CCA appoints expert panel to examine how policy and governance can support Indigenous science

Both Indigenous and western science can be applied to address a range of important challenges, however the consideration of Indigenous science in decision-making remains inconsistent. At the request of the Government of Canada’s Indigenous Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering (I-STEM) Cluster, the CCA has formed an expert panel to examine how Indigenous science can be supported to advance policy and governance in a way that achieves reciprocal benefits for all people in Canada. Using food sovereignty as a case study, the panel will develop a framework that can be applied across a range of policy issues.

Treena Wasonti:io Delormier, Associate Professor, School of Human Nutrition at McGill University, will serve as chair of the expert panel. Prof. Delormier is also Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment and Scientific Director of the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Program.

“Indigenous and western science are distinct ways of knowing, but their meeting space can create new perspectives and understandings that could help us to address many of the pressing issues facing us today,” said Prof. Delormier. “I’m honoured to lead the panel as we work to answer the vital question entrusted to us.”

As chair, Prof. Delormier will lead a diverse, multidisciplinary group of panel members to answer the following question:

How can policy and governance support Indigenous science in a way that advances Indigenous priorities and achieves reciprocal benefits for Canada’s social, environmental, and economic goals?

“We’re delighted Prof. Delormier and the other members of the panel have agreed to take on this critical work,” said Tijs Creutzberg, President and CEO of the CCA. “We look forward to the insights from this report as to how western and Indigenous science can work in conjunction for the betterment of everyone in Canada.”

Read more about the project.

The Expert Panel on Indigenous Science and Food Sovereignty:

• Treena Wasonti:io Delormier (Chair), PhD, Associate Professor, School of Human Nutrition, McGill University; Director, Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment; Scientific Director, Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Program
• Jason Akearok, Executive Director, Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
• Megan Bailey, PhD, Associate Professor, Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie University
• Malek Batal, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS, Professor, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
• Kenneth Bear, PAg, Agriculture Development Manager, PFN Group of Companies
• Simon Brascoupé, Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University; Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa; Adjunct Graduate Faculty, Trent University; and President and CEO, First Nations Education Administrators Association
• Shelley Denny, PhD, Senior Advisor, Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources
• Lawrence Ignace, PhD Candidate, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria
• Tabitha Robin, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia
• Zoe Todd, PhD, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Indigenous Governance and Freshwater Fish Futures, Indigenous Studies, Simon Fraser University

Expert panel members serve as individuals and do not represent the views of their organizations of affiliation or employment.

This project was supported by the Government of Canada, through the Strategic Science Fund.