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Act Now! Canadian Rivers at Risk
Government’s Budget Implementation Act ERASES THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF NAVIGATION IN CANADA.
On February 6, 2009, the federal Conservative government introduced its Budget Implementation Act (BI Act). This Act is in fact an omnibus bill that introduces a series of sweeping legislation changes, including amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA).
The proposed amendments to the NWPA will permanently erase the public right of navigation in Canada and will have serious consequences for the environmental health of Canadian waterways. Under the proposed new NWPA, waterways in Canada will only be considered navigable under the sole discretion of the Minister of Transport.
The amendment also gives the Minister of Transport sole discretion to determine whether or not any proposed project (“work”) on a Canadian waterway will have an impact on navigation. The proposed new NWPA grants the Minister of Transport the authority to change, at any time, the criteria used to assess whether a waterway is navigable or whether a work may interfere with navigation. The four named works (bridges, booms, dams, and causeways) added to the NWPA in 1883 because these structures, by their very nature, interfere with navigation…have been removed.
The government has introduced these changes to the NWPA without consulting with:
- First Nations
- Paddling organizations
- The outdoor tourism industry
- Cottage associations
- River advocacy groups
- Anglers and hunters
- Anyone who uses Canadian waterways for business or recreation
The position of opponents to the proposed new NWPA is:
- The NWPA would benefit from a comprehensive review and amendments to
modernize and streamline administrative processes
- This government does not have a mandate to erase the public right of
navigation in Canada
- These changes to the NWPA will diminish free access to our natural
environment for all Canadians
- These changes to the NWPA will damage Canadian waters
- The government is acting irresponsibly and radically
- The government is not acting in the best interest of Canadians
Canada was discovered, explored and developed through the navigation of our waterways. The public right of navigation a fundamental part of what it means to be Canadian. The Government of Canada, under the pretext of helping the economy, is erasing our right, our history, our heritage.
There is something you can do—raise your voice.
1) Inform yourself and others: Copy and paste this message into an email or a facebook message to your friends and encourage them to take action. Every letter, every phone call and every email will help.
2) Tell the government you care about Canada ’s waterways and that you do not support the proposed amendments to the NWPA or the elimination of the public right of navigation in Canada.
Send an email to the people listed below and express your concerns about the use of the Budget Implementation Act to make sweeping changes to legislation that is intended to protect Canadian waters and the rights of Canadian citizens. Insist that no changes to the NWPA be made before a full and comprehensive public consultation process occurs.
For more information on this issue, please visit:
http://www.ispeakforcanadianrivers.ca
Email:
National Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program, David
Osbaldeston:
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Minister of Transportation, John Baird:
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Minister of Environment, Jim Prentice:
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Opposition transportation critics:
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Opposition environment critics:
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Opposition water critics:
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And don’t forget your own MP. You can find your MP through this link:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Language=E
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