As a follow-up to the proposed changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act we mentioned the other day, several paddlers have organized an 8 day odyssey down the Kipawa River in Quebec and then down the Ottawa River to Parliament Hill.

They are hoping raise awareness of the threat to navigation rights on all Canadian rivers.

"Canada was discovered, explored and developed through the act of navigation," said Doug Skeggs, Director of River Protection, Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa. "Navigation is part of what it means to be Canadian. It's part of our heritage and part of who we are as a people and a nation. These proposed changes to the NWPA will gut this important 125-year-old piece of legislation, erase our heritage right of navigation and will have a serious impact on the environment in Canada."

The Paddle to Parliament will have four paddlers on the route at all times. People are invited to join in along the route as the paddlers make their way from the Kipawa River in Northern Quebec, 500 km down the Quebec-Ontario boundary on the Ottawa River, through the Ottawa Valley to Parliament Hill. Paddle to Parliament has been organized by Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa, a non-profit group whose mission it is to protect the Kipawa River, and by Esprit, a Pontiac-based whitewater rafting, canoeing and kayaking company that is taking a leadership role in environmental initiatives.

The expedition will culminate with a Vigil for Rivers on Parliament Hill, Sunday, June 8, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to celebrate National Rivers Day in Canada.

More info can be found at www.kipawariver.ca.