E-7570: Petition to the Government of Canada — Canadian Petition Tracker
Canonical URL: https://petitiontracker.ca/petition/e-7570
Track petition E-7570 — "Petition to the Government of Canada" sponsored by Bruce Fanjoy. 8 signatures and counting. See signature growth trends and provincial breakdown on PetitionTracker.ca.
Petition Text
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
• Canada maintains exclusive legislative authority over "Navigation and Shipping" under Section 91(10) of the Constitution Act, 1867, enforces the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, and holds infrastructure mandates on the river via Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC);
• The Agreement Respecting Ottawa River Basin Regulation (1983) mandates integrated reservoir management to provide flood protection, yet the framework allows designated operators (including Hydro-Québec, MELCCFP, OPG, PSPC) to manage water levels without independent oversight, and a severe escalation of catastrophic flooding over the past decade underscores the need to audit historical operational strategies against modern climate change;
• Water Management Plans, such as the one governing the Carillon powerhouse forebay, define critical minimum levels, yet operators routinely fail to maximize pre-freshet drawdowns to these specified physical limits; and
• The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board lacks statutory enforcement authority under the 1983 Agreement, leaving the basin without independent compliance oversight.
We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to mandate an independent, third-party review of the Ottawa River’s management framework to:
1. Audit operator compliance with the Agreement Respecting Ottawa River Basin Regulation (1983) over the past fourteen years to evaluate the operational balance maintained between flood mitigation and power generation;
2. Investigate operator adherence to Water Management Plans regarding mandatory reservoir drawdowns to physical minimum limits prior to the annual freshet; and
3. Publicly report on the necessary regulatory and legislative changes required to establish permanent federal oversight and permanently end operator self-regulation.