Dozens of First Nations communities across Canada live their day-to-day lives with concerns about the quality of their drinking water, never-ending boil water advisories, and water-related illnesses.
In northern Ontario, for instance, members of the Neskantaga First Nation have endured the longest boil water advisory in the country. It has lasted for nearly 30 years since it was issued in February 1995.
Chief Chris Moonias:
“All we want is clean drinking water — for the young, for the middle-aged, for the elders — the same rights to clean drinking water as any other Canadian.”
First Nations communities have long confronted unsafe water conditions. Decades of systemic issues were linked to a lack of infrastructure and funding originated in the 1876 Indian Act. In the 1990s and 2000s, for instance, more than 700 water advisories affected more than 250 First Nations communities.
In recent years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Liberal politicians have vowed to end boil water advisories for Indigenous communities across the country. While campaigning in 2015, the party pledged to lift all the then-active 105 advisories by 2021. To date, it has invested nearly $6 billion to incite change.
