This piece is a guest blog by Geoff Bowie, director and co-producer of the Nahanni River of Forgiveness Documentary. The Nahanni River currently lacks protections as a navigable water that is excluded from the schedule of the Navigation Protection Act. 

A large hand-made boat of moose skin and spruce surges through the white water of the Nahanni River in Canada’s Northwest Territories.  Dene men and women work the oars and rudder, remaking a historic journey through a wild and sacred landscape. Nahanni River of Forgiveness is about climbing out of the ashes of colonialism to build a bonfire of hope for equality, respect, and protection of the earth.

Before you make a big purchase, you want to know how much money is in your bank account (I hope it’s flush in there). Groundwater is like an underground bank account, yet we currently manage it with a blindfold on. We lack a full understanding of how much we have or how withdrawals affect the health of our surface rivers, lakes and streams.

Are you a freshwater defender with experience in community engagement and organizing? Let's talk. We're hiring an Organizer in BC! The position is open until we find the right person—so get your application in ASAP!

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This blog is the first of a 2-part series on flooding in Canada.

It’s springtime in Canada. For many, spring brings a sense of relief that the cold, short days are behind us and gratitude for the warm sun on our skin and the sweet fragrance of blossoming trees. However, this contentment may also be marred with ambivalence: worry that the wet days of spring may precipitate flooding. 

And flooding it is. It’s only early May and already there’s flooding in the east and flooding in the west.

It is often said that water knows no political boundaries. The same waters that float a canoe, provide water for deer to drink, and for fish to swim. However, the political pen can fail to account for the full value of rivers.

Truth has become an elusive commodity in the era of “fake news”. What used to be scientific fact is now open to speculation. This trend has extended to Canada’s federal environmental laws - in particular to protecting the public’s right of navigation and navigable waters. Navigation safety requires protection from physical obstructions in the water, but also from the dumping of harmful substances, or the dewatering of navigable waters. Federal decisions about projects obstructing navigation would impact the physical, biological, and chemical function of water flows. The link between the environment and navigable water protections should not be up for dispute.