21st Annual Kipawa River Rally is Cancelled

NEWS RELEASE


PWGSC Forces Cancellation of Paddling Festival
OTTAWA—A group of people involved in a grassroots river advocacy organization based in the Province of Quebec say they have been forced to cancel a 20-year-old canoeing and kayaking festival by the federal department of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
Peter Karwacki, vice-president of the non-profit group Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa (Les Amis) says PWGSC bureaucrats have completely ignored their legal obligations to engage in meaningful public consultation on the environmental impacts of a project to rebuild a federally-owned flood control dam at Laniel.
“For over two years we have made every effort work co-operatively with PWGSC,” Karwacki said. “In our view, PWGSC bureaucrats have lied, hidden information, acted arbitrarily and stepped well beyond the legal boundaries of their mandate.”
Les Amis cancelled their annual white water festival for 2007 after PWGSC published advertisements in newspapers in the Témiscamingue region in May announcing that participants at the 2007 festival would be denied access to the entire top section of the river near Laniel.
“We can draw no conclusion other than that PWGSC is punishing us for standing up for our legal rights as Canadian citizens,” Karwacki said.
The cancellation of the 2007 river festival is just the latest round in Les Amis' efforts to have PWGSC recognize and respect decades of navigation history on the Kipawa River. Over a year ago Les Amis launched a $100,000 legal case against PWGSC and Transport Canada over navigation rights, seeking a judicial review in federal court, of decisions made by the two government departments in 2005 and 2006 related to the Laniel Dam replacement project. That application for judicial review goes before a judge in Federal Court in Ottawa in October.
The Kipawa River Rally is the second oldest recreational white water festival in eastern North America, and has attracted thousands of white water enthusiasts to the Témiscamingue region from as far away as the U.S.
Ironically, PWGSC, the owner of the Laniel Dam, actually co-operated with the Kipawa River Rally for 18 years by adjusting its management regime for the Laniel flood control dam to ensure that sufficient water would be available for the festival. All that ended in 2005 when PWGSC announced their plan to rebuild the Laniel Dam.
The volunteer group has written a very strongly worded letter to Michael Fortier, Minister for PWGSC complaining about the actions of his staff.

Press conference details

June 15, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Doug Skeggs, Director of River Preservation, skeggsd@sympatico.ca,www.kipawariver.ca
Peter Karwacki, Vice President, Les Amis de la rivière Kipawa,613-738-1338 x 3229


Media Advisory – Photo and Interview Opportunity

Les amis de la Rivière Kipawa announces the cancellation of the 21st Annual Kipawa River Rally due to punitive actions of PWGSC.

What:
The 21st annual Kipawa River Rally originally scheduled for June 23 and 24, 2007 at Laniel, Quebec, has been cancelled due to a two-year-old dispute between a grassroots volunteer organization and Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Who:
The following individuals will be attending the announcement and will be available for interviews:

• Peter Karwacki, Vice President: Les Amis de la Riviere Kipawa
• Francois Diebolt, Treasurer Les Amis
• Doug Skeggs, Director of River Preservation, LARK
• Jim Coffey, Director/coowner, Esprit Rafting


When: 10:00 – 10:30 a.m.Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Where: Parlamentary Press Gallery of Canada, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
Charles Lynch Memorial Conference Room, room 130S, Center Block.

Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa (Les Amis), a non profit organization registered in Quebec, claims PWGSC is contravening the Navigable Waters Protection Act by denying navigation access to the Kipawa River as part of the federal department's efforts to rebuild a 100-year-old flood control dam at Laniel. The Federal Court Case, a judicial review of the Federal Environmental Assessment will be heard in Federal Court October 23, 2007


-30-


The 21st annual Kipawa River Rally originally scheduled for June 23 and 24, 2007 at Laniel, Quebec, has been cancelled due to a two-year-old dispute between a grassroots volunteer organization and Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa says PWGSC is contravening the Navigable Waters Protection Act by denying navigation access to the Kipawa River as part of the federal department's efforts to rebuild a 100-year-old flood control dam at Laniel.
"We know this dam has to be rebuilt," said Peter Karwacki, vice-president of Les Amis. "It is old, it has had a very serious leak for many years. PWGSC should have replaced this dam a long time ago. We fully support the effort to rebuild this old dam, but PWGSC is breaking the law by arbitrarily and unnecessarily denying us navigation rights on the Kipawa River in the process."
Les Amis cancelled their annual white water festival for 2007 after PWGSC published a advertisements in newspapers in the Temiscaming region in May announcing that participants at the 2007 festival would be denied access to the entire top section of the river near Laniel.
The cancellation of the 2007 river festival is just the latest round in Les Amis' efforts to have PWGSC recognize and respect decades of navigation history on the Kipawa River. Over a year ago Les Amis launched a $100,000 legal case against PWGSC and Transport Canada over navigation rights, seeking a judicial review in federal court, of decisions made by the two government departments in 2005 and 2006 related to the Laniel Dam replacement project. That application for judicial review goes before a judge in Federal Court in Ottawa in October.
"There really are two issues in our legal case," Karwacki said. "One is the common law right of public navigation, protected under the Navigable Waters Protect Act. The other is how federal government departments meet their obligation to conduct meaningful public consultation on a project that will clearly have a significant environmental impact."
The Kipawa River Rally is the second oldest recreational white water festival in eastern North America. The extremely difficult decision to cancel the 21st annual Kipawa River Rally was made by the executive of Les Amis de la Rivière Kipawa Friday June 1 after the failure of several serious attempts to engage the owners of the Laniel Dam, Public Works and Government Services Canada in positive and co-operative discussions that would have allowed Les Amis to host a festival this year.
Ironically, PWGSC, the owner of the Laniel Dam, actually co-operated with the Kipawa River Rally for 18 years by adjusting its management regime for the Laniel flood control dam to ensure that sufficient water would be available for the festival. All that ended in 2005 when PWGSC release a large amount of water one week before the festival and then provided a significantly reduced water release on festival weekend, according to Karwacki.
"They have already had a very serious impact on our event," Karwacki said. "Last year was our 20th anniversary celebration and it was almost a disaster because of the actions of PWGSC. We can't continue to run this festival on a volunteer basis if this is the way we are going to be treated by the owner of this dam. They may own the dam, but they don’t own the river."
The cancellation of the annual event, which has attracted thousands of paddlers to the Temiscaming region from as far away as the U.S., will have an impact on the local economy and that is unfortunate, says Karwacki.
"It is not huge but this festival does bring money in," explained Karwacki. "Small businesses clearly benefit from this event. And every penny of the money raised at the festival goes directly back into efforts that benefit the Kipawa River."
As an example, Karwacki cited the 2000 partnership project with the Municipality of Laniel to build a seven-km hiking trail along the river. Les Amis and the paddling community raised about $35,000 for the trail project.
"This is a tragedy," Karwacki said. "It is very unfortunate for all concerned. We're going to try to come back next year, but at this point we don't know. If the behaviour of PWGSC does not change, that is going to be very difficult. Instead of trying to support this event, they are doing everything they can to destroy it."
Les Amis has written a strong-worded letter to the Minister for Public Works and Government Services Canada advising him of the cancellation of the festival and putting the blame for that completely on the actions of his staff.