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Two unifying threads weave through Part D. Thread One was that the provincial government provided green infrastructure leadership during this period, with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs mantra being: Today’s expectations are tomorrow’s standards. Thread Two was the regulatory requirement that Metro Vancouver municipalities develop integrated plans pursuant to the rainwater (aka “streams and trees”) component of the region’s Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan. This provided a reason for convening for action!

“We define a balanced approach as one that creates liveable communities and also protects stream health. During the period 2006-2011, the leadership teams for the intergovernmental Water Balance Partnership and the cross-sector Green Infrastructure Partnership aligned efforts and collaborated to deliver program elements under the umbrella of convening for action. With hindsight, this was a golden period when the influence of the Georgia Basin Initiative peaked. Success built on success and the successes came in rapid succession,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Looking at the length of the list of milestones and reflecting on the array of initiatives, it is amazing how much we were able to pack into such a short period of time. A phrase that best describes this era is commitment to collaboration. Senior government, regional government, municipalities. We were all in the room learning together, working together, sharing. It truly was a team approach. We were outcome-oriented. Our mantra was create livable communities and protect stream health,” explained Richard Boase, a principal player for event delivery during the period 2006 through 2011.

“In 2008, the recession was not a great time to introduce Living Water Smart. We knew that rather than spread ourselves too thin, we had to hunker down. We focused our efforts on legislative reform and what would become the Water Sustainability Act. Living Water Smart was broad sweeping. The Province did not have the capacity to implement everything at once. We had to put our investment in what was needed badly…an update of the legislative framework. The Partnership showed that they were able to fill a gap with the convening for action program,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

“The Water Balance Model and Green Infrastructure partnerships were formed within a year of each other, in 2002 and 2003. The Water Balance Model Partnership came first because this scenario modelling tool was developed as an extension of the Stormwater Guidebook. Our initial successes raised awareness and interest such that the UBCM leadership gave us a platform at their 2003 UBCM convention. This resulted from the advocacy of Gibson Mayor Barry Janyk. Kim Stephens asked Chilliwack’s Dipak Basu to help tell our WBM story,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“Housing should be about building homes that people can afford in communities that work. We should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and be seduced by simplistic solutions. There is a relationship between infrastructure services, open space, employment, etc. All those things are supposed to be brought together in plans and reflected in development decisions. And they are not anymore. I want to do what I can to help the current generation of decision makers understand what it is about regional planning that has got us to this point,” stated Ken Cameron.

“The Partnership for Water Sustainability hosted an inter-regional and intergenerational gathering. We had representation from five regions in southern British Columbia. We brought together alumni and current local government staff to engage each other in roundtable group discussions. Some of our ambassadors suggested that we host focused regional forums on specific areas of concern. Some believe field visits similar to the Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series in the 2000s can again lead to further cooperation and sharing,” stated Rémi Dubé.