Water rights on Indigenous Reserves
Blogged by: Cory
Imagine having to boil your drinking water every single day for 19 years, for many indigenous people who live on reserves this is a reality. In Ontario as of November 2016 we have had 81 water drinking advisories, 68 of which are long term (Minsky, 2017). These water advisories are only in indigenous reserves and nowhere else, so why is it fair to have multiple communities living this way and nothing be done about it, and if they are doing something about why does it take so long?
Just about a year ago, Trudeau’s Liberals put 1.8 billion dollars into the water system in indigenous reserves to help end the long term water advisories but they said the system was ‘flawed’ due to the fact that there were still 156 water advisories affecting 110 reserves (Minsky, 2017). Budget 2016 provides $1.8 billion over five years to significantly improve on-reserve water and wastewater infrastructure, ensure proper facility operation, maintenance, and support the training of water system operators, in addition to $141.7 million over five years to improve drinking water monitoring and testing on reserve. (Canada,I.A. 2017)
Think about taking a bath and coming out with rashes all over your body. For many parents and children this happens. “ A doctor informed her that the baby's rash was probably from her water. Susan can't bathe her daughter at home now, The water in the well that supplies her home is contaminated with uranium; water trucked in from a local treatment plant to fill a cistern at her house has dangerous levels of a cancer-causing byproduct that comes from treating dirty source water. (Klasing,A. 2017)
Personally i think that the canadian government has taken way too long to look into this issue, these Indigenous family have been dealing with this issue for decades while non-Indigenous family close by have clean, safe water. The communities are promised clean water over and over but the government puts Indigenous reserves needs at the bottom of their to-do list. Shoal Lake 40 hasn’t had clean drinking water in 17 years. The community has been promised a fix time-and-time-again, but they’ve got little to show for it. (n. d)
The water advisory crisis is a real issue that should not be unnoticed any longer, it should be made aware to the public so everyone sees what kind of conditions Indigenous reserves everywhere around Canada are going though on an everyday basis. Everyone sees these people as if they are choosing to live in these conditions but really they are choosing to live in their home town where they feel safe, we are making it difficult for them to live normally and it should be taken care of. They have every single right to live in a safe environment but yet they aren't.
Back to my beginning statement where i said imagine having to boil your drinking water everyday for 19 years. I couldn't imagine having to boil my drinking water yet alone boil the water I use to cook with, bathe, brush my teeth etc. If i can't imagine doing it why should we make them do it?
References
Canada's Indigenous water crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://news.vice.com/story/canadas-indigenous-water-crisis
Canada, I. A. (2017, August 04). Government and First Nations Work to end Drinking Water Advisory at Neskantaga First Nation. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/indigenous-northern-affairs/news/2017/07/government_and_firstnationsworkstoenddrinkingwateradvisoryatnesk.html
Klasing, A. (2017, March 24). Why is Canada denying its indigenous peoples clean water? Retrieved from https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-is-canada-denying-its-indigenous-peoples-clean-water/article31599791/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
Minsky, A. (2017, February 09). First Nations ‘living in Third World conditions’ as communities endure water advisories. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/3238948/first-nations-drinking-water-crisis-liberals-promise/
Reserves in Alberta are at the forefront of a national drinking water crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://albertaventure.com/water/reserves-in-alberta-are-at-the-forefront-of-a-national-drinking-water-crisis-heres-what-theyre-doing-to-end-it/
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