NVCA support recommended for AWARE’s Nottawasaga River request
A staff report to directors of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority recommends a resolution to request that the federal government include the Nottawasaga River in the Navigation Protection Act.
The board meets Friday February 28 at the Tiffin Conservation Area. The meeting, which is open to the public, starts at 9 am.
Clearview and Essa townships have already passed resolutions backing the move, after presentations to their councils from AWARE Simcoe board members Kate Harries and Anne Learn Sharpe about the petition the organization started last year.
Link to petition (please sign!)
Presentations have also been made to Wasaga Beach, Collingwood and Springwater councils, and their decision is awaited.
The following are extracts from two reports, the first from Byron Wesson, NVCA Director Land Operations/Stewardship, the second from Michael Wynia, . For full reports, scroll down to Report 2/14 in the NVCA Feb. 28 agenda)
From the Wesson report:
The proposed changes regarding the lack of regulation in the Nottawasaga River watershed has the potential to place our watershed municipalities and the NVCA at risk of court challenges, and greatly increases the uncertainty for any project undertaken with the potential to impact waterway navigation. The inclusion of the Nottawasaga River to the listing of navigable waterways would avoid this potential impact and uncertainty.
… For the past 35 years the NVCA has and continues to publish and promote a brochure that highlights a 75-kilometre canoe route down the Nottawasaga River from Highway 89 to the shores of Nottawasaga Bay in Wasaga Beach. Considered as a premium family canoe outing and enjoyed by thousands of recereationalists every year, the main Nottawasaga River route is now complemented by two newer destinations being the Mad River and Willow Creak as they wind through the Minesing Wetlands. This entire canoe route network is considered to be of economic and cultural importance to our watershed. Ensuring unencumbered recreational and educational opportunity for future generations is paramount. The lower reaches of the Nottawasaga River provide extensive power board transportation for the community of Wasaga Beach and 1000s of cottagers/residents.
… There are (2014) no immediate budget implications. However, over the long term there may well be increased expenditures to the NVCA if the Nottawasaga River is not covered under the Navigation Protection Act.
As noted in the Township of Clearview’s staff report, the pro-active protection of navigability ensures the safety of residents and supports the local hospitality and tourism industries which continue to have significant growth potential and significant local and regional economic benefits. The absence of a regulatory approach could place watershed residents at risk and result in the NVCA and watershed municipalities in danger of court challenges to any activities undertaken along the Nottawasaga River and its tributaries.
From the Wynia report:
Prior to the changes, regulatory approval was required for placement of structures or construction work in any waterway. Following the changes, such regulatory approval requirements are limited to only 100 lakes and 61 rivers representing a very small percentage of the country’s waterways. The requirement to consider impacts on navigation has not been eliminated by this alteration to the legislation. Instead the onus now falls on:
-Those undertaking activities to ensure that they do not adversely affect navigations, and
-Those with concerns about a project to pursue those concerns through common law.
While this will have the effect of significantly reducing costs to Transport Canada by eliminating the vast majority of required approvals, it creates some potential concerns for both those undertaking activities as well as those that may have a concern with respect to those activities.
Rather than a proponent receiving assurance from the federal Government that their activity is acceptable and they can proceed with some level of comfort based on that approval, proponents must now satisfy themselves that their project is appropriate and then hope that their project is not challenged through the courts.
… For those whom have concerns about the continued navigability of a waterway, there must now be a reliance on self-policing or public policing. The public can no longer rely on the fact that any project has had some levelof review to ensure that the public’s right to navigability has been protected. This means that anyone having concern will now have to pursue those through the courts. Such private enforcement is an extremely onerous and costly process for those seeking simply to protect a right which currently exist. Another problem is that there may be a lack of awareness of activities along waterways with concerns becoming apparent only long after construction has taken place.
… The provincial and municipal levels of government have a variety of legislation and regulations which are indirectly associated with construction in waterways. Although the matter of navigation continues to be governed by federal legislation, there will likely be considerable pressure on the lower levels of government to indirectly deal with these issues in the absence of the federal regulatory framework. Costs associated with protection of navigation in the vast majority of Canada’s waterways will therefore not only be shifted to proponents and the public, but may also be shifted to lower levels of government.
The Nottawasaga River has played a crucial role in the history of Canada. This waterway was a key travel corridor for First Nations as well as in early settlement. Navigation along the Nottawasaga River was also a critical and deciding factor in the War of 1812. The River continues to provided a recreational boating resource both for motorized and non-motorized use by recreationalists and supports the hospitality and tourism industries within its watershed.
A pro-active protection of the navigable rights is warranted given the economic significance of this resource. While this would require that Transport Canada continue to regulate the watercourse, the new legislation does provide for cost recovery for this service. A reasonable application processing cost would be preferable over a reactive courts-based process in resolving any potential disputes regarding this important waterway. Proponents of projects along the waterway would also have the assurance that their project would meet appropriate requirements and could proceed with legal certainty.
… The absence of a proactive regulatory approach would place the municipality at risk of court challenges to any activities undertaken along the Nottawasaga River and its primary tributaries. Additionally the municipality and Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority could be subject to increased workloads with respect to those seeking to indirectly affect navigational matters in the absence of a regulatory regime. The addition of the Nottawasaga River to the regulation avoids these potential negative consequences.
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