March 28 2024 OLW e-newsletter

OLW INVITE

Last chance: fill out the Annual Survey (5-10 mins) to help map the OLW Network!

MEMBER HIGHLIGHT

Read our story showcasing new resources from Atlantic Water Network that build on two decades of innovative support for community-based watershed groups.

RIGHT RELATIONS

	Check out Matriarchal Messages, a poignant Water Carriers publication from the Native Women’s Association of Canada that features Haudenosaunee filmmaker Layla Staats.
	Explore two watersheds where Indigenous ways of knowing are shaping conservation efforts: 1) the Seal River, where a vast Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area is being proposed; and 2) the Athabasca River, who is seeking recognition of legal personhood.

WINDOW ON WATER POLICY & GOVERNANCE

A federal update since February — The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development has held 18 meetings exploring freshwater and received 40 briefs on the topic.

	John Pomeroy, Bob Sandford and Thomas Axworthy penned an editorial entitled “The water gets hotter and the frog just sits there”.
	The Manitoba government is making changes to its Environment Act to protect waterways and investing more in Watershed Districts. Also, the province recently rejected an application for a silica sand extraction project, but Manitoba Eco-Network is raising flags about other sand extraction, glass manufacturing and tailings reprocessing projects with potential watershed impacts.
	On World Water Day, the UN launched its World Water Development Report, following the 39th UN-Water Meeting and leading up to a Canadian visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.