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Kipawa Case to Supreme Court
On November 14, 2008, Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa filed an application for leave to appeal the Kipawa River navigation rights case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

This will be Les Amis' third venture into Canada's complex and costly legal system seeking something very simple—recognition of the right of every Canadian to travel the waterways of this country, and the right to be consulted fairly when those rights need to be impaired or impeded for any reason.

The public, common law right of navigation in Canada pre-dates confederation. In fact the public right to navigate public waters dates back to Roman law and is enshrined in the laws of most developed countries.

In Canada, the common law right of navigation has specific protection under the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) which became law when Sir John A. MacDonald was Prime Minister of this country.

We are asking the Supreme Court to look at his case because we believe it is incredibly important.

Lower court rulings on this case have muddied the waters on navigation rights in Canada. We need clean, crystal clear navigation 
law in Canada. Canadians need to understand where their navigation rights sit in a legal context.

We are asking the Supreme Court to clarify navigation law at a time when Canadian rivers are extremely vulnerable to alteration and 
development. Everywhere we look, rivers are in retreat. A plethora of small, mini and micro hydro projects are under consideration on 
waterways across the country. No rivers are immune to the pressure of development.

By affirming and protecting the common law right of public navigation in Canada, we ensure that development can only occur after careful consideration of the potential impact on the important, heritage right of access and free passage.

Canada was discovered, explored and developed through navigation. The canoe is a distinctly Canadian icon. Navigation is part of our 
heritage. It is part of who we are.

Learn more about the Kipawa River and Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa's fight to protect it at www.kipawariver.ca.

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