Churchill Member of Parliament Nikki Ashton has presented a bill in the House of Commons to re-add the Bloodvien River, Seal River, Hayes River and Churchill River in Manitoba to the Navigable Waters Protection Act as well as a bill to restore protection to over a dozen of Saskatchewan’s lakes.

Ashton says since 1882 any project that could potentially impact the right of Canadians to navigate Canada’s lakes and rivers was subject to this act.  She says after the government replaced it with a new law fewer than two percent of Canada’s waterways are now protected.

Ashton adds recreational fishermen, trappers, loggers, eco-tourists and cottagers are among the Canadians who will feel the impact of this reckless change and our lakes and rivers are a public resource that must be protected for future generations.