Finally – NWPA hits major media
Okay. I know I’ve been blogging way too much on this NWPA thing recently. Or maybe I’m not. It seems the message isn’t getting out there because it looks like the future of our rivers has become pretty bleak lately.
Well, at least the subject has caught the attention of the main media.
Check out an AFN news release on World Water Day Friday (newswire).
And a CBC Radio “The Current” piece on water, featuring, among others, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Mark Mattson and Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip.
But if you’re like me, still quite confused of how significant this issue really is, and truly second guessing why Canada is removing our ability to protect rivers, then take the time to visit the BC Save Our Rivers site.
If you have any doubt about what’s going on, and what looks like will happen to Ontario’s rivers real soon, and why the federal government pushed changes to the NWPA through in its budget bill without public and First Nations consultation just recently, then just check out the Ashlu video “49 Megawatts” and the video series “Powerplay” on the Save Our Rivers site.
According to the Canadian Rivers Network, “What is happening in BC right now, where rivers are literally being ripped away from people and communities and given to private interests, is an indication where all of Canada may be in a very short time.”
“The removal of the public right of navigation is the removal of the public’s right to be consulted about developments on waterways. It is the removal of the public’s right to access and protect waterways. It is the removal of one of the safeguards in place that ensure our waterways remain publicly owned.”
This is serious stuff. Let’s act together on this one or all of us, all Canadians, will be sorry we didn’t.
