During the summer, The duty crosses the waters of the St. Lawrence River, this giant “almost ocean, almost Atlantic” that Charlebois sings. Today, a plea written with four hands to defend the need for a river on an equal footing with men and women.
According to the Quebec declaration adopted in 2011 by the Quebec Social Innovation Network (RQIS), social innovation is a new approach aimed at responding more adequately than existing solutions to a well-defined social need. This new approach would produce a measurable benefit for the community as a whole, not just for a few individuals.
The proposal made by the International Observatory for the Rights of Nature (OIDN) and the Saint-Laurent Alliance — which the OIDN set up with the aim of conferring legal personality and rights on the Saint-Lawrence River — constitutes a model of social innovation. It thus promotes the protection, preservation and enhancement of this great waterway and its ecosystems. Intended to rethink the way in which we interact with the river, this proposal also calls on various actors: the provincial and federal levels, the municipalities, but also civil society, the Aboriginal peoples, as well as scientists and now artists.
This innovation is intrinsically linked to the theory of change according to which structuring projects make it possible to encourage positive behavior on the part of several actors, in this case the users of the river. The recognition of a legal personality and the guarantee of rights for the river could in fact generate responsible behavior on the part of other stakeholders, such as farmers, companies, citizens, whose activities significantly affect the river and its biodiversity.
Indeed, the attribution of fundamental rights to the river could seal a societal pact making it possible to tackle its main threats: pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity. Such an allocation should also be supplemented by the establishment of a committee of guardians whose role would be to monitor the application of public policies and existing national laws, while strengthening the capacity of indigenous riverside communities and non-aboriginals to act for the preservation of this backbone of the territory of Quebec.
The result of a consultation between various actors who supported the initiatives of the OIDN and the Alliance Saint-Laurent, two bills were presented on May 5, 2022. The first was tabled in the Assembly by MP Émilise Lessard-Therrien, from Québec solidaire. This deposit was accompanied by songs and the sound of the drum by the Innu poet Rita Mestokosho, but also by members of the Alliance and a cohort of children from Saint-Pie-X school who represented the budding guardians of the St. Lawrence. The second bill was tabled by Deputy Alexandre Boulerice, of the New Democratic Party (NPD), who had recently made a plea in favor of the river before the United Nations. Mr. Boulerice also signed a text that launched this series.
If these bills are adopted, the river and its ecosystems will therefore have the right to exist, to be preserved, restored and protected. Provoking a truly paradigmatic change, the adoption of these bills would change our relationship of domination over the river and its watershed. This socio-legal innovation could thus promote a culture of respect for the river and lead us to recognize our ties of interdependence. It could also lead to new policies aimed at tackling the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity that the St. Lawrence and its tributaries are currently experiencing.
The arts community has just joined the OIDN and the Alliance to promote the protection of this immense living environment that is the St. Lawrence River. Inspired by his musical direction of the River Symphony, the OIDN invited Yannick Nézet-Séguin to support the Alliance Saint-Laurent. The maestro accepted this invitation and is now one of those who support this innovative project. In the same way, Dominique Paul, an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist who is also interested in the degradation of the environment and the decline of biodiversity, has also given his support to the Saint-Laurent Alliance.
The attribution of legal personality and rights to our river will make it possible to think of a new legal, social, political and even artistic framework circumscribed by the river and its hydrographic network as well as our relationship to the river. Are we not, ultimately, all from this river?