Gutting The Navigable Waters Act: March 5 Public Event In Calgary

pepper · February 25, 2009

Public Event sponsored by Water Matters and Alberta Wilderness Association

Gutting the Navigable Waters Act: What it means for our rivers

Speakers:

Barry Robinson, Ecojustice Canada

Tony Palmer, Canadian Rivers Network

When: Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 pm

Where: 455 - 12th St. NW Calgary, Alberta

Office of the Alberta Wilderness Association (please park in rear or north of 5th and 12 st NW).

For map:http://albertawilderness.ca/contact.htm

The public is welcome but to ensure we have enough room, please RSVP to info@water-matters.org.

More information:

Proposed amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) threaten the longstanding public right to navigation, including the right to recreational navigation. If the Budget Implementation Act is passed, these changes will grant the Transport Minister an unprecedented discretion to define “classes” of projects on waterways that do not require government approval or environmental assessment (EA). To learn more, attend this free public session.

About our speakers:

Barry Robinson is a staff lawyer in the Alberta office of Ecojustice, formerly the Sierra Legal Defence Fund. Barry has a Bachelors degree in Forestry from the University of Toronto and a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from York University. Barry worked for nine years as a planning manager with Procter & Gamble Cellulose Ltd. (now Weyerhaeuser Canada) in Grande Prairie, Alberta where he was responsible for harvest planning and the environmental planning of forestry operations. In 1985, Barry, along with a partner, established Willow Root Environmental Ltd., a consulting company that provided environmental services to government and industry. In 2003, Barry entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria. After graduating in 2006, Barry articled and worked as an associate in the energy and environmental law practice groups of the Calgary firm of Macleod Dixon LLP prior to joining Ecojustice in August 2008.

Tony Palmer "lives and breathes" paddling and participates in all types of recreational kayaking and canoeing. He owns a canoe & kayak store in Calgary, he teaches kayaking and canoeing at Mount Royal College and he is a river safety instructor. He writes a regular column for KANAWA, Canada's Paddling Magazine. Tony is an active volunteer with local, provincial and national paddling/environmental associations, including the Canadian Rivers Network.

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Danielle Droitsch

Executive Director

Water Matters Society of Alberta

Phone: 403-538-7785 (Calgary)

Email: danielle@water-matters.org

Web: www.water-matters.org

Michelle writes:

Here are a number of links to other discussions of this topic:

I Speak For Rivers

Protecting Canadian Navigation Rights

http://www.ispeakforcanadianrivers.ca/

Facebook groups

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54338330449

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/214743?m=65de8f5c

The hearing has taken place on:

Monday, Feb 23, 2009

06:59 PM - 10:02 PM

3 Hours 2 Minutes

About 7 minutes into the video is the five minute opening statement from Greg Farrant, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. You have to get through about six minutes of procedural wrangling to get to the beginning of the hearing.

http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Parlvu/ContentEnt...ntEntityId=4032

Fast Forward Weekly - Calgary

Fight for your right to navigate

Published February 19, 2009

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-vie...-navigate-3328/

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

The amended Navigable Waters Protection Act: Our Research

(Please note a number of links to related stories, on the right hand side of the screen)

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2009/02/11/resea...-act-bill-c-10/

David Suzuki Foundation

10,000 Canadians Needed Immediately for Important Job!

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Oceans/Take_Act...asWaterways.asp