NYT: Canada's First Nation reserves still have unfit drinking water

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: New York Times
26 Dec 2022 12:50

Several First Nation reserves in Canada continue to face sickness as the water remains unfit for drinking despite government agreements.

First Nation Neskantaga, in northwestern Ontario, is still under boil-water advisories (CBC)

Last December, a judicial victory raised expectations for a quicker approach to safe drinking water on Canadian reserves. However, a report by the New York Times showed that the wait continues.

Due to insufficient bottled water availability on Canadian reserves, most indigenous people residing on territories, according to the report, are forced to drink tap water that has proven to sicken locals.

The NYT report talked to Ida Rae, a 75-year-old reserve resident, who highlighted that she stashed an overpriced jug in her bedroom that she used exclusively to make her great-granddaughter’s baby formula while the other residents of the home, 5, are forced to drink from the tap.

According to the report, Susan Rae, who sold bottled water at her store, explained that a 4-liter jug sells at $12 on the reserve while it costs less than $2 in Toronto.

Rae stated that she does not profit from the sales and is concerned about the expense. "I do not like charging that much for water," she explained.

Canada has failed to supply clean drinking water to several of its Indigenous communities for decades. Court records show that around 250 First Nations have been affected by this problem since 1995.

The NYT reported, that as a result, reserve residents have been hospitalized with gastrointestinal infections, respiratory diseases, and severe rashes. Boiling water, according to the report, has become a daily inconvenience, and entire villages, which are already struggling financially, now depend on supplies of overpriced bottled water.

'We're the original inhabitants, and we cannot get clear drinking water'

The grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Derek Fox, argued that “We’re the first peoples, original inhabitants of the country, and we cannot get clean drinking water,” adding,“We signed treaties. Our ancestors did everything that they felt was right to ensure that this wouldn’t happen.”

Last year, the NYT reported that a settlement was accepted by Canada's federal court in a class-action lawsuit launched by three Indigenous communities accusing the government of failing to meet its legal commitments to First Nations regarding safe drinking water.

Randy Legault-Rankin, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, the federal agency in charge of Indigenous affairs told the NYT in an email that “working with First Nations and communities to support sustainable access to safe drinking water is at the heart of the federal government’s commitment to Indigenous Peoples.”

Adele Perry, director of the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba, told NYT “We’re at a point where the lack of drinkable water on First Nations stands as a really sharp symbol of the failures of the Canadian state.”