Navigable waters Protection Act - water sheds and access rights are at risk!!

[jedi jeffi]

If You want the readers digest version and are ready for action now, go here

http://www.ispeakforcanadianrivers.com/

and sign the petition.

With the fall session looming or a fall election it is urgent to get this out.

please read.

We are outdoor groups and individuals who are looking to help get the word out and protect our Canadian wilderness areas and watersheds and was hoping you could introduce this cause

to your fellow outdoor enthusiasts.

We are neither looking for money or memberships lists,

We are looking to protect the areas we love.

And we are looking for you to present your views to the Canadian government.

The long and short of it is we need help to reach out to all those who enjoy our remote areas and to bring awareness to the blight that the Canadian Water sheds and wilderness are now under.

Changes that have been forwarded on the "Navigable Waters Protection Act" (NWPA) will enable big business to "rape" much of Canada's wilderness of it's resources

with out suffering the consequences of proper environmental protection.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/16/...mned-lakes.html

In the last couple of years the public has learned to use this legislation for the benefit of watersheds, because under the present rules companies and gov't had to notify the public of any

work they would be performing, giving at least a chance for those trying to protect their areas.

This won't be the case if the changes go through and it is bad news for anyone trying to preserve the wilderness areas.

Here is one forum on what is going on in the Nahanni National park.

http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtop...66&start=15

And this is going on all across the country!

I could go on, so I will just post some links for you to follow up with if you want.

I was one of the first outdoors people that sounded the alarm when it was first noticed the outdoor community was not invited to take place in the NWPA committee hearings.

At the 11th hour we managed to get a few regional and Provincial groups to respond but sadly their thoughts were dismissed in the report to parliament.

Since then I have continued reaching out to other outdoor groups to make them aware of the situation.

We now have approx. 50 various groups with notice of the changes listed on their sites.

The response from the Liberal Party is non-existent and the conservatives believe they don't have to worry as it is not in the news enough and can get the changes through.

Scott MacGregor, Rapid Media ­ Founder & Publisher [scott@rapidmedia.com] was the first publisher to get on board,

And my response from John Werring, Salmon Conservation Biologist, Marine Conservation Program, David Suzuki Foundation, Ste. 219 - 2211 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6K 4S2

Quote "We are aware of the review that the NWPA is currently undergoing and we too are concerned about the direction things may be going in. That said, we have not yet formulated our response. We are currently in the information gathering mode and will likely be armed with enough info to take a position in the near future. Stay tuned."

So I hope you can find someone to help us all out.

Jeff McColl

Milton Ont.

Navigable waters court cases ( or why you should be worried about the proposed changes)

http://pages.interlog.com/~erhard/pruling.htm

When reading the Reed case remember he was an elected MPP Ontario and an elected MP from Halton region.

So if you expect the politicians to do the right thing and protect your access rights.....

Pass the word, thanks.

Editorial Financial Post August 9, 2008

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=710684

One forum on NWPA (where this all started)

I am jedi jeffi on the forums.

http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?t=29875

"There are two kinds of people;

those who do the work and those who want to take the credit.

Try to be the first group,

there is less competition."

Indira Gandhi

[Dan Andrews]

Thanks jedi jeffi for the post. It looks like I have some reading to do. Protecting our wilderness has to be done carefully now as there are allot of groups trying to protect these areas by excluding harvesters as well as development. I agree though as soon as the Provincial Government released their fanfare announcment about "protecting" a vast tract of land, I saw the irony. More like excluding the tract from their mass development or resource utilizing plans.

Dan