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PostPosted: February 26th, 2021, 8:57 pm 
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https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/in-canadian ... -1.5321268

The Magpie River in Quebec’s Cote-Nord was given legal personhood through twin resolutions by the local Innu council and by the local municipality of Minganie.

That united front, along with the river’s fame, makes it a “perfect test case” in Canada for the idea, according to a Montreal organization specializing in this legal tactic.

As a legal person, the river has nine distinct rights and the possibility of having legal guardians, said the groups in a joint press release.

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PostPosted: February 28th, 2021, 7:20 am 
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This is an interesting concept. Hydro Quebec claims they have no plans to dam this river in the next ten years but would not commit to a long term moratorium. Québec's provincial government has so far not officially commented and is now placed in a delicate political situation as they will have to eventually negotiate rights to the river situated on Innu land.

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PostPosted: February 28th, 2021, 9:53 am 
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I must investigate this in more detail. With the federal government and provincial governments effectively wreaking environmental protection and navigable river protection laws, this looks like a novel approach to gaining back some legal ground in protecting our few remaining natural flowing rivers for generations to come. I applaud the ingenuity.

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PostPosted: February 28th, 2021, 1:40 pm 
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Joined: January 8th, 2007, 9:56 pm
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Location: Wisconsin
If a river has the same rights as a person, would the river also have the same responsibilities as a person? For example, can the river be found negligent or charged with a crime?

I’m not asking this to be funny. It is actually a serious legal question. In the U.S. legal system, there is the concept of corporate personhood. With that, the Supreme Court has found that corporations have many of the same legal rights as people, e.g. freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc.

As a result, some are calling for a constitutional amendment declaring that corporations are not people. However, some legal scholars are warning to be careful what you wish for, because declaring that corporations are not people may also absolve them of important responsibilities.

I don’t mean to equate corporations to rivers, but people should be aware that granting rivers legal personhood could lead to some unintended consequences that may in fact be detrimental.


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PostPosted: February 28th, 2021, 7:50 pm 
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Joined: March 15th, 2018, 6:04 pm
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Location: Ottawa
duNord wrote:
For example, can the river be found negligent or charged with a crime?


Imagine that a river is charged with commission of a flood. Sentenced to damning!


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