Local Leader: Max Finkelstein, canoeist, author, river conservationist
I first met canoeist, river spokesman and author Max Finkelstein roughly 16 years ago. Since then, he’s willingly answered questions I’ve had concerning research for various articles and books I’ve written. I most recently chatted with him last year on September 27, at Victoria Island after the six-day Algonquin Canoe Protest Against the Proposed Uranium Mine in Frontenac County.
Peter Dudley
Max at the 2007 celebration of Canadian Rivers Day in Ottawa
An intrepid, passionate canoeist, Finkelstein’s canoe explorations of Canada are modern legends. His expeditions demand ingenuity and courage – as when he retraced explorer Alexander Mackenzie’s historic paddle across North America (recounted in Canoeing a Continent: On the Trail of Alexander Mackenzie).
Finkelstein’s passion for rivers doesn’t stop at personal quests. He has dedicated his recent working life to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS), which protects Canada’s rivers. At the end of February, Finkelstein retires from being CHRS’s Communications Officer (and, as Max says, “River Guy”).
Max kindly accepted my invitation to be interviewed before retiring in February.
Question (Katharine Fletcher): How did your love affair with rivers start?
p. Answer: (Max Finkelstein): I spent a lot of time fishing with my Dad in leaky rowboats as a child growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario and in Ottawa. This instilled a life-long need to live by water. I recall seeing people paddling canoes on the Rideau River, and thinking to myself how I would like to paddle. I liked the way canoes glided easily and quietly on the water, unlike our clumsy rowboats.
Q: How did your fascination with the explorers who opened up Canada’s hinterland start?
A: My interest in the exploration of Canada did not really start until I had an assignment with Parks Canada Historic Parks Branch to work on an exhibit on the Fur Trade. The research got me thinking about what it would be like to re-trace those routes. I realized that the canoe was my way to experience history as well as nature first-hand.
Q: When did you become a river advocate?
A: When I was conducting that research, I realized the canoe was a way to tell a story and convey a message. So I combined all these elements and took a long inexpensive canoe trip from Ottawa, paddling some 1,000 miles around Ontario. This was my “Clean Water Dream” canoe trip, to raise awareness of the issues on Ontario waterways, and to tell people how to live better by water through speaking with the press, making presentations and the like. When I finished, I was a river advocate.
Q: When did you join the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS)?
A: Previously, as a trained biologist I held a variety of jobs with National Parks… park interpreter, northern park planner, interpretive biologist, writer. I knew about the fledgling CHRS from my Parks’ cubicle neighbour, Michael Greco, and that a river called the Thelon had just been designated a Canadian Heritage River. I had already made plans to take the summer off to guide on the Thelon River, and when I asked how I could help, he asked me to do a report on the heritage values of the Thelon. I did, and was offered a position as Communications Officer with the CHRS.
Q: What protection does the CHRS give a river?
A: CHRS has two main objectives: to recognize, honour and promote Canada’s river heritage through the designation of Canada’s outstanding rivers; and to protect and enhance Canada’s river heritage, by ensuring Canada’s leading rivers managed sustainably.
But it’s more than that. CHRS’s goal is to foster an ethic of river stewardship in Canada, not just for designated rivers, but for all rivers. Because it has no legislative authority, it is voluntary participation, partnership, cooperation and community involvement that drive it. It is within this spirit of trust and goodwill that governments pledge to work in partnership with the public and one another to build a System that reflects the diversity and beauty of Canada’s rivers – and to include the best examples of Canada’s natural and cultural river heritage.
Q: How many rivers in Canada have been given heritage designation?
A: Thirty-nine rivers have been nominated and 36 of these have been designated to the CHRS, totalling 9,969 kms.
Q: Why isn’t the Ottawa River designated?
A: The Ottawa is a “no-brainer” when it comes to Canadian Heritage Rivers. No system that recognizes the outstanding rivers of Canada can be complete without it. But it’s a slippery political question. Being the boundary between two provinces is one complicating factor. The recent “non-involvement” of Quebec with the program is a big problem. Now the process is going ahead with only the Ontario portion of the river being considered. Heritage designation puts an umbrella of an extra duty of care over the river, and that can scare people with big development and resource use plans. It should.
Q: As you know, West Quebec (particularly Pontiac) suffers from lack of economic drivers. Do communities bordering heritage rivers economically benefit from CHRS designation?
A: It should help. That is, unless you want your communities to benefit from economic activities that degrade the values of the river (e.g., uranium mining). Designation hopefully inspires communities to recognize and develop ways to interpret these values, which should attract tourists, and to develop industries in ways that do not negatively affect the river.
The Ottawa will be nominated as CHRS for its nationally significant cultural heritage values that are uniquely Canadian. Although it does have significant natural heritage values not currently represented by the CHRS, hydro dams have altered the natural state of the river. Similarly, although the Ottawa is famous for its world-class white-water paddling, these values strengthen, but do not form the basis, of its nomination. However, that doesn’t mean these values will be ignored in the required management strategy prior to designation.
Designation won’t prohibit uranium mining, (for example). However, it gives an extra duty of care to ensure that the river is valued, managed sustainably, and that all existing legislation to protect its waters are enforced (so I hope it would help discourage uranium mining in the watershed).
Q: During retirement, do you have plans for more expeditions and books?
A: Yes, I’ve already forwarded a book proposal to a publisher … However, my main project will be the “Education Of Isaac”. My son is 8, and I foresee many paddling excursions, river trips, and time helping rivers. I will get back to my roots in biology, do basic river inventory work for the City of Ottawa and, actually work wherever rivers call. I want to work towards some big visions of the future for the Ottawa River here in the capital. Ottawans live in a city blessed by wonderful river resources. How we treat these can put Ottawa up on the world stage as a city with vision (and ‘swagger’…). And of course, there are many rivers I want to paddle: so many rivers, so little time!
p. Q: Max, thank-you for speaking for our rivers. Best wishes for your future work – and play!
Katharine Fletcher is a freelance writer and author of five guide books to the National Capital Region and Quebec. Contact her at chesley@allstream.net.
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