The decision grants the river nine rights and potential defenders who are primarily responsible for ensuring that its rights are respected. This is the first such case in Canada.

The announcement was made in Montreal, Canada in collaboration with the International Observatory for Natural Rights (IORN), which prepared the proposals in collaboration with the Alliance. The two resolutions, which are longer than ten pages and filled with references, are based on a number of legal grounds in Canadian and international law and are intended to ensure the conservation of the river.

Commitment to the rights of nature
The initiative is part of a worldwide movement that is particularly active in New Zealand, USA and Ecuador and campaigns for the rights of nature.

Riviere Magpai (Mutsheka-Shipu in Inu language) is an internationally known river with a length of about 300 km. The river is known worldwide for its rapids and white water expeditions. The famous National Geographic magazine made a major contribution to it, ranking it among the ten best rivers in the world, including white water rafting.

Conservation of the river has received regional consent, but the hydropower potential of the waterway has foiled plans to make it a protected area for years by the state-owned power company, Hydro-Quebec.