Emma Lui
Vancouver-based Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui is calling on people to make submissions to a federal committee now seeking public input on the Navigation Protection Act.
She writes, “This week, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities began inviting written comments on its review of the Navigation Protection Act, formerly the Navigable Waters Protection Act. It posted information on its website on Tuesday [October 4]. The deadline to submit written comments is Wednesday, October 26. …The Standing Committee’s timeline – just three weeks – is a very short timeline and has not been widely publicized. We encourage you to contact the committee to ask them to extend the deadline to at least 60 days.”
In 2012, the Harper government gutted the former Navigable Waters Protection Act in omnibus bills C-38 and C-45. C-38 removed pipelines and power lines from provisions of the Navigable Waters Protect Act while C-45 significantly reduced the Act’s scope over Canada’s waters. The word “water” was even removed from the Act when it became the Navigation Protection Act. Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow has commented, “The Harper government killed the Navigable Waters Protection Act, stripping protections from 99 per cent of lakes and rivers in Canada. Major pipelines and inter-provincial power lines now have the green light to cross over and under more than 31,000 lakes and 2.25 million rivers without federal scrutiny.”
During the October 2015 federal election, the Liberals promised to “review these changes, restore lost protections, and incorporate more modern safeguards.”
Lui highlights these six main points you could raise in your submission:
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Protections must be put back on all lakes, rivers and waterways, so that every lake and every river is protected. -
Reinstate and strengthen federal scrutiny of large pipelines and power lines under the Navigable Waters Protection Act and assessment of waterways under Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. -
Implement strict safeguards for waterways within the framework of the United Nations-recognized human right to water and include a clause in the Navigable Waters Protection Act so that potential spills or discharge of harmful substances are assessed for their impact on all navigable waters. -
Hold thorough public consultations and independent expert panels and incorporate feedback to strengthen the Navigable Waters Protection Act. -
Consult with Indigenous communities and incorporate the obligation to obtain free, prior and informed consent into the Navigable Waters Protection Act so that Indigenous treaty and water rights are respected and a nation-to-nation relationship is truly established. -
Ensure that a consultation process is established that fosters true collaboration between communities and government so regulatory agencies implement community recommendations on an ongoing basis. Develop clauses that establishes a community’s right to say “no” to projects that threaten waterways and empowers communities to create low-carbon, sustainable jobs that safeguard water.
Lui adds, “Right now only written comments are being requested by the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities. It is unclear how many people will be able to present in person to the Standing Committee. …The Trudeau government has only announced public consultations and independent expert panels for its reviews on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the National Energy Board. Protection for navigable waters affects residents and communities from coast to cost. The Trudeau government must also hold public consultations and create an independent expert panel for its review on the Navigation Protection Act.”
The Council of Canadians has just released this 4-minute video calling for water protections to be restored and enhanced. We will also be releasing a report on the Navigable Waters Protection Act that examines case studies like the Energy East pipeline, the Ajax Mine, the Keeyask Dam and the Bipole Transmission Line.
Lui concludes with this caution, “We know that Big Oil and the pipeline industry drove the changes that Harper made and we know they are lobbying the Trudeau government to keep water protections scaled back.”
To submit your comments to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities before Wednesday October 26, please click here.
To learn more about our Every Lake, Every River campaign, click here.
