great honour for Canada, and
would reinforce the high international esteem in which the
Canadian impact assessment community is held. The Ontario
Association for Impact Assessment is participating actively in
the planning and promotion of the conference, which would focus
on the role of the private sector in impact assessment.
Serving on the OAIA Board in 2003-04 when
there are so many exciting possibilities will prove to be a
particularly rewarding and career-enhancing experience.
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Call for Nominations for Board
Positions
We recently mailed out notices to our
current members announcing the opening of nominations for OAIA
Board positions whose terms will commence on May 1, 2003.
This year there will be an unusually large
number of Board members to nominate and elect. There are several
reasons for this. Last year we operated with a Board of only 6
persons, instead of the 10 permitted by our Bylaws; the terms of
all but two of these Board members will come to an end on April
30 of 2004. Moreover, the Board has voted to increase the number
of Directors at large from 7 to 9 to permit our organization to
be more representative of the regional and sectoral diversity of
the impact assessment community in Ontario and the National
Capital Region.
Nomination
forms are available for those interested.
Nominations for the following positions are
being sought:
President-Elect (to serve successive
one-year terms as President-Elect, President and Past-President)
President (to serve successive one-year terms as
President and Past-President)
8 Directors at large (each to serve a two-year term)
The nomination process will close on
February 28, 2003
The OAIA now stands at a crossroads. In the
last couple of years we have forged strong partnerships, both in
Ontario and across Canada. We have built, in cooperation with
our partners, the capability to address EA issues, not only at
the provincial level, but also at the regional, national and
international levels. At the same time, the involvement and
commitment of our members to an organization, which has the
potential to provide a strong voice for the impact assessment
community and opportunities for professional development and
exchange of ideas, is presently at low ebb. There is need for
renewal and injection of new blood, particularly from the
younger members of the impact assessment community, who will
influence the evolution of the field in the years to come. We
encourage you to consider making an important contribution to
your field as a Board member of OAIA, or to approach colleagues,
whom you think could make a contribution.
Please note that you must be a member of
OAIA to submit a nomination and must also be a member to
accept one. If you are not presently a member, this problem that
can be easily remedied by registering now. Any registrations
received from this date onward will be considered to apply to
the balance of the 2002 calendar year as well as to all of the
2003 calendar year.
Whether or not you chose to stand for
election as a Board member, you can still contribute to ensuring
a vibrant association by providing ideas and specific inputs
(e.g., articles for the OAIA Bulletin, assistance in organizing
a specific event, inputs to our Web site). Your participation in
events sponsored by OAIA is also critical to the success of our
association. Contact us
anytime - or communicate with any Board member (they are listed
on the website as well).
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Time to register for 2003
Whether or not you wish to nominate someone
for office or stand for office yourself, it is time to register
for the 2003 calendar year. Those who are not currently members
will also be registered for the balance of 2002.
At the same time, you might also want to
consider membership in the International Association for Impact
Assessment (IAIA) of which OAIA is a regional Affiliate. Check
it out at www.iaia.org.
Please note that we have instituted a
two-month period of grace for current (2002) registrants. That
is, your membership, for such purposes as Board nominations,
would continue to be in effect until the end of February, 2003.
If you do not, however, renew your membership by that date, we
would reserve the right to remove your name from the OAIA
directory of members, although we would first attempt to notify
you before taking such action.
To simplify the task of registering, we
have a convenient electronic
registration form
which you can fill out using your computer keyboard, print and
mail off to us.
This year we will automatically issue you a
receipt when we receive your payment.
We expect the next two years to be the most
interesting and rewarding one's ever for OAIA, and we sincerely
hope that you will be a part of making this happen.
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Wednesday, December 11
Toronto
Holiday Social The Ontario Association for
Environmental Management, the Ontario Association for Impact
Assessment, the Air & Waste Management Association and the
Conservation Council of Ontario will jointly host a Holiday
Social on Wednesday, December 11, from 6 to 9 PM at
Growler's Pub (Denison's Brewing Co. & Restaurants), 75
Victoria St. Growler's Pub is between Richmond St. E and
Adelaide St. E., southeast of the Yonge & Queen Subway
Station.
Past events of this type have been a lot of fun, and a great
way to keep in touch with colleagues sharing common
environmental interests.
To Register contact Sue Ruggero at: 85 Irondale Drive, North
York, ON, M9L 2S6
osem@rogers.com or tel: 416 746-9076 or fax: 416
743-6171.
Please RSVP by Friday December 6, 2002
Cost:
$10.00 if Registration made before December 6
$15.00 if Registration made after December 6
Hors d'oeuvres provided.
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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
