President’s Message

Welcome to the 2024 OAIA Annual Conference at The Old Mill in Toronto! Thanks to the leadership of our Conference Chair, Violetta Savage (City of Toronto), and the rest of the conference planning committee, we have an outstanding conference program planned and are excited to share it with you over the two days of the conference.

I have no doubt you will find the many conference sessions of great interest with respect to both Impact Assessments (IA) and Environmental Assessments (EA), and in your respective roles as a practitioner, regulator, First Nation, NGOs, or academic. Our three main areas of focus have been interwoven in the sessions, where we will spend the two days exploring Indigenous-led IAs and EAs, processes and streamlining, as well as the value of relationships.

Gary Pritchard (Curve Lake Fist Nations) and Chair of the OAIA Indigenous Knowledge Committee as well as committee member Lindsay Bain (Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation), will be leading a walk on the Humber River first thing in the morning of Conference Day 2. This walk is intended to address First Nations perspectives of the Humber River, and our relationships with the land, water and people. The value of such relationships cannot be understated. To this end, I am also very much looking forward to meeting with so many of you during the conference, on the Indigenous Oral History Walk, and during our evening social at the end of Day 1, which I hope you all plan to attend.

While at the conference, please ensure you check out the sponsor information in the program and on the display boards around the meeting room. If you get a chance, please be sure to personally thank our sponsors for their generous support for without them, the conference would not be possible. To our students and young practitioners, I extend a very warm welcome. I encourage you to come early, stay late, and network during the breaks and events. The seasoned IA and EA specialists who attend the conference, I am sure, will be happy to engage. All you need to do is introduce yourself!

To our presenters, your support of and dedication to OAIA and the field of IA and EA is noted and appreciated. Through information sharing at the conference, we know you will leave us all with thoughts to ponder and actions to consider as we work together to create spaces that are safe for dialogue, take action that is efficient and effective, and improve our connections and ability to pick up the phone and brainstorm a future issue with a new colleague.

Finally, to everyone, OAIA needs you. The OAIA Board of Directors have been working hard behind the scenes to update our program deliverables to the standards of today, and to brainstorm what we need to do over the next few years to broaden engagement and knowledge sharing. Your support through attending conferences and webinars, becoming a member, and volunteering to assist our committees is so very appreciated. Please stay tuned as we have an exciting 2025 planned!

I hope you enjoy the conference. See you soon!

Beth Williston, OAIA President