Co-Developing Community Response
Co-Developing Community Response was developed to address Indigenous groups’ concerns about the risks of increased project-related tanker traffic to marine activities, the environment, and culturally important and sacred sites in their traditional territories.
Through this initiative, Indigenous groups and the Government of Canada are co-developing response capacity at the community level, which is creating more meaningful roles for Indigenous groups in the broader marine response system.
The approach was tailored to meet the needs of individual groups and communities. As part of this initiative, the Canadian Coast Guard identified information, tools and services to improve information sharing with coastal Indigenous groups and response partners. Some of the tools developed may become available on multiple platforms (e.g., mobile, desktop) and will help increase preparedness and response capabilities and safety for coastal Indigenous groups.
Goals
- To empower Indigenous groups along the TMX marine shipping route with knowledge, personnel, training and equipment to protect culturally important and sacred sites on their traditional territories.
- To mitigate risks posed by project-related tanker traffic and to define a clear role for Indigenous groups in the broader marine response system.
How it worked
Co-Developing Community Response is investing in Indigenous groups’ capacity to participate in marine incident management, including funding for:
- knowledge and information sharing
- training and exercise
- preparedness and response planning
- personnel and equipment
- communications technologies and tools
Funding for Co-Developing Community Response
Thirty-one Indigenous groups are participating in this initiative, working with the Canadian Coast Guard to build marine response capacity.
- Initial funding was available to fund a Marine Liaison position (or equivalent) to participate in and/or coordinate co-developing community response activities, including training and exercising. If a group did not require a Marine Liaison, funding could be allocated to other environmental response activities to build capacity in the areas of marine incident management and/or marine domain awareness. Where desired, this additional capacity could facilitate participation in discussions related to other accommodation measures.
- After initial capacity was established, funding was available to support the co-development of community response to marine incidents, including oil spills. This may include the purchase of equipment or vessels, mapping and traditional-use surveys, or strategic response planning initiatives. Funding could also support the development of technical tools and technology for sharing marine awareness and response information with the Canadian Coast Guard.
Related initiatives
Lead department: Canadian Coast Guard supported by Transport Canada.