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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Environmental groups and Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington are raising the alarm about changes to federal legislation which reduce protection of water bodies.

Most of the territory's lakes and streams will no longer be protected under the Navigable Waters Protection Act once a second federal budget bill, tabled last month, passes through the House of Commons.

Bevington has questioned the changes twice in the House of Commons since the new bill was tabled on Oct. 18. However, he said it is ultimately up to the people in the territory to stand up for their waterways.

"I've raised problems with the minister. I'll continue to do that," Bevington said. "What I hope to do is actually raise some concern in the NWT as well. Our legislature has to speak up for our interests in this as well."

The Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) ensures that industrial and residential development on certain lakes, rivers and ocean shores does not interfere with people's ability to use those waterways for transportation.

In the NWT, Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River and the Great Bear River will remain protected under the proposed changes but the vast majority of waterways will no longer be protected under this act.

The Dene Nation, Ecology North, the NWT chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Alternatives North issued a joint statement last month expressing concerns for this and other federal laws coming down the pipe that will affect the territory.

According to the statement, the federal government is pulling out of the environmental protection business without providing support to territories and provinces to pick up the responsibilities.

"There are certain things that are unclear and there are things that are very clear. For example, it's very clear that the federal government is moving out of the business of regulation," said Shauna Morgan, a volunteer with Alternatives North.

Christine Wenman, a spokesperson for Ecology North, said the problem is endemic.

"What's important and what's unprecedented and what's kind of shocking is how many changes are happening so quickly without opportunity for debate," she said. "Decades of work and negotiation are being undone in the stroke of a pen in Ottawa."

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