After a three-year hiatus, Blue Cities is returning to Toronto!
Blue Cities is a focal point for dialogue and collaboration among decision makers. This year’s conference program has a dual focus on municipal water management and public health protection.
Who should attend?
- Senior leaders from municipalities and utilities
- Epidemiologists, medical officers of health, public health practitioners
- Decision-makers from government and government agencies
- Leaders of Indigenous organizations
- Academics and topic experts
- NGO and watershed directors
- Knowledge and technology providers
- Industry product and service leaders
5 compelling reasons to attend
- Collaborate across sectors to keep communities healthy and safe.
- Enhance water service delivery and city planning to meet urban growth projections, build climate resiliency, and promote equity and affordability.
- Deliberate on the promise and complexity of environmental surveillance as a tool in public health protection.
- Advance urban reconciliation through relationship-building and engagement among water utilities, public health services and Indigenous peoples.
- Learn about sectoral trends, share promising practices and foster inter-jurisdictional collaboration.
The discounted early-bird rate ends September 22.
Day 1 – October 24
- Plenary 1 — National dialogue: Servicing the demand for dense urban growth
- Plenary 2 — National dialogue: The future of wastewater-based surveillance in Canada
- 1A — Innovations in risk management
- 1B — Servicing cities sustainably through cross-sector collaboration
- 1C — Workshop: Integrating wastewater-based surveillance into public health systems
- 2A — Sharing risks and benefits: Moving forward with One Water
- 2B — Workshop: Building a roadmap to net-zero wastewater
- 2C — The value and ethics of targeted wastewater surveillance
Day 2 – October 25
- Optional pre-breakfast workshop: Asset-based climate adaptation planning
- 3A — Framework for measuring climate resilience: forging the links between infrastructure and insurance premiums
- 3B — Water equity: Opportunities and solutions
- 3C — Water utility and public health decision-making in the face of natural disasters
- 4A — Weaving grey, green and blue infrastructure to build resilience
- 4B — Facilitated discussion: Engaging Indigenous perspectives in urban water servicing
- 4C — How can advances in environmental water monitoring support public health decision-making?
Nicola Crawhall
CEO, Canadian Water Network
Don Iveson
Former Mayor, City of Edmonton
Cheryl Nelms
General Manager, Project Delivery, Metro Vancouver
Lo Cheng
Director General, Environment and Infrastructure Policy, Infrastructure Canada
Margaret Haworth-Brockman
Senior Program Manager, National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases
Dr. Bonnie Henry
Provincial Health Officer, Government of B.C.
Dr. Thomas Piggott
Medical Officer of Health and CEO, Peterborough Public Health
Dr. Guillaume Poliquin
Vice President, National Microbiology Laboratory Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Sponsored in part by the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium
For information about becoming a member of the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium, contact Sandra Cooke at Canadian Water Network.
Land Acknowledgement
Canadian Water Network (CWN) respectfully recognizes and acknowledges the deep connection that First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples across Canada have with the land that all Canadians call home. Their rich history spans thousands of years on Turtle Island. We also honour and recognize the significance of the treaties that establish the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settlers on this land.
CWN recognizes the sacredness of water as understood by Indigenous people. Water is more than simply a resource. It’s a life-giving entity that sustains people, flora and fauna. CWN will continue its work supporting all Indigenous communities through this lens.
Our offices are located in Waterloo, Ontario, on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Situated on the Haldimand Tract, which granted land to the Six Nations, our office resides on a section of the Grand River extending six miles on each side.
We are grateful for the privilege to work and live on this land.
Furthermore, for the Blue Cities Conference, taking place in Toronto, we acknowledge that it is situated on the traditional territory of multiple nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. Today, Toronto is home to a diverse community of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.