Oil Sands Monitoring Program (OSM)

This virtual event hosted by Pathways Alliance/COSIA (Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance) highlighted the history and objectives of the Oil Sands Monitoring Program, including the importance of empowering Indigenous and community-based monitoring.

Ty Veness, Director of Monitoring with Pathways Alliance, shared the OSM vision and mandate.

Vision: Fostering a sustainable future for the Alberta oil sands region through a collaborative and multi-stakeholder-driven regional environmental monitoring program, empowering Indigenous communities, industry, governments, and the wider public to work together in understanding cumulative impacts to the environment while supporting responsible resource development.

Mandate: To evaluate the contribution of oil sands development through cumulative effects monitoring, using multiple knowledge systems. It is a science and Traditional Knowledge based monitoring system to help inform management.

The OSM is overseen by both provincial and federal environment departments. Representatives to OSM governance committees embody the broader voice of their respective communities or organizations through caucuses, including Indigenous, industry, and government caucuses.