You may not know it, but you have the right to paddle almost every river, stream, and creek in the country. If a waterway is big enough for a kayak, grab your gear—by law, you can travel it freely. The Navigable Waters Protection Act, instituted in 1882, gives special protection to all such waterways. Bridges, booms, dams, or causeways across waters are subject to an approval process that takes into account navigation and the project’s effect on the environment.

From a historical perspective, it’s not surprising that free water travel is enshrined in law. Canada’s story is inextricably tied to waterways. From First Nations people who relied on canoes for travel and hunting to European trappers and voyageurs exploring the vast wilds to modern-day canoeists and kayakers, rivers and creeks were the original Trans-Canada Highway. Even today, it’s possible to paddle and portage from coast to coast (that gruelling portage over the Rockies notwithstanding).

But this piece of Canadian heritage is in real danger of being weakened.

In the 2009 budget bill, the federal government has included amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that would erode its protection of unobstructed navigation and waterway health. The environment minister could eliminate the act’s protection for some waterways and also exempt certain projects—including dams, bridges, excavation, and dumping near waterways—from environmental assessment. The changes could leave important waterways without much protection for recreation or ecosystems.

Could the NWPA benefit from some improvements? Certainly. In fact, the parliamentary committee on transport, infrastructure, and communities reviewed the NWPA last year and recommended some changes. But hiding changes in an omnibus budget bill, with no opportunity for public input, is not the way to do it.

Indeed, the committee recommended that changes be made in consultation with stakeholders. Burying changes in the budget leaves almost everyone—communities, recreational paddlers—without a voice.

If Parliament fails to remove the NWPA changes from the budget implementation bill and fails to consult Canadians further before passing the amendments, you lose your right to participate in the discussion, and we all lose out when the protection of our waterways is weakened.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is calling on Parliament to remove the amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act from the Budget Implementation Act 2009. We’re urging Parliament to consult the public in a separate process. Canadian waterways are our heritage. A change to the NWPA deserves the light of greater public scrutiny.

Sue Novotny is the communications manager for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.