Granting an Ontario River Legal Personhood: Possibility and Future

This paper investigates whether or not legal personhood should be granted to a river in the province of Ontario, Canada, and the feasibility of doing so given its specific legal context. The answer to this research question is reached through the insight gained from three cases, including both civil and common law jurisdictions, in which legal personhood has been granted to rivers. The Whanganui River, Atrato River, and Vilcabamba River cases will be analysed and compared for the purpose of gaining a greater understanding of this relatively novel legal tool and its potential application to rivers in Ontario. This paper considers the cultural and environmental challenges and benefits of granting rivers rights, in each case within their respective legal, cultural, and political contexts in New Zealand, Colombia, and Ecuador, respectively. In each case, different legal mechanisms were used to recognize the river’s rights. These include a court declaration, constitutional amendment, and legislative recognition. The challenges and benefits of translating these mechanisms into an Ontario legal context are discussed and guidance from the insights gained from the cases analysed. Largely for reconciliatory reasons versus the consequent impact on remediating or preventing environmental harms, legal personhood should be pursued for the Wabigoon-English River system in Ontario. Specifically, despite the advantages that the mechanisms used in the other countries discussed may confer, the mechanism best-suited to the granting and protecting of this river system’s rights in the Ontario legal context is legislative recognition. This legislation should recognize the Wabigoon-English River system as a legal person and living entity, as well as appoint ‘guardians’ to act on its behalf and in its best interests. Concomittantly, constitutional recognition of the river’s rights should also be pursued to increase the likelihood of environmental protection and governmental compliance with the legislation.