This is what I have sent to my MP and some various other org.
We need to make a stink about this so make your own or copy this and send it.
This could effect your access rights to the areas you love.
Jeff
Found out about this this week and I am troubled that no paddling groups in the country were not contacted.
Here is the response the person who found out about it got from the feds.
Time is short on this. We need some noise.
web link:
http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/view ... hp?t=29875
Quote from Erhard"
had sent an email to the person responsible for getting the consultations out, asking what paddling organizations have been contacted. None have. They even have the nerve suggesting I do their job, and they give me five days to do so. I will be sending a letter back requesting to rectify that omission, and an extension to the deadline.
This is what they sent:
Quote:
The letter inviting stakeholders to send written briefs to the Committee was sent to a variety of organizations, but I do not think there were any paddling organizations included in the list we contacted.
You will find attached the letter in question. Please fell free to forward copies of this letter to the organizations you had in mind. However, you will note from the Committee procedings that the study is well under way and therefore, the deadline for submitting a short brief (no longer than 5 pages) would be Monday, May 26th, 2008. If a brief does not require to be translated (i.e. if it is already provided in both official languages), we would accept receiving it no later than Wednesday, May 28th, 2008.
Cordially,
Maxime Ricard
"end quote
RE: Navigable Waters Protection Act.
This act and how it is changed could affect all outdoors people to their access of rivers, and lakes and crown lands and I don’t think it will be good, considering the Federal government did not contact any of the National Canoeing groups let alone whether they contacted any of the various other outdoor groups that this type of legislation could effect.
I am 52 and have been an outdoors person all my life, from a rec. paddler to International racer and back to a rec. paddler who enjoys the vast water routes we have and the easy access this act has let us have in the past.
Here is a quote from Merv Tweed MP for Brandon-Souris web site:
http://www.mervtweed.com/PR%20-%20Water ... 202008.htm
Tweed leads the way to change waterway act
BRANDON – March 13, 2008- Merv Tweed, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris, is leading the review to make critical and long-overdue changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
“This act controls every waterway in Canada, no matter how small, and has caused significant delay in the approval of new infrastructure,” said Tweed.
The Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities Committee, which Tweed chairs, will review the act and will be tabling a report on the findings and recommendations for change in June.
“I believe that refocusing the act will provide a more timely and predictable process for the review and approval of critical infrastructure projects,” said Tweed.
The Navigable Waters Protection Act was written in 1882 to protect the public right of navigation in Canadian waters. Unfortunately, this act does not allow for the ability to exclude anything “constructed or placed on, under, over, through or across” a navigable water, as everything may interfere with navigation to some degree.
Industry and provincial, territorial and municipal governments have, for years, been requesting changes to the NWPA to reflect current needs and respond to the increased volume and variety of uses of Canada’s waterways.
The existing backlog of approvals is impeding economic growth and the timely development and refurbishment of critical transportation infrastructure that, in turn, has the potential of creating a backlog for the implementation of projects under “Building Canada Plan”.
What scares me is the last paragraph. Having seen the list of “green” hydro project sites in Ontario that are mostly on crown lands could be fast tracked.
Here’s a link to the report for the Ontario Water Power Assoc. and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources prepared by Hatch Acres.
http://www.owa.ca/pdfs/news/Waterpower_ ... ov2005.pdf
Having paddled some of the rivers in this report I know they have major fish runs (Agawa 2 sites, Lake Superior P.P.)
Others seem to be on the bait and switch – we will let you have this stretch of river (section of Ottawa that the rafts run) and they will take other sites not used so much.
The biggest problem that I see is the efforts of us, the outdoors people are scattered.
The fishing, hunters, canoeists, and commercial outfitters of the aforementioned groups are all running around spending a lot of time and effort fighting, but getting nowhere.
What I am requesting from you is to get this information out to the various individual and professional groups that you have contact with to help protect our access rights to Canadian waterways.
And with any luck you could challenge them to meet this year and form a coalition that represents the majority of outdoors people.
Please pass this on to any group.
Yours In Paddling and Outdoors.
Jeff McColl