CBC News is in possession of a document that says the federal government is preparing for court challenges of the Navigation Protection Act

CBC News is in possession of a document that says the federal
government is preparing for court challenges of the Navigation Protection Act, the organization reported. The legislation was part of the controversial omnibus budget bill of 2013, changing significantly waterways used by First Nations people, among other users. In total, 98 per cent of rivers and lakes in Canada are now not protected, leaving people and groups no option but to go to court to challenge development that impedes navigation. “The new (Navigation Protection Act) does not define navigability,” reads an Oct. 18, 2013, ministerial briefing note CBC News obtained through Access to Information. “A determination of navigability by (Transport Canada) for a given project remains an opinion that may ultimately be challenged in the courts as a matter of statutory interpretation. The fact of navigability can only be established through a court of law.”