First Nations water systems need $3.2B: PBO

Jane Philpott says the federal government will spend as much money as it takes to end long-term, boil-water advisories in First Nations communities by March 2021.

The Indigenous services minister made that vow Thursday after Parliament’s budget watchdog warned that the federal government hasn’t devoted anywhere near enough money to fulfil Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to end boil-water advisories within five years.

It will cost at least $3.2 billion in capital investment to bring First Nations drinking water and wastewater systems up to standards comparable to non-Indigenous communities by 2020, according to a report released by the parliamentary budget office.

That includes $1.8 billion to upgrade drinking water systems and another $1.4 billion to upgrade wastewater treatment, along with $361 million in maintenance costs.

The Trudeau government’s first budget in 2016 allocated $1.8 billion over five years for improving First Nations water and wastewater systems.

But the PBO report says that falls far short of what’s needed to deliver on Trudeau’s 2015 campaign promise to end all long-term boil-water advisories in First Nations communities within five years.

The planned spending, combined with the money that’s been devoted to improving water systems since 2011, will cover only 54 to 70 per cent — depending on population growth — of the total investments needed, the report says.

Moreover, the report notes that the Trudeau government’s commitment applies only to water systems that are financially supported by the federal government — which covers most, but not all, systems on reserve.