Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Clean water for all has been discussed for many years as a basic human right. Unfortunately many indigenous communities in Canada are put on a boil water advisory every year due to unclean water conditions. According to the government of Canada website, there are currently 28 Indigenous communities that are on long-term boil advisories throughout the country.
Reliance Home Comfort® (Reliance) is a leader in home services and energy efficient solutions in Canada, with over 2 million customer relationships. In celebration of World Water Day, marked annually on March 22, Reliance has pledged a $15,000 matching gift campaign to Water First. Water First is Canada's leading charitable organization dedicated to working with Indigenous communities to address local water challenges through education, training, and meaningful collaboration.
Anishinabek Nation celebrated the graduation of 14 interns from the Georgian Bay Drinking Water Internship Program recently. In association with the Ontario Water First Education & Training Inc. and Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations (WBAFN), Gezhtoojig Employment & Training, the paid internship program started in June 2021. It offers great opportunity as it recruits young Indigenous adults to be in the drinking water treatment industry. The program gives students the knowledge and experience to obtain entry-level certifications required to begin careers in water treatment. Through the skills they obtain in this internship program, students become qualified personnel, supporting communities much like our own, on the the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa peoples and the land chosen as home by the Métis peoples of B.C., in having access to safe, clean drinking water for the foreseeable future.
With more than two dozen First Nation communities in Canada still under drinking water advisories, two Indigenous business leaders are doing their part to change that. "We wanted to create awareness of what was going on in our communities and what's still going on," Tyson Wesley, co-owner of FN Clean Water in Ottawa, told CTV National News. Driven by his own experiences with drinking water advisories, Wesley and fellow company co-owner Natasha Commanda run FN Clean Water, with the goal of bringing clean drinking water to First Nations.
Hollywood couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $500,000 to a Canadian Indigenous clean drinking water initiative, buoying efforts by a group of University of Alberta (U of A) graduate students. The Student Advocates for Public Health (SAPH), a group of U of A grad students, hosted a media availability last week calling for clean drinking water for all Indigenous communities throughout the country. During the media availability, Randal Bell, a member of SAPH, said 43 per cent of all First Nations drinking water systems in Canada are currently labeled as medium to high risk of contamination, with 36 long-term drinking water advisories in effect as of March 14. The goal of the event was to bring awareness to the situation and Bell said seeing high-profile people step up with donations means a lot.
The organization is seeking partners to bring clean water to Indigenous communities in Canada. First Nation Goods, a company offering a wide range of services and products to Indigenous people and communities in Canada, announces the Clean Water For All initiative. The effort seeks to promote and provide access to clean water for Indigenous communities.
The fundraiser, which was created on Friday, has a $5 million goal, with all proceeds going towards Water First, an organization that partners with Indigenous communities “to support access to clean drinking water through education, training, and meaningful collaboration.” If the money is raised, Howarth says GoFundMe will send the funds directly to the organization. Referring to the truckers convoy, Howarth says, “If anyone can raise $5 million in one week, it should be all Canadians who believe that clean drinking water for Indigenous communities should be our nation’s top priority.”
Bank of America and Canadian charity Water First Education & Training Inc. today announced their funding partnership to support the delivery of hands-on skills training through drinking water treatment and environmental water science internships for young Indigenous adults. Bank of America is committing $1 million US over four years, which will contribute resources for more young Indigenous adults to become water treatment plant operators and support their communities to ensure safe, clean drinking water.
A plan to improve water services to Indigenous communities has lost a little current. The proposal is to dedicate 0.2 per cent of Barrie’s water/sewer revenue next year toward Water First and its efforts to improve water services in First Nations communities. The plan would cost about $100,000, or about $1.77 for the average Barrie household in 2022. It was to be part of 2022 budget talks next week, but that will have to wait. While city staff have started consulting local First Nations groups about the donation, those talks haven’t finished at this time. Water First, a Creemore-based non-government organization (NGO), has a program to train young Indigenous people from reserves to become certified in operating a water plant through a 15-month paid apprenticeship, which is where the $100,000 would be spent.
At the beginning of this semester, Gordon’s students have turned their attention to water issues within Canada. Half of the class’s fundraising efforts will go towards Canadian charity Water First, which works exclusively with Indigenous communities in the country. The other half will go towards field trips for the students. “Their goal is to help address water issues and prevent water advisories such as boil water advisories,” Gordon said. “They fund and operate an internship program to work with young Indigenous people to train them to become certified water treatment plant operators, and also help fund water restoration projects in Indigenous communities.” She added the NGO also works with schools in Indigenous communities to offer programs that help school-age children learn about water conservation and restoration.
A non-profit organization called Water First that helps to address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through training has received a $20,000 boost from Sudbury benefactors. Rotary International District 7010, which includes the Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers, has been working with Water First to facilitate donations. At the same time, the Doyle Dodge car dealership here in Sudbury has been running a charitable project, the Doyle 100 Community Campaign, as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations.
Jamie Lee Parenteau knows that water is where life originates. She knows that it must be protected in every way possible from pollution or waste. The Ojibway woman’s ancestors were able to live off the water as a resource, and to sustain all living things in their care. Yet in some First Nation communities today, water has become a curse. “In our culture, water is so much more. It’s sacred,” says Parenteau, who is from the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation. “Our people could just go to the lake for everything. That was before all these things like the (pulp) mills and mercury poisoning. Our people drink that water and got poisoned by it.” The young mother is a water protector — and she now has a licence that says so.
Bimose Tribal Council in northwestern Ontario and Canadian charity Water First are pleased to announce that on Friday, 11 interns of their drinking water internship program for young Indigenous adults have graduated. Of the cohort, 91% are now water operators in training (OIT), having earned their OIT certification. Graduates of the internship program are from ten participating First Nations communities across the Bimose Tribal Council region, and are supporting their communities to ensure clean drinking water.
A city plan to improve water services to Indigenous communities is heading downstream. Barrie city council approved a motion Monday night to consult with Indigenous communities, including the Barrie Native Friendship Centre and the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle, on the possibility of dedicating 0.2 per cent of its water and wastewater revenue forecast in the 2022 budget toward Water First, and that organization’s efforts to improve water services in First Nations communities.
The City of Barrie could soon let some funding flow into Indigenous communities in need of safe, clean water. Council passed a motion Oct. 4 that will start the ball rolling on a plan to dedicate 0.2 per cent of the municipality’s 2022 water and wastewater revenue to Water First. The organization works to improve water services in Indigenous communities across Canada. Under the proposal, the city will consult with the Barrie Native Friendship Centre and Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle before taking further action.
“13.5 percent of First Nations communities in Canada cannot drink their own tap water. In Ontario, that number is 40 percent, which means 4 out of 10 First Nations in Ontario have unsafe drinking water,” said Christopher Bell, VP and General Manager of Kohler Kitchen & Bath Canada. “As a company focused on water, we are committed to promoting access to clean and safe water and are honoured to partner with Water First to develop sustainable solutions to water issues in communities across Canada.”
A plan to improve water service in Indigenous communities has dried up, for the time being. City council deleted a motion from its agenda Monday to dedicate 0.2 per cent of its 2022 water and wastewater revenue -- about $100,000 or $1.77 per Barrie household -- toward these improvements. Council is inviting Water First, a Creemore-based non-government organization, to make a presentation to the city’s finance and corporate services committee on its program to train young Indigenous people from reserves to become certified in operating a water plant through a 15-month paid apprenticeship. This is where the $100,000 could have been spent.
World Nature Conservation Day (July 28th) underscores the need for more opportunities to empower Indigenous youth to cultivate interest in, and develop a passion for, water science. With a Seed grant of $71,700 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Water First has been inspiring and engaging Indigenous students to become future water scientists. Through consultation with Indigenous community partners, Water First has delivered a series of in-person and virtual conservation workshops to explore watershed health and water quality through experiential and project-based learning.
Students at Nicola Canford Elementary School (NCES) are doing their part to ensure all Canadians have access to safe, clean drinking water by launching a fundraiser in partnership with Water First, a Canadian charity that raises money for Indigenous communities in Canada without safe drinking water. “As part of our curricular work, we have accessed water testing kits from safewater.org and their teaching resources,” said Bergmann.
