Boil water advisories and Canda's Indigenous people

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Tue, 2020-12-08 01:42

jerrym

Despite Canada being one of the world's wealthiest nations, its indigenous communities are in many ways still in the Third World, including when it comes to the numerous boil water advisories, which, in many cases, have been going on for decades.

Canada is one of the wealthiest and most water-rich countries in the world. Yet many of its First Nations communities continue to lack safe drinking water — a basic human right. As of February, 61 Indigenous reserves were under long-term drinking water advisories, half of which remain unresolved after more than a decade. These water advisories warn people to either boil water before use, not to consume it, or avoid it altogether because of toxicity levels.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to end these advisories by March 2021. But while the government presented action plans on many important topics during the speech from the throne on Sept. 23, it failed to mention its promise to bring safe drinking water to all Indigenous reserves by next spring.

The lack of acknowledgement in this year’s speech has led some Canadians to doubt the government’s ability to meet the deadline. A senior government source told CBC News that the government is no longer as comfortable with the target date as they were before COVID-19 hit the country. The pandemic has made it more difficult for construction workers to enter communities, potentially resulting in a delay in resolving these critical water supply issues.

“It should not take that long to … improve people’s lives on reserves and in communities when [the government] can do much, much more for regular Canadians at the drop of a hat when something like COVID-19 hits,” said Rob Houle, an Indigenous advocate from Swan River First Nation.

The oldest advisory that’s still in effect today was put in place back in 1995 on the Neskantaga First Nation. This means that the Neskantaga reserve has now been deprived of safe drinking water for a quarter of a century. In September 2019, the remote community declared a state of emergencyafter a water pump failed, leaving some homes completely without running water and others with water that was not safe to use except to flush toilets. One year later, its people still have to boil water for safety.

The severe and prolonged nature of these drinking water advisories is particularly concerning during the COVID-19 pandemic, when access to clean water and sanitation is essential to staying healthy. Around the world, Indigenous communities have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic because of structural inequalities when it comes to water access, health care, and living conditions.

In Canada, these same inequalities are at play, putting Indigenous people at greater risk, especially if the country experiences a second wave. On reserves with an at-risk water supply, people not only have to take extra precaution with their drinking water, but also with water used for sanitation and hygiene. Under the boil water advisory, which makes up the majority of all long-term advisories, communities need to boil all water for at least one minute before drinking, brushing their teeth, or cooking, and should not use tap water to bathe infants, toddlers, or the elderly. The other two advisories — do not consume and do not use — have even stricter guidelines. ...

In its 2016 budget, the government had committed $1.8 million over five years to fix and maintain the on-reserve water and wastewater infrastructure. Now with only half a year left, the government has lifted 88 long-term drinking water advisories, and still has more than 60 remaining.

Over the past two decades, Canada has shown a pattern of overpromising and underperforming on water and sanitation on Indigenous reserves, according to the Human Rights Watch. Whether Trudeau’s government will continue on this path of disappointment is to be determined.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/canada-indigenous-drinking-wate...

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Indigenous Rights

Tue, 2020-12-08 02:01

jerrym

Here's a look at the reasons for the failures of governments to deal with the drinking advisory problem and why the supposed reduction in the number of water advisories under Trudeau is misleading.

Some advisories are so old, explains Dawn Martin-Hill, one of the founders of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University, that “you could have a 16-year-old girl growing up in northern Ontario who has never been able to drink or bathe in the water that they have access to.” ...

With 17 months left on the clock, Trudeau’s government has nearly halved the number of long-term advisories — those in place for a year or longer — from 105 down to 56, according to government data. However, that data has its limitations: it doesn’t include B.C. or any of the territories. And even if Trudeau eliminates long-term boil water advisories by 2021, experts like Martin-Hill say he won’t have actually addressed the issues that led to them — nor will it mean that all First Nations people have guaranteed, long-term access to clean drinking water. So why, despite the federal government’s pledge, do some First Nations still not have potable water, and what exactly needs to be done to get it to them? ...

Canadian governments have spent many years and billions of dollars trying to make clean water flow from the taps on First Nations. At any given time, some 100 First Nations are under water advisories, according to non-profit organization The Council of Canadians.

There are three types of advisories: boil water, do not consume and do not use. The most common is a boil water advisory, in which communities are told they should boil all water for at least one minute before drinking, brushing their teeth or cooking and that they shouldn’t use tap water to bathe infants, toddlers or the elderly. ...

The reasons why water on First Nations isn’t potable varies, impacted by everything from the water’s origin to the pipes through which it flows to how remote the community is. ...

On July 7, Attawapiskat First Nation declared a state of emergency over concerns about disinfection byproducts called trihalomethanes. A few days later, Eabametoong First Nation followed suit, its chief explaining the decision in a press release on July 15: “The discovery of high levels of trihalomethanes, combined with ongoing issues with our water and wastewater systems, has forced us to declare a state of emergency to protect the health of our community.”

READ MORE: Indigenous communities and water crises — is a real solution in the works? In Attawapiskat‘s case, the government earmarked $1.5-million to repair an existing treatment plant and said there are plans for a second system. Eabametoong declared a state of emergency after the water developed a “noticeable foul smell and taste,”however the community has been under a boil-water advisory for nearly two decades. Despite the state of emergency, Eabametoong expected the “long-term” advisory to lift in August because of a new water treatment plant. As of late September, however, the community was still under an advisory. ...

The federal government has a list of solutions to these long-term boil water advisories, including patchwork repairs, permanent repairs, entire new systems, feasibility studies and better training and monitoring. ...

Many have made it clear the existing solutions are imperfect. Take Six Nations, where Martin-Hill lives. The government gave the community money for a treatment plant in 2014, but that was it — “no money to operate it,” she says. With few options, Martin-Hill says the community took the money, built their “state-of-the-art treatment plant and said: ‘We’ll figure it out as we always do.’”

Now, Six Nations has the treatment plant, Martin-Hill says, but people still live without clean drinking water because almost nobody has piping into their houses that can carry in the newly clean water. In other words, only a small percentage of the population gets clean water — everyone else needs to buy big jugs of fresh water. ...

Additionally, the Trudeau government’s promise focused on “long-term” boil water advisories, not short-and medium-term advisories. While many communities have been dealing with these so-called short-term problems for years, Angela Mashford-Pringle, who works at the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the University of Toronto, told Global News in July that such communities are being left out because their advisories are not technically “long-term.”

“Realistically, if you went across the country, quite a few of the 633 First Nations are on either short-term or medium-term advisories,” she said. “I’m not sure if we’re doing much to change that.”

Add in the fact that, while the government may technically be on track for a promise kept, an investigation from Globe and Mail reporter Matt McClearn analyzed more than a decade of government data and found “the overall reliability of the underlying water systems is little improved since the party came to power.”

“There are a lot of systems across the country on First Nations reserves that are in poor shape that aren’t on a boil water advisory, and the risk scores reflect that,” says McClearn.

The risk scores are updated every year, when the government looks at the design of public water systems, how well they are operated and maintained, the associated record-keeping, the quality of the source water and the operators’ qualification to come up with a ranking from one to 10, with 10 being extreme risk. “The risk scores can tell you about systems that have problems that are not on boil water advisories yet,” McClearn says. ...

A big chunk of the reason for these issues is money. First Nations get much less from the federal government than they would from the province if they were a municipality of similar size, says McClearn. “There are a lot of consequences that come along with that. One is that these plants tend to get less maintenance than they need.” And water treatment plants need a lot of maintenance and technical know-how, says Emma Thompson, who did her masters research on water advisories in First Nations. “It’s a really complicated system … especially remote communities would struggle with that,” she says. ...

That these communities are federally regulated stands out, Thompson says — and not in a good way. “It’s the most decentralized way to manage a drinking water system,” she says. “It’s a really disconnected way to manage that kind of system with (provincial) regulations… a one-size-fits-all solution isn’t going to help.”

To understand how this system became so unequal and why First Nations receive less funding for clean water than neighbouring municipalities simply because they are regulated federally and not provincially, you have to go back to the beginning of Canada — to colonization.

When Parliament passed the Indian Act in 1876, it established the reserve system that Canadians know now. In conjunction with existing treaties made between the government and different First Nations, the act established which tracts of land would be for First Nations people so that settlers could set up farms.

The government’s stated goal was to force the assimilation of First Nations people and to make them Canadian by stripping them of their land, their culture, their autonomy and — as seen through the residential school system and the ’60s Scoop — their children. The government didn’t give much thought to the land where they sent First Nations, Martin-Hill says.

“They didn’t put in roads, housing or infrastructure because they thought we were going to die out … they never thought we would still be here. The fact that we are is a testimony to our resilience and our strength as a people.”

Even though colonization “dictates what (First Nations people) have today” with respect to access to clean drinking water, she says it doesn’t have to. “We need to get our land claims settled in a just way and then we would be able to solve our own problems.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/5887716/first-nations-boil-water-advisories/

Tue, 2020-12-08 02:15

jerrym

Unsurprisingly, the Trudeau government has announced that it will not keep its promise to end water advisories for First Nations.

The Liberal government will miss a target it set during the 2015 federal election campaign to lift all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations by March 2021 — in some cases by several years — according to a survey of communities by CBC News.

More than a dozen First Nations said projects to end long-term drinking water advisories won't be completed by the promised deadline.

Five communities reached by CBC News said a permanent fix will take years.

"Frustration sets in at times," said Chief Greg Nadjiwon of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, which has been under a long-term boil water advisory for more than 21 months and had sporadic temporary boil water advisories for many years prior to that. We need [the federal government] to speak out. They're not going to meet that target, but they should be telling the First Nations [they're] not pulling out."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first promised to end all long-term boil water advisories during the 2015 campaign. It was the first major promise on the Indigenous reconciliation file, which became one of the central priorities of the Liberal's governing agenda. The Trudeau government then said it would meet the target by March 2021.

Now, months away from the deadline, many communities say the government is set to break its promise and they're urging Ottawa to step up its efforts. ...

Chippewas of Nawash is one of 41 communities contacted by CBC News that are currently on Indigenous Services Canada's long-term boil water advisory list.

The community, located 57 kilometres north of Owen Sound, Ont., hugs the southeastern tip of Georgian Bay and east side of Lake Huron — some of the largest sources of freshwater in the country. Its traditional name "Neyaashiinigmiing" means a point of land surrounded on three sides by water — yet its members can't drink water from their taps.

The Chippewas of Nawash is receiving over $22.5 million to build a new water plant after extensive lobbying and delays caused by a change in the department's minister, but it will be a while before safe drinking water flows.

Construction isn't expected to complete until 2023, said Nadjiwon. "I think the most important aspect of that promise is that it happens," he said. "We're going to have to bear with it, but there are a lot of First Nation communities in the province that are in dire need of having treatment plants so they can finally have potable water." ...

More than half of the communities still on the long-term drinking water advisory list are in Ontario.

"To me, that speaks to systemic racism," Assembly of First Nations Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald said. "It's not that government individuals are individually racist. It's that the system itself is really not caring." Archibald said the problem stems from chronic underfunding by all governments. She said a sustainable, long-term term financial commitment is needed to address the humanitarian crisis. "This is not just a Justin Trudeau problem," Archibald said. "This is a Brian Mulroney problem. This is a Jean Chretien problem. This is a problem of Stephen Harper. Government after government has failed First Nations."

The community that embodied the Liberal's safe drinking water promise is Neskantaga. The fly-in First Nation of 460 members, which sits 450 km north of Thunder Bay, has been under a boil water advisory for 25 years. It raised its plight during the 2015 campaign on the same day Trudeau made his promise. The Liberal government committed to upgrading Neskantaga's water treatment plant by 2018, but the project is two years behind schedule. With the government's promised deadline looming, Nesktanaga was forced to evacuate last week when an oily sheen was discovered in the reservoir that supplies the community. "It was horrific," Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias. "What [could have] happened if someone consumed it?"

Tests show water is contaminated with hydrocarbons. Moonias said he still doesn't know how the contamination got into the reservoir, but there are leaks in the water distribution system.

Until those leaks are fixed, Moonias said Neskantaga can't start using its new water treatment plant, which is almost operational. Moonias said he doubts the work will be enough to lift its boil water advisory. "We have said all along, for the past over 20 years, that we need a new system," Moonias said. "The system that was forced upon us is flawed. We can't keep doing band-aid solutions. We can't keep on ordering new parts and doing upgrades." Along with Curve Lake First Nation in southern Ontario, Neskantaga First Nation is one of the plaintiffs in a class action suit against the federal government seeking damages and compensation for communities and members who have suffered from boil water advisories.

A class action suit has also been launched in Manitoba by Tataskweyak Cree Nation making similar allegations. ...

Complicating matters, COVID-19 caused project delays in many First Nations that shut down to protect themselves from the virus. Upgrades to the water treatment plant in Nibinamik First Nation, which is located about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, were supposed to start this summer. But Chief Sheldon Oskineegish said the community decided to postpone the work by one year because it didn't have the capacity to accommodate contractors and maintain physical distancing during the pandemic.

Concerns over COVID-19 also pushed back water projects in Sachigo Lake First Nation, about 640 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, which is now negotiating a delay cost with its contractor that could set the community back thousands of dollars. ...

In some cases, the fact that a community is close to lifting its long-term drinking water advisory doesn't mean it will have safe drinking water for all. In Wahta Mohawk First Nation, located nearly 80 kilometres north of Barrie, Ont., the community is waiting for test results to come back so it can lift the advisory on its administrative building, which will then supply water to the rest of the community. A water distribution system does not exist on Wahta Mohawk First Nation because the cost of laying pipe in granite is considered too high for its population of approximately 200 people.

Upgrades to the water treatment plant on the Chippewas of Georgina Island, located about 100 kilometres north of Toronto, are expected to be completed by the spring or summer of next year. However, 30 per cent of the community will still not have access to running water — a distribution system does not exist for the east side of the island.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stefanovich-liberal-long-term-drinking-...

Fri, 2020-12-25 01:45

jerrym

Last week the Neskantaga First Nation came home to their community in Northern Ontario, after two months away, to supposedly clean tap water for the first time in 25 years, which is the longest of any First Nation. However, the 1995 boil water advisory is still in place because of ongoing problems with the water plant.

After two months of living in hotel rooms, members of a remote First Nation will begin returning home today to clean tap water for the first time in 25 years.

But the community's public health officer says the boil-water advisory, which has been in place since 1995, will remain in place because of lingering problems with the water plant's performance — problems the community warns could grow worse without more help from the federal government.

Neskantaga, a Northern Ontario community of about 300 people, has been under a boil-water advisory for longer than any other First Nation in Canada. ...

The results of a 14-day performance test by ALS Laboratories in Thunder Bay, 450 km south of Neskantaga, show samples collected from the reserve's upgraded treatment plant did not contain disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli, according to a Dec. 16 letter to the chief and council from Oksana Ostrovska, the Matawa First Nations Management Tribal Council's environmental public health officer.

But since chlorine residuals in the distribution system have been consistently inadequate and some technical and operational deficiencies are still in effect, Ostrovska said, the boil water advisory is staying put for now.

"The Boil Water Advisory will remain in effect until all operational and technical deficiencies are addressed and the results of further water samples indicate that the water is safe to drink," wrote Ostrovska in her letter to the chief and council.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/neskantaga-boil-water-advisory-water-op...

Wed, 2021-01-13 19:27

jerrym

A list of some of the boil water advisories can be found at the url below:

https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/environmental-health/drinking-water-advis...

Fri, 2020-12-25 23:08

laine lowe laine lowe's picture

One of the biggest problems is having the human resources to operate the water treatment and water sewage systems. The training and possibly compensation for people to run these services in wholly inadequate. A perfectly fine facility can be built but if there is no staff capable of keeping it running including keeping an inventory of replacement parts and required chemicals, the facility is quickly downgraded and becomes inoperational. One Chief asked Indigenous Affairs to provide a professional manager/engineer to their community for 10 years. The federal government deemed that too long and only agreed to 5 years. This is part of the ineffective response. That Chief knows that without that resource, things will not change. Indigenous Affairs also promoted a hub and spoke response for technical support that is not working - where Tribal Councils are funded to staff technical experts that are supposed to go to individual reserves to help with operations, repairs and inspections. That system is not working.

Wed, 2021-01-13 19:19

jerrym

The David Suzuki Foundation has pointed out the failure of the Trudeau Liberals to live up to their promise of ending boil water advisories by 2021 and much of the limited success in ending this problem has come from innovative approaches taken by First Nations.

Drinking water advisories have been a persistent injustice in First Nations throughout Canada. Currently, more than 100 communities go without clean drinking water. Many have faced these conditions for years, or even decades.

After years of pressure from Indigenous and social justice organizations, the federal government committed to ending all long‐term drinking water advisories by 2021. In response, the David Suzuki Foundation has begun monitoring progress on resolving First Nations drinking water advisories. Our first report released in February 2017 in partnership with the Council of Canadians concluded that although work to end DWAs had begun, the federal government was not on track to fulfil its commitment. Assessments from this year’s report are similar.

Despite the problematic prognosis, innovative solutions are emerging from communities leading on ending drinking water advisories. Investments should be made to replicate and expand these successful community-based approaches. This will require the federal government to honour its commitment to relationship-building, trust and sharing decision-making authority.

Invest in and share successful models of First Nations-led approaches to resolving drinking water advisories, including developing and implementing source water protection plans

Ensure expedited, but sound, processes to upgrade systems — including adequate and transparent funding for operations and maintenance

Develop legislation and regulations impacting First Nations’ right to clean water with First Nations as equal partners

https://davidsuzuki.org/project/drinking-water-advisories/?gclid=Cj0KCQi...

Wed, 2021-01-13 19:37

jerrym

In the year since February 2020 the 61 boil water advisories issued at that time has been reduced by a grand total of three to "58 drinking water advisories in effect" (https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1506514143353/1533317130660) as of December 24th 2020, making the Trudeau Liberal goal of eliminating boil water advisories by March 2021 a pathetic joke.

61 Indigenous Communities in Canada Still Need to Boil Water for Safety

The government vowed to end drinking water advisories on Indigenous reserves by March 2021.

Canada is one of the wealthiest and most water-rich countries in the world. Yet many of its First Nations communities continue to lack safe drinking water — a basic human right.

As of February, 61 Indigenous reserves were under long-term drinking water advisories, half of which remain unresolved after more than a decade. These water advisories warn people to either boil water before use, not to consume it, or avoid it altogether because of toxicity levels.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to end these advisories by March 2021. But while the government presented action plans on many important topics during the speech from the throne on Sept. 23, it failed to mention its promise to bring safe drinking water to all Indigenous reserves by next spring.

The lack of acknowledgement in this year’s speech has led some Canadians to doubt the government’s ability to meet the deadline.

A senior government source told CBC News that the government is no longer as comfortable with the target date.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/canada-indigenous-drinking-wate...

Thu, 2021-02-25 19:32

jerrym

Auditor General Karen Hogan today released a report on the boil water advisories in place in indigenous communities, concluding First Nations will continue to live without access to clean water without long-term solutions to address deficiencies in their water systems, despite Trudeau's promise to end them by March 31, 2021. Auditor General Hogan identified a 30 year old funding (or more precisely underfunding) formula as a large part of the problem that has resulted in many reserves facing boil water advisories for more than a decade.

Despite the Trudeau government claim that it was Covid that put the government behind schedule, the Auditor General concluded that many projects to rectify the problem on numerous reserves were already well behind schedule before Covid hit.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed during the 2015 election to eliminating all long-term drinking water advisories on public water systems on First Nations reserves by March 31, 2021.

The auditor general found that since the prime minister made that commitment, 100 advisories have been lifted. But 60 remained in effect in 41 First Nations communities as of November 2020, and some communities won't be able to get clean water out of their taps for many years.

"I am very concerned and honestly disheartened that this longstanding issue is still not resolved," Hogan told a press conference in Ottawa today. "Access to safe drinking water is a basic human necessity. I don't believe anyone would say that this is in any way an acceptable situation in Canada in 2021." ...

The auditor's review of the First Nations drinking water crisis found Indigenous Services Canada's efforts to lift boil water advisories have been constrained by a funding policy that hasn't been updated in 30 years, and by the lack of a regulatory regime that includes legal protections comparable with other communities in Canada. ...

Last fall, a CBC News survey determined the Liberal government would miss its March 2021 deadline to lift all long-term boil water advisories — something that Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller acknowledged in December 2020.

The audit found that COVID-19 pushed the timeline back on some water projects, but Indigenous Services Canada was already behind schedule by the end of March 2020 — before the pandemic hit.

The problems persist despite the Liberal government allocating over $3 billion to resolve the issue.

Hogan recommended the department work with First Nations to proactively identify and address deficiencies in water systems, with a focus on long-term solutions that prevent recurring problems. She also called on the government to commit sufficient funding to operations and maintenance of water infrastructure and pass legislation that includes legal protections comparable with other communities in Canada.

"Until these solutions are implemented, First Nations communities will continue to experience challenges in accessing safe drinking water," the report said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/auditor-general-reports-2021-1.5927572

Mon, 2021-03-08 13:36

#10

jerrym

Indigenous leader Pam Palmater discusses what needs to be done to fix the water crisis among First Nations below, contrasting Trudeau's willingness to spend billions and billions on Trans Mountain with the failure to deal with providing safe water for indigenous people. Incidentally the $7 billion cost she mentions for Trans Mountain purchase and construction has now escalated to $17 billion. (Trans Mountain announced today that the projected cost for construction has risen to $12.6 billion – a dramatic ~70% increase from recent estimates of $7.4 billion, and even greater from the initial estimate of $5.4 billion in Kinder Morgan’s original application. "This cost is in addition to the $4.4 billion purchase price of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, as well as a $600 million reserve recommended to cover potential contingencies, bringing the total cost to over $17 billion." https://www.wcel.org/media-release/skyrocketing-cost-trans-mountain-plac...) The Liberals spare no expense for the fossil fuel industry while leaving indigenous people starving for healthy water. The Liberals always know what to prioritize. Palmater asks "Canada brags about having 84,000 kilometres of pipelines all over the country servicing the oil and gas industry. ... So, where are the pipelines bringing clean water to First Nations?"

Even the number of boil water advisories the Liberals tout is totally misleading as they say there are "only" 60 long-term water advisories on reserves, when there were 1,281 short-term advisories over the same period with 10% of these being for periods of two months or more.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had no problem finding $7 billion to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline -- so where's the money for water pipelines to First Nations?

This week, the Canada's auditor general released her report on whether Canada is providing enough support to ensure that First Nations have access to clean drinking water. The answer was a clear no. This is despite the Liberal government's promise back in 2015 to eliminate all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations by March 2021.

The report entitled "Access to Safe Drinking Water in First Nations Communities" found that federal policies and funding amounts did not align with its promise to end all long-term drinking water advisories on reserve. But the story doesn't begin or end with water advisories. ...

First of all, we would not be in this crisis if our sovereign jurisdiction, laws and governing powers over our traditional territories and resources were respected. Canada has created and maintained this crisis after generations of colonization, genocide, land dispossession and state control of our water sources.

And no, there is nothing in any of the treaties that said the Crown could take all the water, control it, monetize it and then deny clean water to First Nations. But that is exactly what has happened, despite the fact that the United Nations has recognized access to safe drinking water as a human right -- over a decade ago.

Canada continues to act as an outlaw breaking Indigenous laws, its own domestic laws and international laws in relation to human rights. When it comes to the basic human rights of Indigenous peoples, Canada ignores its own so-called "rule of law." The continued failure to provide clean drinking water to First Nations is a prime example of systemic racism.

The Crown first steals Indigenous lands, resources and waterways through fraud, deception and breach of its own laws, and then reserves unto itself jurisdiction in the Constitution Act 1867 over "Indians and lands reserved for the Indians." In other words, the federal government has assumed legal and financial responsibility for water infrastructure on reserve. And this water crisis is the result.

First Nations have been calling on the federal government to address the water crisis for decades. In 1995, Health Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) found that 25 per cent of water systems on reserve posed health and safety risks. In 2001, INAC found "significant risks" to water quality and safety in 75 per cent of water systems on reserve -- a shocking number.

A decade later in 2011, INAC reported to the auditor general that more than 50 per cent of water systems still posed significant risks to community members. In 2014, it was 43 per cent of water systems and here we are in 2021, and the risk level hasn't changed.

At a press conference about the auditor general's report, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said that while they had hoped to address all long-term drinking water advisories, they lost "a construction season" due to the pandemic. One construction season? If we only start the clock from 1995 forward, they've lost 25 years of construction seasons.

The auditor general pointed out that the delays by Indigenous Services were there long before the pandemic and referenced previous AG reports that have consistently raised concerns about the lack of clean drinking water in First Nations.

And let's not forget the numbers here. In addition to the 60 long-term water advisories that are left to be resolved -- half of those have been in place for more than a decade. Imagine an entire decade in Fredericton, Toronto, Winnipeg or Saskatoon without clean drinking water and where there was only enough water to bathe once a week. That would never be tolerated anywhere else for anyone else. The situation would be treated as the urgent crisis that it is.

The federal government's less-than-sincere commitment to urgently address the water crisis in First Nations is betrayed by the fact that their policies are decades old. The sad reality is that no one in the federal government has been concerned enough about the health, safety and well-being of First Nations families to treat the lack of access to safe drinking water as a crisis.

In fact, over the years, AG reports found that the federal government couldn't even be bothered to do annual inspections for all the water systems, despite their medium to high risk. It's as if the words "significant risks" to community members were merely notations in a report.

The auditor general also noted that some of the federal government's policies in relation to water systems on reserve are decades old and some were written in the 1960s. She further noted that they have not amended their policy in relation to funding for the operations and maintenance of water systems on reserve for over 30 years.

This means that the funding they do provide to First Nations to maintain their water systems does not take into account new technologies, the actual costs to maintain or the risk level and actual condition of the water system. On top of that, they only provide up to 80 per cent of the costs determined by this outdated policy, while at the same time paying First Nation water operators 30 per cent less than the rest of Canada.

It's important to dig into the numbers to truly understand the full scope of this problem. The AG's report was limited to only the 1,050 "public water systems" in 600-plus First Nations. This is because Indigenous Services' water policies and funding formulas do not provide support for those who rely on wells or cisterns. Worse than that, their water policies do not support for those without any running water! ...

It's also important to look at how Indigenous Services has differentiated between short-term and long-term water advisories. The government seems to be congratulating itself for having "only" 60 long-term water advisories left; meanwhile over the same period, the AG confirmed that there were 1,281 short-term advisories.

https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/indigenous-nationhood/2021/03/canada-st...

Tue, 2021-03-09 16:30

#11

kropotkin1951

No unanimous vote in the House to condemn the Canadian government for going more than 5 years in breach of the Canadian Human Rights Code, for it's negligent funding provisions for ingenious people.

Wed, 2021-05-05 23:54

#12

jerrym

The Trudeau Liberal government is now saying that all long-term drinking water won't be completed until at least 2023 and could take as long as 2026. Another broken promise for indigenous people. This also says nothing about the 1,281 short-term water advisories that have occured and continue to occur on First Nations land.

The government seems to be congratulating itself for having "only" 60 long-term water advisories left; meanwhile over the same period, the AG confirmed that there were 1,281 short-term advisories.

https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/indigenous-nationhood/2021/03/canada-st...

Indigenous Services Canada doesn’t expect to resolve all long-term drinking water advisories on reserves until at least 2023 — and may not have long-term solutions in place until 2026 — according to an action plan provided to the House public accounts committee.

The plan, which was obtained by APTN News, lays out the department’s response to a Feb. 25 auditor general report on Ottawa’s failure to supply First Nations communities with potable water.

Christiane Fox, deputy minister of Indigenous Services, declined to provide the committee with a firm deadline during her testimony on Thursday.

“There’s 33 communities that still have 52 long-term drinking water advisories, so we’re going to continue to work very closely with them,” said Fox. ...

“I can tell you we that remain committed to it. I can tell you that we’ve got an action plan for each of the 33 communities, but it would be premature for me to put a timeframe on this.”

This answer did not sit will the members of Parliament asking questions. They noted that the department supplied its action plan only an hour prior to the hearing, leaving little time to analyze it. ...

The opposition parties were united in pressing Fox to explain how the Liberals will deliver a key 2015 campaign pledge to supply reserves with clean water. The Liberals admitted late last year they would not meet a self-imposed deadline of March 31, 2021.

Niki Ashton, NDP MP for northern Manitoba, also called for more transparency. She named a half dozen First Nations in her riding who are struggling with water, housing and infrastructure crises.

“The briefing note, sent quite late this morning, mentioned that you believe that long-term solutions for some communities won’t be in place till at least 2025,” said Ashton. “This is an unacceptable failure by Indigenous Services Canada and this Liberal government.”

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/ottawa-wont-end-on-reserve-water-a...

Wed, 2021-06-30 14:53

#13

jerrym

The following up-to-date map shows the number of boil water advisories by province across Canada, thereby showing how much further the Trudeau government to meet its promise to end boil water advisories. By clicking on a province you will get a list of the individual advisories in that province.

Our maps are updated every day throughout the day. Click on a province to access an interactive map of its water advisories; on the provincial maps, clicking on a location will give you more details on the advisory for that location; i.e. reason for advisory, system information, affected area, etc. At times only a portion of a water system, or in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Québec, a small private system - such as a school, lodge, campground, restaurant or daycare - is under advisory.
The advisories listed on our maps are all current, whether they were issued in 2001 or 2016. While we make every effort to keep our maps updated, errors and omissions do slip by. If you notice an advisory that should be listed or removed from our maps, please email us to let us know.
In some locations - such as Interior BC where there are thousands of small systems - there is often more than one advisory in effect. When there are multiple advisories in one location, we group them together for better map clarity.

https://www.watertoday.ca/map-graphic.asp

Thu, 2021-07-01 06:54

#14

Edzell

Quote:
Unsurprisingly, the Trudeau government has announced that it will not keep its promise to end water advisories for First Nations.

I believe the failure to keep the promise is unsurprising; maybe the govt acknowledging its anticipation of failure is a bit unusual.

I believe that the promise (to end water advisories in the foreseeable future) was a typical political promise - i.e impossible of fulfiilment and made cynically: Those making the promise were only intent on gaining votes. They were unaware and/or just don't care wehther it can really be done.

Thu, 2021-07-01 13:54

#15

kropotkin1951

It can be done all it takes is money and political will.

Thu, 2021-07-01 15:05

#16

Edzell

There are places in Canada where acceptable potable water is exttremely difficult if not impossible to find. Some are remote, virtually inaccessible First Nation communities. Promising to supply everyone with good water during the short life of a government - much less by March of this year - was very foolish.; or more likely it was knowingly, cynically dishonest. Either that or he didn't/doesn't know what he's talking about. - ??

Thu, 2021-07-01 17:03

#17

kropotkin1951

Trudeau's promises are always insincere. There are very few indigenous communities that were not close to some kind of water given it is a necessity of life. In many places the biggest problem is industrial pollution from up stream. I want to see us tackling those now and maybe some places will need storage tanks and pipelines but it is all doable.

Fri, 2021-07-02 19:38

(Reply to #17) #18

Edzell

kropotkin1951 wrote:

In many places the biggest problem is industrial pollution from up stream. I want to see us tackling those now and maybe some places will need storage tanks and pipelines but it is all doable.

How far would you build a pipeline through mountainous terrain to remote, otherwise uninhabited areas, keep it from freezing through a northern winter, bacteria free at the end of its journey; in order to supply an isolated community of, say 200 to 400 people? Would it be 50 miles, 100, 150, 200? Or how far (and how) would you truck water to tiny hamlets in that same muntainous terrain, which during spring & fall are only accessible by air (so long as the weather permits)?

Note by the way, there may be NObody upstream, industrial or othderwise.

Oh, damn, I fell for it again ....

Sat, 2021-07-03 02:15

#19

Pondering

Somehow we managed to get to these remote areas to pollute the water. Canada has a bad history of moving indigenous people in order to use their territory. In some cases, even if they are in their original territory, they may be better off moving to a place of their own choosing that has better resources. The problem is that the government deals with indigenous people in bad faith. The government's goal is to do the least possible rather than as much as it takes.

Sat, 2021-07-03 05:17

#20

Edzell

That Canada has dealt with indigenous people in bad faith could be considered a big understatement.

There is no such thing as THE problem. Problems are multiple and multi-faceted; including the general incompatiilty of, on the one hand, ancient remote sites with their traditional (now impossible) way of living, and on the other, a modern 'white' lifestyle and its essential infrasttructure.

Sat, 2021-07-03 11:26

(Reply to #20) #21

Pondering

Edzell wrote:

That Canada has dealt with indigenous people in bad faith could be considered a big understatement.

There is no such thing as THE problem. Problems are multiple and multi-faceted; including the general incompatiilty of, on the one hand, ancient remote sites with their traditional (now impossible) way of living, and on the other, a modern 'white' lifestyle and its essential infrasttructure.

If Canada were dealing in good faith with indigenous peoples rather than beginning from an adversarial approach it would open the door to solutions. As long as we insist on being adversarial progress with be slow because we want progress to be slow.

Sat, 2021-07-03 14:44

(Reply to #21) #22

kropotkin1951

Edzell wrote:

kropotkin1951 wrote:

In many places the biggest problem is industrial pollution from up stream. I want to see us tackling those now and maybe some places will need storage tanks and pipelines but it is all doable.

How far would you build a pipeline through mountainous terrain to remote, otherwise uninhabited areas, keep it from freezing through a northern winter, bacteria free at the end of its journey; in order to supply an isolated community of, say 200 to 400 people? Would it be 50 miles, 100, 150, 200? Or how far (and how) would you truck water to tiny hamlets in that same muntainous terrain, which during spring & fall are only accessible by air (so long as the weather permits)?

Note by the way, there may be NObody upstream, industrial or othderwise.

Oh, damn, I fell for it again ....

How about they start with the low hanging fruit and stop making excuses for doing nothing much. Some of the remote sites may be problematic but they are a small percentage of the places that require proper water and sewer facilities. It seems to me that some corporations think they can supply solutions to these kinds of problems so they are not necessarily insurmountable. I suspect that like everything else it is political will lacking not ideas to fix most of the problems.

https://www.fluencecorp.com/about/

Sun, 2021-08-01 03:01

#23

jerrym

The Trudeau Liberal government, after six years of failing to live up to its promises to end boil water advisories in indigenous communities, "has reached a nearly $8-billion settlement with First Nations who launched a class-action lawsuit over the lack of clean, safe drinking water in their communities." (https://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/143051)

So why did "Trudeau waste "nearly $100M fighting First Nations in court during first years in power"? (https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/trudeau-spent-nearly-100m-fighting...)

Could it be that there's an election coming and he wants this issue out of the way?

Sun, 2021-08-01 19:45

(Reply to #23) #24

Ken Burch

jerrym wrote:

The Trudeau Liberal government, after six years of failing to live up to its promises to end boil water advisories in indigenous communities, "has reached a nearly $8-billion settlement with First Nations who launched a class-action lawsuit over the lack of clean, safe drinking water in their communities." (https://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/143051)

So why did "Trudeau waste "nearly $100M fighting First Nations in court during first years in power"? (https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/trudeau-spent-nearly-100m-fighting...)

Could it be that there's an election coming and he wants this issue out of the way?

Which begs the question: what would he have thought he had to lose by NOT getting the problem out of the way as soon as he got in in '15? Why not just deal with it then?

Tue, 2021-08-03 03:45

(Reply to #24) #25

jerrym

Ken Burch wrote:

jerrym wrote:

The Trudeau Liberal government, after six years of failing to live up to its promises to end boil water advisories in indigenous communities, "has reached a nearly $8-billion settlement with First Nations who launched a class-action lawsuit over the lack of clean, safe drinking water in their communities." (https://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/143051)

So why did "Trudeau waste "nearly $100M fighting First Nations in court during first years in power"? (https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/trudeau-spent-nearly-100m-fighting...)

Could it be that there's an election coming and he wants this issue out of the way?

Which begs the question: what would he have thought he had to lose by NOT getting the problem out of the way as soon as he got in in '15? Why not just deal with it then?

In 2015 he was going to be in power for four years and, in his mind, highly likely to win the next election. Why wouldn't he wait until he needed it to shine up the election Liberal machine after failing to win a majority. After all, the Liberals have been throwing out promises of childcare, pharmacare, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and occassionally rapid rail since 1993.

Wed, 2021-09-15 15:59

#26

jerrym

The Trudeau Liberals no longer have a deadline for ending boil water advisories, having failed to do so since 2015. Short term boil water advisories only become long-term after one year. What a convenient definition! "The government seems to be congratulating itself for having "only" 60 long-term water advisories left; meanwhile over the same period, the AG confirmed that there were 1,281 short-term advisories." (https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/indigenous-nationhood/2021/03/canada-st...)

As the following articles the Trudeau Liberals have played games with the short-term water advisories ending them in some cases just before they become long-term advisories and then reinstating them a few days later.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau no longer gives a specific date for fulfilling his broken 2015 election promise to end all long-term boil-water advisories on Indigenous reserves and it’s not hard to see why. He broke that promise when he failed to achieve the March 31, 2021 deadline he set for himself.

Trudeau said his government has eliminated 109 long-term boil advisories since coming to power in 2015 and will finish the job … eventually.

Actually, they’ve eliminated 108 long-term advisories, and now have 51 (not 50) outstanding ones.

That’s because the feds, as of Monday, hadn’t updated their own website to report the boil-water advisory for Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan has changed from short-term to long-term.

Short-term advisories become long-term after a year. The Okanese advisory began Aug. 28, 2020.

Similarly, the boil water advisory for the Mathias Colomb/Pukatawagan First Nation in Manitoba is poised to move from short-term to long-term Sept. 17 — three days before voting on Sept. 20, if nothing changes.

Trudeau’s promise to end long-term water advisories doesn’t include short-term advisories, which means Canadians aren’t being told the full extent of the problem.

In her February 2021 report on drinking water on reserves, federal auditor general Karen Hogan demonstrated how the Trudeau government plays with the numbers to make things look better than they are. For example, one First Nations community was put on an unsafe water advisory for 363 days, followed four months later by 325 days. Because neither went over 365 days, it was never classified as long-term. Another First Nation had 31 short-term unsafe water advisories between Nov. 1, 2015 and Nov. 1, 2020, lasting two to 172 days.

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-trudeau-drops-deadli...

Wed, 2021-10-13 20:05

#27

jerrym

This time the water supply emergency is not in an isolated small community but Iqualuit, the capital of Nunavut and a city of 7,800. Bottled water there costs $9 a litre leaving many people facing hardship.

Iqaluit city council has declared a state of local emergency because some type of petroleum may have contaminated the city’s water supply.

The city’s senior administrative officer, Amy Elgersma, announced this during an emergency council meeting Tuesday.

There is no information on how the petroleum may have entered the water supply or when it happened.

“We suspect that there is petroleum — some type of petroleum product — that has entered the water system,” Elgersma said.

The city will receive results from samples in five to six business days, she said. ...

At its peak, council’s emergency meeting at 5:45 p.m. had 400 viewers on its Facebook livestream. Council met behind closed doors for about 30 minutes before Elgersma delivered the statement. Councillors are permitted to meet privately to discuss some specific topics but any decision they make must be reported publicly.

To help residents get water, Elgersma said the city had two water depots open until 9 p.m. Tuesday — beside the library and Arctic Winter Games arena — where the city was distributing water from the Sylvia Grinnell River. Residents are required to bring their own jugs to be filled.

She said that no one should consume the city’s tap water.

The city set up a “drinking water hotline” at 867-979-5603 for Iqalummiut who have questions for the city during business hours.

https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/iqaluit-declares-emergency-as-petr...

Tue, 2021-10-19 15:41

#28

jerrym

Iqualuit is facing an aging water infrastructure water crisis compounded by oil pipelines and damage to water and oil pipelines caused by climate change. However, many other communities in Canada, especially indigenous ones, also face or will face shortly the same water crisis. The Trudeau government has failed to introduce badly needed national water standards and to introduce legislation guaranteeing a public water supply as the global corporate sector continues to push for the privatization of water

After Iqaluit residents reported a strong fuel smell in their tap water for more than 10 days, the government of Nunavut declared a local state of emergency on October 15th due to contamination of the city’s main water supply. The community of more than 8,000 is currently receiving air shipments of tens of thousands of litres of bottled water while the city searches for the source of the contamination.

A lab in Southern Canada is currently testing water samples and expects to report on its findings in the coming days.

In an interview with CTV News, Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell said he suspects that the city’s water facility may have been damaged due to climate change. “I would say maybe the permafrost melted and our facility may have moved,” he said.

Bell also blamed the city’s small and crumbling water infrastructure. The water reservoirs and treatment facilities are both too small for the population and the piping needs repair, he said.

...

The emerging crisis with Iqaluit’s municipal water supply reveals the vulnerabilities faced by many communities across Canada due to the lack of funding for necessary repairs and an absence of national water standards. And extreme weather events due to climate change are already making matters worse.

Decades of cuts in infrastructure funding, coupled with a constant downloading of costs to municipal governments, has resulted in a “municipal infrastructure deficit.” The Federation of Canadian Municipalities estimates that municipalities need more than $50 billion to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure in poor or very poor conditions. Iqaluit is a prime example of a growing community saddled with aging infrastructure that cannot even provide reliable service to its existing population, despite paying some of the highest water rates in the country.

Federal investments in water infrastructure, especially public funding like the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, must be renewed and expanded, while false solutions that promote privatization and Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), as offered by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, must be rejected.   

Canada does not have legally enforceable drinking water standards. Instead, the federal government sets “guidelines” in consultation with the provinces and territories. This has resulted in many of these guidelines being weaker than actual standards set in place like the United States and Europe. Creating a national standard for drinking water would reduce the undue influence of economic interests and promote stronger regulations based on the health impacts of pollutants.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly confirmed the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. This internationally binding resolution must be recognized at every level of government.

The crisis in Iqaluit foreshadows what we can expect to see in the future if we don’t take bold steps to correct decades of short-sighted governance in Canada. The Council of Canadians has long advocated for the modernization of federal water policies. As part of the Council of Canadians’ Blue Communities Project, more than 70 municipalities have affirmed the rights to water and sanitation and committed to keeping water infrastructure publicly owned. It is time for the federal government to act.

https://canadians.org/analysis/iqaluit-water-contamination-crisis-expose...

Thu, 2021-10-28 03:07

#29

jerrym

It appears that an old leaking fuel tank is the cause of the Iqualuit fuel contaminated water.

Quote:
The City of Iqaluit says an old underground spill is likely responsible for fuel that is contaminating the community's tap water.

City officials said in a news release Tuesday that they found signs of a historic spill next to the water treatment plant in an inaccessible hole in the ground.

The capital city's water has been undrinkable even if boiled since Oct. 12 when traces of fuel were found in the plant.
The city of about 8,000 people has been under a state of emergency since then and thousands of bottles of water have been flown in.

Testing is now being done to confirm the spill is the source of the contamination.

The city said it has reported the spill to the Nunavut government and hired a professional firm to clean it up. A site remediation plan is also underway.

There is still no timeline for when city residents will be able to drink their tap water again.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/underground-fuel-spill-found-next-to-iqalu...

Thu, 2021-10-28 03:26

#30

jerrym

As usual, the federal government has taken the cheap way of dealing with basic indigenous needs. To give Iqualuit a modern water system will cost $180 million. Why do we always wait until a crisis occurs. 44 indigenous communities still have long-term drinking water advisories and hundreds have others that are short-term (less than 3 months). How long could a government get away with even a short-term water advisory in any other community?

The city of Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut, declared a state of emergency recently due to the high concentration of fuel found in their water supply.

The city has advised residents not to drink the water even if it is filtered or boiled. Instead, a supply of bottled water is being flown in each day. Since the declaration, the federal government has agreed to send support from the Canadian Armed Forces. ...

Iqaluit is one of many regions across Canada experiencing contamination in their water supply. As of September 2021, a total of 44 Indigenous communities across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario were still operating under long-term drinking water advisories. This was a hot topic in Canada’s most recent federal election, but it’s unclear what work is being done to establish a permanent solution. ...

In the long term, fixing the city’s water supply will cost approximately $180 million. This is a massive undertaking and will require support from the federal government. An application for this project was submitted recently, but likely will not be completed in time for the winter months.

https://www.brockpress.com/city-of-iqaluit-declares-state-of-emergency-a...

Thu, 2021-12-02 00:04

#31

jerrym

Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux released a report today that concludes that the Trudeau Liberal government is falling short by $138 million dollars on the funding for the operation of water systems on indigenous land. Without the money and trained personnel to maintain these systems, even new ones are likely to become unnecessarily unoperational over the next five years. Sounds like a typical Trudeau fix - even when a problem is addressed it is over the short term with poltical advantage in mind, not the long-term benefit of citizens. "He also said homegrown solutions to train local Indigenous people to run water plants and working with First Nations on plans are as important as funding."

The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government needs to increase planned spending if it wants to provide clean drinking water in First Nations.

Yves Giroux's report on Wednesday said the government has set aside more than enough money to meet the expected capital costs to build water and wastewater systems over the next five years. ...

But the government falls short on helping First Nations operate the systems, the report said. Giroux's office estimates the federal government would have to spend $138 million more annually to meet that need.

The budget officer's report warns that not spending enough, and not spending it on time, could increase the cost of providing water and wastewater services on reserves comparable to non-First Nations communities of the same size.

The report said "a low investment rate or a significant delay in the investment completion" could mean systems deteriorate faster than expected, "costing more money and risking service disruption."

The Liberals had promised in their successful 2015 election campaign to end all boil-water advisories in First Nations within five years of taking office — a target that was supposed to be met this year.

But the government last year said the target wouldn't be met, pointing to the pandemic among a variety of other factors in its way....

The latest federal figures show that 119 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted since November 2015, with 43 remaining in 31 communities with federally supported systems.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/first-nations-water-pbo-1.6269437

Wed, 2022-02-02 00:03

#32

jerrym

Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario marks its 27th anniversary today under a boil water advisory, the longest continuous such advisory in Canadian history. I guess freedom for this First Nation means more than having to wear a mask or get a Covid shot that seems so onerous to many non-indigenous people.

Maybe they need to start a convoy to get some attention. On second thought, I strongly doubt they would be treated anywhere near as well as the current Ottawa convoy.

Neskantaga first Nation is a remote Oji-Cree first Nation band government in northern Ontario, situated along the shore of Attawapiskat Lake in the District of Kenora, and 430 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The community is connected to the rest of Ontario by a local airfield and by winter roads and ice roads to points south, via the Northern Ontario resource Trail. The reported population of the community is 400 people. The Neskantaga first Nation community has been under a “boil water advisory” since 1995, when the water treatment plant failed. The situation gained national attention between 2004 to 2016, when Canadian news outlets began to cover the story about the unsafe water supply. in 2006, a plan was in place to complete repairs to the failed water treatment plant. however, this program was cancelled when the federal government changed.

https://issuu.com/cryofront/docs/ntwwa_2020_fp1/s/11387780