Gone paddlingWe knew we had a right to paddle through the harbour at St. Philips to access the sea. Seems like an obvious thing. The Canadian Department of Transportation also took this position.
The Harbour Authority and the Department of Fisheries took the position the waters were harbour authority property the same as the wharves and other physical infrastructure.
How to resolve? Transport Canada came to the rescue and Fisheries saw the light. What does that mean? It means the harbour authority (and therefore all authorities in the province) can't hassle us anymore over access and we don't have to fight that battle again. We can just go paddle for the pure enjoyment of it.
sometimes you have to fight to keep the rights you already have... good efforts on your part for seeing this one through, buddy.
ReplyDeleteThe issue was to convince Small Craft Harbours and the harbour authority that our position was valid. I'll continue to put-in at the river unless they find some other way to jerk us around.
ReplyDeleteTony :-)
Interesting from a legal perspective; in the U.S. all navigable coastal waters are the property of the Federal Government and navigation on them cannot be restricted by anyone but the Federal Government (usually for military purposes). Where it gets complicated is with land access--the balance between public access and private property is an ongoing thing.
ReplyDelete