Governance Advisory Committee

The Átl’ḵa7tsem Governance Advisory Committee (GAC) is comprised of technical staff from First Nations, municipalities and regional organizations. The Átl’ḵa7tsem/Howe Sound Marine Stewardship Initiative (MSI) serves as coordinator and facilitator of this committee. 

The GAC was formed to create space for inter-governmental dialogue as it relates to coastal and marine spatial planning (MSP). The first meeting took place in April 2022. During that meeting, the committee refined its focus to:

      • Provide a space for conversation and information sharing (not decision-making) related to MSP efforts within Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound
      • Foster relationship-building and coordination of initiatives across different governments and organizations to further MSP efforts
      • Support connecting data and decision-support tools (ex. the Marine Reference Guide) to relevant users and needs

 

Currently, the GAC is coming together in lunchtime virtual sessions to hear from guest speakers about:

      • MSP in general and marine jurisdictional complexity in BC
      • Provincial and federal legislation, policies and programs that relate to MSP
      • Indigenous laws, policies and programs that relate to MSP (including IPCAs)

We will be sharing full versions of these presentations with members of the GAC. Public versions of presentations are available below:

Marine Spatial Planning Overview

Erica Olson, Marine Stewardship Initiative

Please click the video to begin playing Erica’s presentation on marine spatial planning.

This presentation was originally recorded for the GAC on November 29, 2023.

Additional resources on this topic:

 

Ocean Protection Law in BC

Stephanie Hewson, West Coast Environmental Law

Please click the video to begin playing Stephanie’s presentation on marine jurisdiction related to British Columbia. 

This presentation was originally recorded for the GAC on November 29, 2023.

Additional resources on this topic:

Thank you to Stephanie and WCEL for sharing this presentation with us.

 

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and

Indigenous Protected & Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

Russ Jones and Aaron Heidt

Russ Jones, Nang Jingwas and Aaron Heidt are co-authors of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Report on Marine Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. Both Russ and Aaron have extensive experience working on marine planning on the central and north coasts of BC.

The slides from their presentation to the GAC are available for public viewing, and the full recording of their presentation is available to memebers of the GAC. View the slides by clicking here, or on the images.

This presentation was originally shared to GAC members on February 2, 2024.

Additional resources on this topic:

Thank you very much to Russ and Aaron for sharing this presentation with us.

 

Questions about the GAC?

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