Landscape of mountains and a lake

Water Law and Governance

Water Law and Governance, under the Smart Changes for a Better World heading and funded by the Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue, is a joint project of the University of Ottawa’s Public Law Centre, the Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability and the Centre on Governance.

About

This multidisciplinary project fosters dialogue between scholars, government, special interest groups and the general public on pressing public policy issues related to water. The goal is to use water as a lens to identify problems created by climate change and the ramifications, and to make multi-level recommendations- national and international, provincial and municipal. 

Existing policies on the management, preservation and regulation of water in Canada are examined. Critical change-induced problems will be identified, and recommendations made to policymakers. 

The initiative aims to foster dialogue and contribute to protecting our water resources as well as build inclusive and durable democracies. and governance in Canada are currently in a potentially significant transition as the federal government aims to create a Canadian Water Agency. While the mandate and nature of this structure is yet to be determined, challenges relating to legal and governance mechanisms remain omnipresent. 

Water Law and Governance project

Small waves.

Lead researchers

Postdoctoral fellows

Alexandre Lillo PhD

Alexandre Lillo PhD

Alexandre Lillo PhD is a postdoctoral researcher with the Public Law Centre and the recipient of the Alex Trebek Scholarship for the Water Law and Governance project. His research focuses on the legal mechanisms of water governance in Canada, on how they could be continuously and dynamically adapted, and on questions of representativeness of water stakeholders. 

Lauren Touchant PhD

Lauren Touchant PhD

Lauren Touchant PhD (Public Administration) from the School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability and the Centre on Governance, and the recipient of the Alex Trebek Scholarship. 

Collaborators and affiliates

Collaborating institutes

  • Public Law Centre (Vanessa MacDonnell, Marie-France Fortin - Lead researcher, Executive Board Member – Public Law Centre) 
  • Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability (Heather McLeod-Kilmurray, Thomas Burelli) 
  • Centre on Governance (Eric Champagne PhD)


Academics affiliated with the project


Affiliated researchers

  • Roxanne Guérard (Research Affiliate – Public Law Centre) 
  • Cristina D’Alessandro (Research Affiliate -Centre on Governance)