Canada has 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater stored in its lakes, rivers, aquifers and glaciers. But much of that water is under threat from development of Canada’s other great resources: forestry, oil and gas and mining are particularly harmful to freshwater.
Freshwater is the basis for many Indigenous cultural practices, such as salmon harvesting, which is one of the reasons Indigenous activism often centres around protection of water.
Canada also has the longest coastline in the world, touching three oceans. These waters hold huge cultural significance for Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents, and often form the flashpoints for controversial industries and practices, such as salmon farming, offshore oil and gas development and shipping (particularly shipping of LNG and crude oil). Canada recently announced a $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, and has a stated goal of protecting 10 per cent of its oceans by 2020.
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