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Canada Act giving legal capacity to the St. Lawrence River

Canada
National
Submitted in 2022
Statutory law
Personhood, Rights Of Nature
Saint Lawrence River
Freshwater Ecosystem
Yenny Vega, President, Intl.Observatory of the Rights of Nature (a legal NGO) and Mr. Alexandre Boulerice, Canadian MP, New Democratic Party
Government, NGO

Summary

Yenny Vega Cárdenas, president of the NGO International Legal Center for Nature’s Rights, and Mr. Alexandre Boulerice, a Canadian member of parliament from the New Democratic Party, developed and introduced a bill to the House of Commons in Canada that would give the Saint Lawrence River the capacity of a natural person to protect its rights. The bill says giving the river rights is necessary to guarantee the river maintains a healthy environment for the benefit of future generations. The bill would establish a St. Lawrence River Protection Committee, which would be responsible for acting on behalf of the River. The committee would be made up of 11 members appointed by the Governor in Council, including members recommended by the governments of Ontario and Quebec, members recommended by relevant indigenous governing bodies from Ontario and Quebec, and three members appointed by NGOs in Ontario and Quebec. “It is necessary to recognize that all Indigenous peoples who are living on the borders of the St. Lawrence River and who have navigated it over millennia are the traditional custodians of the River and ensure its protection, the enhancement of its rights and its best interest,” the bill says.

To see the original legal document(s) for this initiative, click the links below:

Canada Act giving legal capacity to the St. Lawrence River [PDF]

To see other supplementary information related to this initiative, click the links below:

NDP - NDP tables historic bill to protect the St. Lawrence River
Earth Law Center - Rights for the Saint Lawrence River
St. Lawrence River's rights should be recognized

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