Policy and Legislation

This story, written by Ottawa Riverkeeper staff, was originally published by Our Living Waters. It highlights the challenge of unclear Radioactive Waste Policy in Canada, what we have done on the issue, and why it is important for water advocacy groups to get involved.

Ottawa Riverkeeper has been tackling the issue of nuclear waste in our watershed for many years. What have we been doing, and why will this year be important? In this update, we explore the history of the issue, how it is changing, and what we are doing about it.

With the federal election looming, we thought it would be a good time to share Ottawa Riverkeeper’s main areas of concern, to inspire you when considering who to vote for.

Since 2014, Ottawa Riverkeeper and other groups have been working hard to have triclosan banned from Canadian products. In October 2020, new legislation came into effect limiting the use of Triclosan. We are disappointed in this outcome, but there is cause for optimism.

On July 8th, 2019, Ottawa Riverkeeper heard of large numbers of dead fish downstream of the Lièvre River. One year later, we look back at this incident and worry that not much has changed.