Bringing the right science and data together
Discover how the Open Science and Data Platform facilitates access to authoritative science and data for the Regional Assessment in the Ring of Fire Area
Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire area presents significant development opportunities alongside complex environmental, social and economic considerations. Rich in critical minerals and encompassing extensive wetlands, waterways and wildlife habitat, the region is also home to First Nations communities with deep connections to their lands and waters.
The Regional Assessment in the Ring of Fire Area, led jointly by First Nation Partners and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), is building a shared understanding of current conditions and examining how potential future development could affect the region. The assessment is drawing on scientific, technical, Indigenous and cultural information to examine environmental, health, social and economic conditions, potential development scenarios, cumulative effects and information gaps. This requires access to a broad range of authoritative science, data and knowledge.
Making relevant science and data easier to find
Long before a decision is made on a major project, practitioners and proponents need access to reliable information to understand existing conditions and the broader regional context. The Open Science and Data Platform (OSDP) helps meet that need by providing a single point of access to authoritative science, data and regulatory information from federal, provincial and territorial government sources.
To help meet the information needs of the Regional Assessment, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) developed the OSDP’s Resources to Understand Cumulative Effects in Northern Ontario curated collection.
The Government of Canada’s Open Science and Data Platform (OSDP) features a curated collection entitled Resources to Understand Cumulative Effects in Northern Ontario. The collection brings together geographically relevant datasets, scientific publications and other knowledge resources covering an area defined by several large secondary watersheds in Northern Ontario.
Rather than requiring users to search across numerous sources and systems for relevant information, the collection brings together 126 geographically relevant datasets and 33 scientific publications covering five major watersheds surrounding the Ring of Fire area: the Attawapiskat, Ekwan, Lower Albany, Upper Albany and Winisk. It also provides direct access to countless related reports, reference materials and other resources to help understand and use the collection in the context of the Ring of Fire Regional Assessment.
Through the Northern Ontario curated collection, users can discover and explore information relevant to many of the questions being considered in a regional assessment. Topics include land cover and wetlands, watersheds and hydrology, wildlife and species at risk, First Nations and community information, infrastructure, mineral development and socio-economic conditions. For example, the Community Well-Being Index provides socio-economic information that can help establish community context, while the 2020 Land Cover of Canada provides nationally consistent geospatial information for understanding the physical landscape.
Together, these resources demonstrate the value of making authoritative information accessible and geographically relevant when examining complex regional and cumulative effects. The platform goes beyond access to individual datasets by allowing users to discover related information and layer multiple datasets together on a map, helping them explore spatial relationships between environmental conditions, communities, infrastructure and development activity across the region.
Supporting an evolving assessment
The Regional Assessment working group recognized the Northern Ontario collection as a useful resource for advancing one of the assessment’s objectives: gathering and providing an inventory of existing data and knowledge. The collection is explicitly referenced in the Regional Assessment’s Interim Report and included in its bibliography. The collection and its relevant datasets are also referenced on the Regional Assessment’s Information Sharing Platform, which provides access to key data, interactive maps, research and other information supporting the assessment.
As new science and data become available, NRCan will continue to update the Northern Ontario collection to maintain its relevance. In this way, the collection helps bring geographically relevant information into a shared regional assessment context, connecting scientific evidence with the environmental, social and economic questions being examined.
Building an information foundation for major projects
“The Northern Ontario collection demonstrates the importance of connecting scientific information with the specific needs of regional assessments,” said NRCan’s Chief Scientist, Ranjana Sharma. “By bringing relevant resources together in one place, we can help practitioners and participating communities explore the evidence needed to better understand regional conditions and cumulative effects.”
This proactive approach to curation is increasingly important as Canada advances major projects. The OSDP’s growing catalogue and many curated collections can help proponents, impact assessment practitioners and other users discover authoritative information relevant to specific regions and assessment needs, helping avoid duplication and supporting more efficient assessment processes.
“By making authoritative science and data easier to find, explore and understand in context, the OSDP helps users better understand the relationships between environmental conditions, communities and development activities, providing a stronger information foundation for assessing cumulative effects and informing future decisions,” Dr. Sharma added.
OSDP Success Stories highlight how the Open Science and Data Platform can help turn access to authoritative science and data into action, supporting more efficient research, planning, assessment and decision-making for proposed development projects across Canada. Each story explores how the OSDP’s growing catalogue, tools and curated content can help users find and apply the information they need.