Concertation table

Joining our voices and expertise to work better.

Concertation is a collaborative process involving a wide range of actors in the water sector, working together to define what is important for the area’s water. Discussions take place and compromises are made to build a shared vision.

The Table de concertation is an organization representing the water stakeholders of an integrated water management zone, as defined in the reference framework for integrated water resource management.

The SCABRIC OBV has a single Table de concertation covering the entire Châteauguay watershed. The issue table includes the same members as the OBV SCABRIC Board of Directors and representatives of the various ministries concerned.

The role of the concertation table is to ensure that decisions relating to water resource planning in the Châteauguay area are made with the full participation of the water stakeholders in the territory. The consultation process respects the following criteria:

A balanced representation of the region’s business sectors:

Municipal sector: Representatives of municipal organizations, i.e. regional county municipalities (MRC).
Economic sector: Organizations or companies whose activities are primarily profit-oriented and related to water resources. Includes players in the agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors. The agricultural sector is represented by the Union des producteurs agricoles.
Community sector: Mainly includes representatives of associations, environmental groups and other organizations whose members or clientele are involved in non-commercial or profit-oriented activities, such as health, education, culture and the environment. Individual citizens are included in this category, representing natural persons with no affiliation to a particular group or association.
Aboriginal Representative: Representatives from Aboriginal communities or nations, individuals or organizations duly mandated to represent the Aboriginal community. These positions are currently vacant.

Following the MELCCFP’s reference framework for Integrated Water Resource Management, the representatives sitting on the Table de concertation have the following responsibilities:

To define the elements to be included in the water resources planning: working with the other representatives to identify and outline the water resources in their integrated water management zone, priorities, key directions and objectives for the duration of the territorial planning process;
To participate in the monitoring and evaluation of the Water Master Plan and its action plan: to take part, to the best of their ability, in the monitoring of the objectives of the Water Master Plan, its evaluation and the monitoring of the action plan supporting the planning process;
To represent their sector’s activities: communicate the concerns and issues specific to the sector they represent;
To pass on information to the community they represent: transmit strategic territorial planning information (for example, objectives and actions undertaken or to be defined) to organizations in their community, so that as many water stakeholders as possible are involved in territorial planning. This “feedback” is necessary to mobilize and achieve objectives;
Confidentiality protocol: to respect the confidentiality of certain information that may be sensitive or sacred to aboriginal nations or communities, or to any other stakeholder;
Designation of a substitute: to ensure continuity in the consultation process, each representative can designate a substitute in case of absence during a participation mechanism. This substitute retains the same responsibilities as the representative;
Stakeholder mobilization: act as a catalyst for the mobilization of the territory’s water stakeholders, so that they can contribute to progress towards achieving the objectives;
Invite supporting participants to participate: solicit the contribution of participants to support an activity in the concertation process.