Our team
Lead researchers

Marie-France Fortin
Lead investigator
Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

Eric Champagne
Co-investigator
Director, Centre on Governance
Associate Professor, School of Political Studies
Postdoctoral fellows
Affiliated with the Public Law Centre
Research project:
“The Blue Economy: An Innovative Concept for Irrigating Public Policy? A Cross-Study of the Blue Economy Strategies of the African Union (AU) and Canada“

Lauren Touchant
Affiliated with the Centre on Governance and the Centre on Environmental Law and Global Sustainability
Research project:
“Water governance in the Arctic “
Affiliated researchers
Affiliated with the Public Law Centre
Research project:
“Reflections or Mirages? A Study of Participation and Representation Mechanisms in Water Governance in Canada“

Cristina D’Alessandro
Affiliated with the Centre on Governance
Research project:
“Tools, policies and initiatives deployed by local governments in support to coastal adaptation against sea level rise”
Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Governance Advisor, Associate Practitioner
Research theme:
Integrating human dimensions into complex water governance processes
Our members
We have harnessed the expertise of researchers from different backgrounds and who have different networks to:
- Collaborate in sharing their perspectives on water governance and
- Increase knowledge mobilization by engaging with all impacted actors and facilitating dissemination of research results and exchange of information.
WATER LAW AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Jamie Benidickson (Water law)
Sarah Berger Richardson (Food and agriculture)
Thomas Burelli (International environmental law and natural resources)
Nathalie Chalifour (Sustainable development)
GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC POLICY
Eric Champagne (Multi-level governance)
Anne Mévellec (Urban and local governance and public policy implementation)
Sylvie Paquerot (Politics of water)
Louis Simard (Public participation and public policy tools)
Veldon Coburn (Indigenous water policies and governance)
PUBLIC LAW AND INDIGENOUS LEGAL TRADITIONS
Aimée Craft (Indigenous legal traditions and water law, decolonization of water governance)
Marie-France Fortin (State liability)
David Robitaille (Federalism and rights and freedoms)
Student researchers:
- Loriel Koudoha, Master’s degree candidate in Economics
- Florence Robert, Undergraduate student in Law
- Lilian Mai-Potvin, Undergraduate student in Law
- Simon St-Onge, PhD student in law
- Stéphanie Ouellet, Undergraduate student in Public Administration
- Luke Boal, Master’s degree candidate in Public Administration
- Colince Pougoué Tchameni, PhD candidate in public administration, School of Political Studies and doctoral researcher at the Centre on Governance