This text is part of the special section Philanthropy
In 2015, Nan-B de Gaspé Beaubien and her husband, Philippe, were shocked when their grandchildren came to see them and told them they wanted to devote themselves to the cause of water. Like most Canadians, to these philanthropists, this abundant element in the country seemed something mundane, taken for granted. They changed their minds and understood that the preservation of water is an essential issue for the survival of humanity.
If, for more than 20 years, the Gaspé Beaubien Foundation has made itself known for the support it has provided to families in business, under the impetus of the fourth generation, it has turned in recent years to water protection.
“We are very close to our grandchildren,” says Nan-B de Gaspé Beaubien. When they came to stay with us, we always started the day with a thought for the day. Among the values that we wanted to pass on to them, a key value for us is that those who have received a lot must give a lot. And they understood that. »
However, like many other young people who are attached to environmental causes, the new generation of Gaspé Beaubien has developed a passion for water. Canada has 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves. Canadians are the champions of water waste. Moreover, over the coming decades, water will become a major geopolitical issue. Aware of all this, the grandchildren of Gaspé Beaubien convinced their grandparents to turn their Foundation’s efforts towards water conservation.
“We have to realize the value of water,” says Nan-B de Gaspé Beaubien, who herself has spent a lot of time reading about the subject. Since this shift, $10 million has been devoted to water conservation by the Foundation.
A common good
“The Gaspé Beaubien Foundation has chosen not to distribute small amounts here and there, but to invest substantially in a single organization,” explains Dominique Monchamp, Executive Director of the Foundation. Water is a complex cause, which requires complex solutions. What we decided to do is to bring champions around the project to create a new non-profit organization, which will be really oriented towards the values and the objectives that we want to put forward. So we founded AquaAction, which has its own board of directors, to which the Foundation makes donations. »
For the moment, AquaAction is concentrating its action on North America.
“One of our biggest problems is the fact that Canadians are completely oblivious to the importance and value of water by taking it for granted,” says Nan-B de Gaspé Beaubien. Canada is not playing the global leadership role it should have in water conservation. »
For the Foundation, the objective is not to exert control, but to work with the players in the community.
“We work in collaboration with groups and organizations, in particular the Quebec Coalition for Healthy Waters, which brings together 12 major Quebec organizations working to advance water policies and promote dialogue with government authorities. We fundamentally believe that water is a common good and that it must be managed by the State. That said, we are aware that technological innovation is not sufficiently at the heart of water management in Canada and that this must change,” says Dominique Monchamp.
AquaAction’s goal is to become a Canadian leader in water conservation while putting innovation, technology and entrepreneurship at the service of the cause. Its most important program, AquaHacking, launches innovative technology companies that develop a multitude of solutions to protect or save water in various contexts.
AquaHacking is a ten-month emergence program for pre-startup companies, which targets young shoots before they even enter their incubation phase. Its goal is to seek out the best scientists, engineers, administrators who have relevant and innovative ideas involving technology for water. The program helps them turn their idea into a business or non-profit organization.
“It’s fascinating to see how passionate this generation is and wants to find solutions,” says AquaAction president Soula Chronopoulos enthusiastically.
A political action
The message to take away from the actions of the Gaspé Beaubien Foundation and AquaAction is that water is a universal good that must be taken care of.
“There are no borders when it comes to protecting water,” says Dominique Monchamp. The Trudeau government recently announced $650 million in a water action plan, notably for the protection of the Great Lakes. It is a step in the right direction. »
In addition to supporting AquaAction, the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation devotes part of its budget to mobilizing the population and coalitions in order to maintain a dialogue with governments.
“We sit on the steering committee of the Canadian Coalition for Clean Water with the goal of starting a dialogue on public policy,” says Ms.me Monchamp. This coalition represents more than 60 organizations across Canada. We have asked the federal government to invest $1 billion over five years, to revise its freshwater law and to create an independent Canadian water agency to coordinate all departments and relations with provinces and the United States for water management. The creation of the agency was recently announced. »
In Quebec, the Blue Fund has just been announced, with 500 million. Manufacturing companies that use water in their operations will have to contribute to this fund.
“We humbly try to play a unifying role by being involved in these coalitions to enable stakeholders to work together instead of working in isolation,” says Dominique Monchamp.
For Nan-B, one concern remains: to raise public awareness of the importance of water.
“Canadians are not sufficiently aware of these issues,” she laments. It is an environmental issue, but also a public health one. »
This content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.