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.
Bill C-61 is the next step to ensure First Nations have clean drinking water for generations to come. Everyone in Canada should have access to safe and clean drinking water. First Nations have long called for legislation that affirms their inherent rights, recognizes their stewardship in keeping water clean and meets First Nations needs. Effective legislation, a national regulatory regime, and First Nations-led institutions are essential to supporting sustainable access to clean, safe and reliable drinking water in First Nations communities.
Two decades of boil water advisories are over for Hiawatha First Nation after the completion of the first phase of the community’s new water treatment plant and distribution system. A grand opening was held earlier this week for the new plant and system situation in the First Nation located 30 kilometres south of Peterborough. Chief Laurie Carr says the system is a symbol of change for the community which has long advocated for better long-term solutions for boil-water advisories across Canada.
"This topic of security and safeguarding Canada's sovereignty, it ties into so many different other issues," Koch said. "One element or aspect to start with is actually to make sure that Northern residents have access to basic services. It means education, health care and clean drinking water." "This will ultimately support Canada's goal of establishing security and projecting outward Canadian sovereignty in terms of the Arctic."
Treaty obligations outlined by Standingontheroad included the medicine chest clause or "universal health care, assured to First Nations free of cost" as well as rights around education, fishing, hunting, minerals and clean drinking water. "We are all treaty people," Standingontheroad said. "We all agreed to share this land and respect treaty between our peoples."
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) are working together to conserve one of the largest remaining tracts of intact Prairie grasslands and wetlands in Canada. McIntyre Ranch, located south of Lethbridge, will be conserved through an agreement (conservation easement) between the landowners and the two organizations. This 130-year-old ranch is one of the largest private landholdings in Canada, and spans over 22,000 hectares — an area more than a quarter the size of Calgary.
“It’s really important to stay hydrated and the water helps you stay cool, so that’s what we’re hoping to provide,” said Lisa Gilmour, emergency management coordinator with the City of Winnipeg. The locations were selected based on need and past experiences. They’re connected to fire hydrants to provide a continuous supply of clean drinking water, similar to what Winnipeggers would get from their home taps.
Students at the Queen Elizabeth School are taking a stand to raise awareness and funds for clean drinking water for Indigenous communities. After learning about Anishinaabe Indigenous rights advocate Autumn Peltier and her mission to secure safe drinking water on all Canadian reserves, the school’s Grade 2/3 class was inspired to take action. The class wanted to contribute to the efforts of educating others about the struggles families on reserves face with unsafe drinking water and the importance of clean water for all.
The Charlottetown water and sewer utility is starting its four-to-six-week spring maintenance beginning April 11. The program includes checks and biannual hydrant flushing. The hydrant flushing is done to keep water quality high and ensure the city has safe and clean drinking water. During flushing, hydrants will be operated at full capacity for around three to five minutes each until the water runs clear.
Oneida Nation of the Thames, a First Nation just south of London, Ont., that has been on a boil-water advisory since 2019, has secured $43 million in federal funding to bring treated drinking water to the community. The connection to the Lake Huron Primary Water System will supply potable water to more than 500 homes and public buildings to the community, which is home to nearly 2,200 residents.
Canada’s Indigenous services minister made a promise to Oneida Nation of the Thames on Monday, pledging cash to connect the First Nation to a water supply system that would give residents clean drinking water. “The department and the government of Canada will be able to support this work financially,” Minister Patty Hajdu said in an interview. “The money is committed, and obviously, this is super important, not only to the Oneida Nation of the Thames but to the federal government in our work to make sure that everybody has access to clean drinking water.”
Local and federal officials are cautiously optimistic construction will be underway this spring for a water pipeline to serve the Oneida Nation of the Thames in southwestern Ontario. The pipeline, still in the design phase, is expected to be 18 kilometres long and connect the First Nation community with clean drinking water through the Lake Huron Water Supply System.
Luann Smith will be paying close attention to what Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu has to say on Monday about the federal government's willingness to fund a pipeline that will bring clean drinking water to Oneida Nation of the Thames. Smith, 67, is a lifelong resident of Oneida, a community that has been under a boil water advisory since 2019. Hajdu is scheduled to be a guest on Monday's edition of London Morning and will speak with host Rebecca Zandbergen about the situation.
A new human rights report released this week highlights Canada’s failures to address long-standing abuses, including the failure to provide clean drinking water to First Nations. The report published by the Human Rights Watch group outlines the lack of safe water access in indigenous communities across the country, despite the federal government’s promise in 2015 to end all drinking water advisories on First Nations reserves by 2021.
Birch Bark Coffee Company makes enjoying your morning (or afternoon - we don’t judge) coffee all the more exciting. The organic, fair-trade coffee allows you to appease your taste buds, and support Indigenous communities. Founder Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow’s (Ojibwe and Band member of Whitefish River First Nation) mission is to work towards bringing clean drinking water to every Indigenous home suffering from ‘All Water Advisories’ by providing and installing certified water purification systems. For every 100 bags of coffee sold in retail and every 50 online, Birch Bark donates one water purification system to a family in need.
The world is "running out of water," Makasa Looking Horse says, and if we don't take action soon, it will be too late. Looking Horse, from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, is one of the hosts of the Ohneganos Ohnegahdę:gyo – Let's Talk about Water podcast, which won a 2021 David Suzuki Foundation Future Ground Prize. The prize recognizes youth-led movements. It's a podcast created, the Suzuki Foundation says, to "engage Indigenous communities and disseminate research findings by facilitating meaningful discussion about water issues and climate change."
New Democrat parliamentarians are urging the federal Liberals to address what they say is corporate greed driving a cost-of-living crisis for northern and Indigenous communities. As record-high prices for food, fuel and heat ripple across the North, Ottawa can lighten the financial load by reforming its Nutrition North subsidy and cutting the GST from home heating, according to northern Manitoba MP Niki Ashton and Nunavut MP Lori Idlout.
Autumn was only 12 years old in 2016 when she met with PM Justin Trudeau to address his unfulfilled promise to "protect the water". Since then, she remains vocal on the global stage and at home to advocate for clean drinking water. As the Chief Water Commissioner for Anishinabek Nation in Ontario, Autumn is an outstanding example of what youth are capable of as today's leaders, and the immense impact can achieve.
It took Craig McLellan one simple lecture at Canadore College to realize North Bay would be an ideal spot to relocate his business. "I spoke to 90 first year software development students and at the end of my 10-minute talk I said a show of hands how many of you want to stay in North Bay after you graduate, and over 75 per cent of them put their hands up," said McLellan, the president and CEO of ThinkOn.
Construction has officially begun on the $325.6-million Buffalo Pound water treatment plant renewal project. A number of MLAs, mayors, board members, employees and more were in attendance for the first shovels hitting the ground in Buffalo Pound Monday. The plant will serve communities such as Regina, Moose Jaw, Grand Coulee, Pense, Bethune and several other communities with clean drinking water. In total, more than 260,000 people in the area will access the water. “This treatment plant has served the residents of Regina and Moose Jaw with safe, high-quality drinking water and frankly we don’t exist without it,” said Regina Mayor Sandra Masters.
