Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. Thanks to the standing committee for inviting back the Council of Canadians. I appreciate the opportunity to continue raising the concerns that I started to raise the other day.
I guess I'll just flag that we had raised concerns about the lakes and rivers that remain unprotected in many of the communities that our 60 chapters are in. We also have many supporters who have expressed concerns about the projects that are threatening navigable waterways in their communities.
In particular, I want to raise concerns about the approvals that the Trudeau government recently put forward for the Trans Mountain pipeline and Line 3 pipeline. Justin Trudeau campaigned on restoring and strengthening many of the freshwater and [Technical difficulty—Editor] but the approvals of these pipelines and of the Site C dam really raise some concerns about the government's commitment to protecting waterways in Canada. Many of our chapters and supporters have expressed concerns about these projects threatening navigable waterways in their communities.
As you likely know, the Trans Mountain pipeline crosses and threatens roughly 1,300 waterways. Oil spills such as the one that happened on the Kalamazoo River impacted navigation on parts of the river, and a nearby lake was closed for two to three years because of the spill, so we are really raising concerns about the potential of spills from the Trans Mountain pipeline and Line 3, as well as the NRG pipeline. These projects were approved with weakened legislation put forward by the former Harper government, and they seriously threaten the local waterways that communities rely on for boating, fishing, recreation, and local tourism.
Local economies rely on healthy and navigable waterways. We urge the standing committee to make recommendations to the federal government to restore and enhance protections for every lake and every river. In particular, we're asking that a new clause be developed so that potential spills or discharges of harmful substances are assessed for their impact on navigable waterways. Again, we're underscoring the importance of respecting and implementing the human right to water as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
I'll leave it there. Thank you very much. We really appreciate the time.