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Proficiency Testing

REDEFINED

LabStats is OCWA's upgraded inter-lab program, designed to comply with Proficiency Testing requirements under ISO 17043:2023, for evaluation of respiratory viruses in wastewater matrices.

December 2020

Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) retains Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) to develop and implement an ongoing inter-lab program to support its Wastewater Surveillance Initiative (WSI) 

April - August 2021

OCWA develops technical guidance (Protocol for Evaluation of RT-qPCR Performance Characteristics) to align

performance criteria for WSI laboratories

Protocol for Evaluations of RT-qPCR Performance Characteristics

January 2022

OCWA's validated sample splitting method published in ASCE's Journal of Environmental  Engineering; 

Protocol updates released

Journal of Environmental Engineering

August 2022

OCWA contributes to Royal Society of Canada's Policy Briefing "Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in Canada"  

Royal Society of Canada Wastewater Surveillance Expert Panel

Summer 2020

Canadian Water Network (CWN) leads the first inter-lab study for COVID-19 wastewater surveillance in Canada

Canadian Water Network Inter-Lab

January - February 2021

First samples collected and distributed to inter-lab participants

November 2021

Omicron pandemic wave overwhelms COVID-19 clinical testing capacity in Ontario and many jurisdictions worldwide

July 2022

Inter-lab services expanded to serve Canadian wastewater surveillance laboratories with the support of Public Health Agency of Canada National Microbiology Laboratory (PHAC-NML), interlabs.ca was born

March 2024

OCWA applies to Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for accreditation as an ISO 17043:2023 certified Proficiency Testing Provider, labstats.ca was born

Our team works across the "Dish With One Spoon Territory." The Dish With One Spoon refers to the treaty between the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, that bound them to share the territories and protect the land in what is now southern Ontario (from the Great Lakes to Quebec, and Lake Simcoe into the U.S.). It is our collective duty to take care of the Dish that nourishes all of us; only one spoon is used without knives because we must be peaceful.  Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers, have been invited to this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.  ​Our PT program originated within the Dish With One Spoon Territory, originally supporting labs across this region to improve and protect public health. Guided by the treaty's principles of peace, friendship, and respect, we strive to foster collaboration in our PT programs, ensuring mutual benefit and shared responsibility.

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by Ontario Clean Water Agency

Corporate Headquarters:

 

2085 Hurontario Street, Suite 500

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

L5A 4G1

​

LabStats@ocwa.com

PTP-Accreditation-Symbol_ENFR_edited_edi

ISO/IEC 17043:2023
Accredited
Proficiency
Testing Provider

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©2025 by OCWA.

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