This article makes a case for incorporating a community-based monitoring program based on Environment Canada's nationally recognized Canadian Community Monitoring Network model. The authors note that current monitoring programs in the oil sands are inadequate as they are primarily controlled by developers' environmental impact assessment licence requirements; "collaborative follow-up is not occurring effectively." Moreover, because the monitoring programs are industry lead, there is a significant lack of trust in the reliability in the monitoring process. A gap analysis demonstrated that there is currently inadequate community involvement in the design of monitoring programs following regulatory approval; scientific and traditional knowledge are not sufficiently integrated and Aboriginal communities are absent from the design of monitoring programs; lack of volunteers for monitoring; lack of scientific research aimed to address specific Aboriginal concerns about cumulative effects. The authors recommend the implementation of the Canadian Community Monitoring Network model as it best reflects the "value base of all area residents, [and makes] the data more trusted in overall management decisions concerning cumulative effects." It is further argued that the integration of scientific approaches and traditional ecological knowledge is essential, as knowledgeable locals will notice potential impacts more quickly than scientists who live elsewhere.