The Geoffrey F. Bruce Fellowship in Canadian Fresh Water Policy 2023 recipients

Joseph is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Environmental Applied Science and Management program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Joseph’s research focuses on an evaluation of Canada’s policies related to CECs and pharmaceuticals. He aims to evaluate the policy and management frameworks that currently exist in Canada that protect the environment and freshwater under the Canadian Chemicals Management Plan; to explore the degree to which findings from science inform current policies and practices that guide wastewater management; and identify policy gaps related to the protection of freshwater that the scientific evidence related to the impact of pharmaceuticals indicate are critical to public policy.

Through an examination of policies related to pharmaceuticals in other jurisdictions; an analysis of Canada’s current chemical management policies and practices; and an investigation of how the science and risk posed by pharmaceuticals to freshwater is being perceived and interpreted through the viewpoints of major freshwater stakeholders, Joseph hopes to make a significant contribution to freshwater policy.

Yena is a 2nd year Ph.D. candidate in the Environmental Applied Science and Management program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Yena’s research focuses on improving water policies, flood resilience and climate adaptation in Ontario and Canadian municipalities through adaptive water infrastructure policy innovation and planning tools. Her research applies an innovative long-term adaptive infrastructure planning approach from the interdisciplinary scholarship on Decision-making under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU) known as Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP) to water infrastructure and climate change policies to address complex water policy challenges that are increasingly evident at the local level. 

Yena is very grateful for being a recipient of a Geoffrey F. Bruce Fellowship as it will allow her to focus on her dissertation research and ensure her research will make a significant contribution to municipal water and climate change policies in Ontario and Canada. She is committed to becoming one of Canada’s freshwater policy scholars and leaders focused on critical challenges at the municipal level.