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“The water required for each personal or domestic use must be safe, therefore free from microorganisms, chemical substances and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to a person’s health” UN General Assembly, Human Right to Clean Water Declaration, 2010 Inadequate provision of clean water systems in Canada’s First Nations reserves is considered an infringement of human rights. Many First Nations communities are under long-term drinking water advisories and the number of waterborne infections in these communities is much greater than for the national average. The federal Government pledged in 2015 to end all long-term drinking water advisories for public systems on reserves by 2021. You can review the current progress of this policy initiative at the following website: Government of Canada, ‘Ending long-term drinking water advisories’: https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1506514143353/1533317130660 Progress has so far been mixed and some critics have suggested that the current measures represent “band-aid” solutions, implying they are superficial and do not address more deepseated inequalities and concerns. See for example the position of the Council of Canadians, a key national advocacy group on social and environmental justice issues: Council of Canadians, ‘Safe Water for First Nations’: https://canadians.org/fn-water In order to explore progress on this issue within First Nations communities and to reflect on some of the challenges that persist, you should watch the following two CBC News videos and then answer the discussion questions overleaf. The first video follows the residents of the Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba and provides an insight into what everyday life is like for those without reliable access to clean water as well as discussing some efforts to address this problem through improving water infrastructure. Living without safe and reliable drinking water on a Manitoba First Nation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPnydar_ci4 The second video also reports on the ongoing problems in providing access to clean water and highlights a collaborative initiative by multiple First Nations communities in Atlantic Canada to self-govern their own drinking water systems. CBC News, ‘Could this proposal fix First Nations water issues?’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex6nOvZ0tdg Discussion Questions Based on your review of the websites and videos, answer the following questions about the First Nations water crisis in Canada. Provide reasons, examples or evidence to support your answers in all cases. You may also use other sources to support your answers and should add citations for these if you do this. 1. How effective do you think the Canadian federal Government response has been so far? Do you think that the criticism of the Government’s approach as a “band-aid” solution is justified? (~100 words) 2. In relation to the situation of the Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba, how effective do you think that the current solutions to managing the water crisis in this community have been? What do you think have been the main barriers to progress? (~100 words) 3. In Canada, the process of Indigenous reconciliation incorporates the need for First Nations communities to self-govern resources and have a more meaningful role in developing sustainable water management solutions. To what extent do you think that the solutions proposed in the videos fulfil this requirement? (~100 words) 4. Reflecting on the solutions proposed so far and on the call from political leaders for more creative solutions to addressing this deep-seated crisis, describe two further steps that you would you propose to ensure safe drinking water provision for First Nations reserves. (~100 words)
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