It is a pleasure to write to you in my role as the interim Chair of the recently established Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects (ICCE), to provide you with the latest information about the Centre. I wish to encourage you to engage as a member of ICCE Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).
 
The Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects was legally incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in November 2019. This was possible due to a funding commitment from the Government of Canada and followed roundtable discussions with a broad group of Indigenous organizations, individuals, and other partners to help lay the groundwork for the Centre’s foundation. 
 
The Centre’s objective is to help build and enhance the technical and scientific capacity of Indigenous communities for cumulative effects assessment, monitoring and management, based on the values of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities to better protect their community’s lands and culture. This will be achieved, in part, by establishing a network of practitioners and potential partners to facilitate the sharing of information and knowledge among communities, developing tools and resources to share and maintain best practices and raising awareness about cumulative effects from Indigenous perspectives.
 
An interim Board of Directors was established with the administrative role of helping to guide the initial activities of the Centre. This included hosting the first Indigenous Forum for Cumulative Effects in February 2020 to introduce the Centre to communities and solicit feedback from participants on the various aspects of ICCE development.
 
We are now establishing an independent Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) which will provide ongoing advice to the Centre on cumulative effects. More information on the roles and responsibilities of the TAC, along with the required qualifications, can be found in the Annex to this letter. Please take the time to reflect on how you or someone else in your community can contribute to the success of ICCE. We would like to receive applications from interested candidates for the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) before October 2, 2020. Applications should include a CV or letter including a description of relevant experience and expertise, as well as the reasons you are interested in being part of this group. Please send your expression of interest as well as any questions you may have to our Executive Director Leea Litzgus. 

Please note that a separate letter is being sent to recruit Directors for the ICCE Board. Information on the Board of Directors is also provided in the Annex, so that you can see the differences between the two groups. It is important to note that while ICCE Board members must be Indigenous, this is not the case for the Technical Advisory Committee. The TAC may include a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who will be selected based on their expertise.
 
ICCE represents a great opportunity for Indigenous peoples to develop capacity and tools, and share information in the important area of cumulative effects. The Centre will support Indigenous people in our continual quest to build healthy and sustainable communities consistent with Indigenous culture and values. For more information on ICCE and on the February Indigenous Forum, I invite you to consult our website at www.icce-caec.ca, which is currently under construction and will be increasingly populated with information in the coming weeks.