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A national series of workshops to explore capacity building needs.
- February 27, 2007 Moncton, New Brunswick (Crown Plaza)
- March 6, 2007 Sudbury, Ontario (Days Inn)
- March 14, 2007 Sherbrooke, Québec (Delta Hotel)
- March 19, 2007 Edmonton, Alberta (The Holiday Inn)
- March 21, 2007 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (Yellowknife Inn)
To view the agenda and objectives for workshops, click here.
Subsidies are available to assist municipal governments in sending representatives to participate in the workshops. To inquire about subsidies or to confirm your attendance at one of these workshops, please contact:
Debbi Makila, Program Assistant, Capacity Building
Tel.: 613-907-6220
E-mail: dmakila@fcm.ca
For general information about these workshops, please contact:
Amy Seabrooke, Program Officer, Capacity Building
Tel.: 613-907-6332
E-mail: aseabrooke@fcm.ca
In 2006, the FCM Centre for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD) launched a municipal Capacity Building program. To develop the program, CSCD is consulting with municipal governments to gather feedback on their needs as they pertain to six areas of municipal activity: brownfields, energy, planning, transportation, waste and water. Capacity building campaigns in each of the six sectors will help to improve the quality of life of Canadians by supporting municipal governments along a path toward sustainability.
The mission of the Capacity Building program is "to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and increase the rate of adoption of sustainable community development projects and practices in Canadian municipalities." Its goal is "to design and deliver capacity building activities that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and knowledge transfer, and that share best practices between municipal governments." The program will develop and deliver various tools and resources, as identified by municipal governments through needs assessments and other engagement activities.
To deliver a successful Capacity Building program, CSCD will conduct the following activities:
- Engage municipal governments and experts throughout each campaign;
- Leverage internal knowledge and resources such as GMF projects, the
Partners for Climate Protection program, the Community Energy Mission,
and the Affordability and Choice Today (ACT) program;
- Leverage external knowledge and resources such as municipal best practices, expert networks, municipal and community champions, strategic partners; and
- Develop campaign tools and resources to fill gaps identified in ongoing needs assessments.
FCM has launched five campaigns to date and held seven consultation sessions involving over 180 municipal government representatives:
- Planning - June 2, 2006 (Montreal, Que.)
- Energy - June 5, 2006 (Montreal, Que.)
- Planning - June 20, 2006 (Vancouver, B.C.)
- Brownfields - June 22, 2006 (Vancouver, B.C.)
- Water - September 20, 2006 (Victoria, B.C.)
- Brownfields - October 27, 2006 (Toronto, Ont.)
- Waste - November 30, 2006 (Toronto, Ont.)
The Transportation Campaign will be launched in February 2007, with a consultation workshop scheduled to take place in Ottawa.
Consultation participants identified the following key priority issues:
Brownfields
- Liability issues and barriers;
- Need for greater internal municipal expertise to address brownfields; and
- Need for action plans (programs, policies and partnerships) to support brownfield redevelopment.
Energy
- Need to address provincial, territorial and federal policies that might be inconsistent with municipal policy and practice; and
- Need for effective plans related to energy and sustainability (community energy plans, sustainable community plans, climate change adaptation plans).
Planning
- Need for greater awareness and understanding of sustainability terms and concepts and how to implement them;
- Lack of staff expertise, time and funding resources to support sustainable community planning (SCP); and
- Need for better accountability, monitoring and reporting systems, and greater integration of SCP into municipal management, structures and operations to facilitate implementation.
Waste
- Growth issues, waste management infrastructure, and costs;
- Landfill diversion, and the challenges associated with recycling in smaller municipalities;
- Siting issues, NIMBYism and long-term liabilities associated with landfills; and
- Public perception, awareness and participation.
Water
- Fragmented governance - need for integrated water management and decision-making systems;
- Aging infrastructure and limited funding for renewal; and
- Water conservation and demand management strategies.
Participants suggested a number of resources they would like to see related to these campaign areas. They also provided positive feedback on ways in which municipal governments would like to be involved in the development and delivery of the capacity building campaigns.
For more information about these workshops and the current activities and future plans of the Capacity Building program, please visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter and e-mail bulletins or contact one of the Capacity Building program officers:
Elizabeth Allingham, Brownfields and Transportation
Tel.: 613-907-6221
E-mail: eallingham@fcm.ca
Carmen Bohn, Planning and Waste
Tel.: 613-907-6327
E-mail: cbohn@fcm.ca
Amy Seabrooke, Energy and Water
Tel.: 613-907-6332
E-mail: aseabrooke@fcm.ca
Read more CSCD newsletter articles.
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