The Green Timberwolf

Water has become a Luxury… In Canada!

Above, Three-and-a-half-year-old Hailey Sakanee takes a sip of treated water. Her community, Neskantaga First Nation, has been under a water advisory for two decades. (Photo Courtesy of CBC)

As Canadian citizens, we are entitled to so much; freedom of speech, a good education, healthcare, clean water and nutritious food. However, in a country that has so much, many are surprised to discover that more than 1 million First Nations people living on reserves have close to none of these basic human rights. Many Reserve Communities in Ontario do not have access to safe drinking water. Essentially, these people are living in criteria of Developing Country conditions… right in our strong developed nation of Canada.  

More than two-thirds of all Canadian First Nations communities have been under at least one water advisory in the past 10 years. Some reserves, such as Neskantaga in Ontario has been under a water advisory longer than 20 years. Clean water is considered a luxury for most first Nations reserves across Canada, as it can be contaminated with dangerous bacteria or have improper filtration.

According to the CBC, Communities with these water problems often have increased stress and mental health problems. In interior British Columbia, the Nazko First Nation Reserve has been under a water advisory for 16+ years, something that is unacceptable to all residents.

"It's very upsetting. We live in Canada but on reserve it feels like Third World conditions," said Nazko Chief Stuart Alec. "Drinking, bathing — it's pretty appalling these conditions exist in this country."

In my opinion, I think it is absolutely awful that a necessity of life is being denied to a group of people in a country that is as developed and wealthy as Canada. Although the government has assigned money to water improvement projects, they have not taken action by training plumbers or other specialists to handle situations.    

Now more than ever, Canada needs to begin to give these citizens what they deserve.  To read more about this issue, check out a very recent article wirtten by CBC; http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/bad-water-third-world-conditions-on-first-nations-in-canada-1.3269500