WISE member Maurice Dusseault is serving on a Committee of the Council of Canadian Academies exploring the environmental impact of shale gas development in Canada.  The committee has met several times and is working with the CCA to develop a policy guidance document in this important area.  Shale gas development is going forward in Alberta and British Columbia, but has been indefinitely placed in a moratorium position in Quebec, since the last provincial election there.

More information about the CCA initiatives may be found at:

http://www.scienceadvice.ca/en/assessments/in-progress.aspx

In addition to his service to the CCA, Maurice is a Senior Scientific Advisor to the Alberta Department of Energy, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, and the Alberta Geological Survey.  Recently, he agreed to chair a committee for the Alberta Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development to examine new drafts of regulatory requirements regarding the protection of shallow groundwater resources in the development of shallow coalbed methane deposits.