Oil Sands Monitoring Program – Governance

Key documents

In December 2017, Canada and Alberta signed: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Alberta on Oil Sands Monitoring (January 2018)

Governance of the program is detailed in the: Oil Sands Monitoring Program: Letter of Agreement and Operational Framework (OF) (November 2018)

With the signing of the operational framework in November 2018, a multi-stakeholder governance structure was implemented. The decision-making authority for the Oil Sands Program (OSMP) governance rests with the Co-Chairs of the OSMP who also serve as chairs of the Oversight Committee (OC) and are accountable to their respective Ministers under the MOU.

The Oversight Committee (OC) provides recommendations to the OSMP Co-Chairs, and establishes, ensures, and adapts the strategic vision of the program. Representatives on the OC ensure that they represent respective communities or organizations that form the Indigenous, industry and government caucuses. These caucuses nominate participants for each committee in the governance structure.

The Science and Indigenous Knowledge Integration Committee (SIKIC), Technical Advisory Committees (TACs), and an Indigenous Community Based Monitoring Advisory Committee (ICBMAC) support the OC. SIKIC is responsible for directing the overall science and knowledge activities for the OSMP and implementing the strategic direction of the OC. It integrates across environmental theme areas to improve overall program coordination and integration of knowledge to achieve the three core outcomes of the OSMP. The TACs and ICBMAC report directly to SIKIC. The OSMP Office and the OSMP Science Secretariat provide support to all the committees.

Figure 1. OSMP governance structure