The Coalition
The Coalition
The COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE NAVIGATION is a pancanadian non-profit organization. It was formed in 2013, by a group of residents of various lakes concerned about the environmental impact of using powerful, unconventional boats on Canada’s waterways. Mr. Will Dubitsky was the founding president until 2019.
The COALITION NAVIGATION brings together citizens, associations and organizations concerned about this major issue. It relies on the work of volunteers. It is funded by individual donations. To date, the COALITION NAVIGATION conducted the following activities:
Funding and dissemination of a scientific knowledge assessment
Funding of research and dissemination of their results
Meeting with representatives of the Department of Transport of Canada
Our Team
Daniel Piché
President and Representatives
Description
- Pianist, arranger and conductor
- Member of the Coalition’s Board of Directors since 2014
- Founding member and vice-president of APPEL des Sables from 2007 to 2011
- At Lac des Sables in Ste-Agathe, instigator of the following actions :
- Municipal by-law on shoreline regeneration
- Reduced speed and regulated zones on Lac des Sables
- Code of ethics
- Manager responsible for the Ste-Agathe launching ramp since 2007 for :
- Development and implementation of a boat control system
- Construction and implementation of a washing station
- Implementation of an official nautical patrol and reduced and regulated speed zones
- Organizer and coordinator (with Will Dubitsky) of Laval University’s study on Sediment Resuspension of Sediments – CaseS of lac Masson and lac des Sables and active participant in this study
Denise Cloutier
Vice-President and Public Relations
Description
- Denise Cloutier is now Executive Director of the Laval Water Interpretation Centre, having been a member of the Board for seven years. The centre’s mission is to promote the protection and responsible use of water
- Before accepting this position in 2017, she was a consultant with her company Arrimage.Com Inc., dedicated to improving the efficiency of integrated water management in Quebec
- She acted for nearly 20 years as a municipal councillor and has a B.A.A. HEC, specialized in Marketing / International Management and a Master’s degree in Environment from the University of Sherbrooke
- Involved in culture, agrotourism, and environment, she helped found three organizations, including COBAMIL (Thousand Islands Watershed Council), which she has chaired since 2010 Member of the Strategic Council of the Upper St. Lawrence and Greater Montreal Regional Concertation Table for the Integrated Management of the St. Lawrence and on the Boards of Directors of the Quebec Watershed Organization (ROBVQ) and Laurel Lake Association
- She is involved in the Board of the Coalition Navigation for Responsible and Sustainable Navigation as a delegate of ROBVQ
André Philippe Hébert
Director and Engineering Advisor
Description
- Since 2007, member of the Board of Directors of the Laurel Lake Association, responsible for the Environment Committee
- President of the CCE (Environmental Advisory Council) of the Municipality of Lac-des-Seize-Îles from 2015 to 2018
- Member of the Board of Directors of the OBV (Watershed Organization) COBAMIL (Council of the Watershed of the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles) when it was created in 2010
- Life member of the CIEAU (Water Interpretation Centre in Laval)
- President of the OBV RPNS (Red, Small Nation and Salmon Rivers Watershed Organization)
- Vice-President of Arrimage.Com Inc. (Environmental and Civil Engineering Firm)
- Since 2015, on the basis of mandates as needed, civil and/or municipal engineer in support of the Municipality of Wentworth North in the Laurentians
- RDMI Issue holder and mentor for the AquaHacking Challenge on the Rivière-des- Mille-Îles
- Graduate in Civil Engineering, specialized in « Municipal and Road », Master of Transportation, Continuing Environmental Training
Sonja Behmel
Administrator & Research
Description
- Renown limnologist, Sonja Behmel has dedicated the past 15 years to research, innovation and training of the next generation of scientists in the water sector, notably as scientific coordinator at Agiro and associate professor of the Laval University and INRS. To promote her vision of integrated and sustainable management of water resources, she founded WaterShed Monitoring and its European subsidiary, WaterShed Monitoring Europe
Jean-Charles Pelland
Administrator
Description
- Jean-Charles Pelland is a postdoctoral researcher for the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Bergen (Norway) in the framework of the Quanta project, which studies quantification as a bio-cultural phenomenon.
- His first postdoctoral fellowship was completed at the New College of the Humanities (London, UK) in partnership with McGill University and focused on empiricism and psychologism in the foundations of mathematics.
- He has also been a lecturer at the Université de Moncton and Université Laval, in addition to teaching at the Cégep of Sherbrooke and the Cégep Marie-Victorin, in addition to being a lecturer in philosophy and humanities at the federal penitentiary in Cowansville.
- In addition, he has been president of the Association des Résidents du Lac Nicolet for nearly 10 years and is co-president of Saint-Bruno en Transition. He completed a term as Quebec’s representative on the federal council of the Green Party of Canada and 2023, where he served on several committees.
Johanne Gauthier
Director & Public Relations
Description
- Waterfront resident on Lac de l’Achigan from 2003 to 2023. Since 2004, member and director of APLA (Association for the Protection of Lac de l’Achigan) and President of APLA from May 2009 to August 2021. Among her achievements, she was an active participant in the implementation of several municipal by-laws such as :
- Shoreline regeneration
- Implementation of a code of ethics and the INFO LAC leaflet
- Regulation on the systematic emptying of septic tanks
- Implementation of a washing station, obligation for all boats to be washed before launching and obligation for all motorized boats to be equipped with an oil recovery device (known as « booms»; or bilge sponges)
- Implementation of a municipal nautical patrol
- Implementation of effective actions to combat cyanobacteria, eurasian watermilfoil and eutrophication of water bodies
Joanne Sarrasin
Administrator
Description
-
Joanne Sarrasin, who holds a PhD in Education with a specialization in Andragogy from the University of Montreal, has held several prestigious positions throughout her career, including Dean of the Faculty from 1994 to 1998. After her term, she became Vice-Rector of Human Resources and Student Life. Retired since 2001, she is also President of the Association for the Preservation of Lake Magog in Estrie. In June 2024, she joined the Coalition for Responsible and Sustainable Boating to continue working on the protection of aquatic environments.
Maxime Wauthy
Administrator
Description
- Fifteen years ago, Maxime left his native Belgium and fell in love with Quebec, where he discovered his calling: to dedicate his career to preserving the province’s numerous lakes. After earning his doctorate, Maxime now works at Agiro, where he channels his energy into protecting the water resources of the Saint-Charles River watershed.
Mounya Touré
Administrator
Description
-
Mounya Touré, a graduate in Environmental Studies from the University of Ottawa, is deeply committed to environmental protection. Passionate about the preservation of natural habitats, she seeks to contribute to meaningful change. With a strong interest in the Coalition Navigation’s mission, Mounya joins the team to actively participate in efforts to protect aquatic ecosystems.
Marie Pinsonneault
Administrator
Description
- A resident of Lake Patrick in Entrelacs, Marie Pinsonneault is an avid enthusiast of all forms of boating. Whether through water skiing, swimming, or kayaking, she is a strong advocate for the harmonious coexistence of lake users. For the past three years, she has served on the board of directors of APELP, where she leads a committee on responsible boating, with a flagship project planned for 2025.
- Marie has always been deeply involved in the boating world. She was a board member of the Quebec Water Ski Federation and chaired the “Wakeboarding” committee. In the 1980s, she founded and directed the Lake Pontbriand Water Ski School in Rawdon, where she developed an innovative safe boating program. Her leadership in these organizations demonstrates her dedication to safe boating practices.
-
In parallel with her boating involvement, Marie has also had a distinguished career in human capital. A specialist in leadership development and executive recruitment, she continues to serve on several boards, including the National Institute of Sport (INS), where she is beginning her fourth term.
Our Values
Rigor
We favor an approach based on rigor in both our scientific research and our recommendations. We are known for the methodological rigor, professionalism, meticulousness and thoroughness we bring to each of our interventions.
Responsibility
In the exercise of our functions and the achievement of our objectives, we are. Through honesty, transparency and respect, we are able to build trusting relationships with our various stakeholders.
Transparency
To make informed decisions based on scientific research, we are committed to full disclosure of information in a manner that is accessible and understandable to all. Our transparency makes us fully accountable for the reports and research results we produce.
Our Mission
The mission of COALITION NAVIGATION is to assure that motorboat activities on Canadian waterways are consistent with the need to not exceed the environmental tolerances of each waterway by
1
Proposing new science-based federal legislation standards which would be applied with the help of bathymetric maps
1
Allowing municipalities and other local governments to exceed the federal standards
1
Assuring collaboration with provincial governments in the application of the new federal legislation and, where applicable, municipal regulations.
The Challenge
Communities from across Canada are unable to find environmental solutions within the current regulatory framework that applies to navigable waters. For most communities or regions, attempts to reach a consensus failed to adequately address the matter of environmental tolerances. And with each year, the numbers of problematic motorboats on Canadian waterways increases without any solution in sight. We are unable to address the environmental impact issues because the federal law which applies, the Canada Shipping Act is out of date and voluntary codes of conduct give rise to irresolvable community debates. Within the current federal regulatory framework, communities are powerless to protect the environment associated with the impacts of motorboats.
Our Objective
The objective of our Coalition is to end the current anarchy on Canadian navigable waters stemming from the dated Canada Shipping Act. The Act primarily concerns safety, the minimization of obstacles to navigation and the rights of navigators. As such, it is ill-suited to address environmental issues and can only be applied to environmental considerations in exceptional circumstances via a process that can go on as long as 6 years.
Get Involved
To achieve our goals, the COALITION NAVIGATION invites citizens, scientific researchers, legal advisors, user associations, municipalities as well as regional and provincial governments to support the COALITION NAVIGATION.
Take a look at our 2024 annual report
Our Partners
