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NWPA Background
The Navigable Waters Protection Act
The Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) is one of Canada’s oldest laws. It establishes the right of every Canadian to use the rivers of this country for transportation or recreation.

The NWPA was enacted in 1882, but the public right to navigate predates the act, predates confederation, predates even the Magna Carta and goes back thousands of years to early Roman law.

The NWPA reinforces our ancient right of navigation by placing legal obligations on anyone who wants to develop anything on waterways that would impede navigation. Under the NWPA, anyone who builds structures on, in or over waterways in Canada, must consider impacts on navigation and the marine environment, must consult with the people who would be affected by the loss of navigation and must apply for a permit from Transport Canada, which can then trigger an environmental assessment with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

As it stands, the definition of navigable under the NWPA means that any waterway that can be navigated in a canoe qualifies as navigable, which is entirely appropriate considering this country’s canoeing heritage.

This is the only law in Canada that protects your right to boat on this country’s rivers. It has protected this right for 126 years and has been used to take fights against the industrial development of rivers all the way to the Supreme Court.