Recognizing when people do the right thing

While it was buried away in the middle of Feb. 1’s business section, the Globe and Mail ran a fairly lengthy article on the agreements the Government of Alberta has just signed with the Blood band and the Ermineskin and Samson Cree bands guaranteeing those communities access to a reliable supply of potable water.

In the case of the Kainai, which is of more immediate interest to people in Lethbridge seeing as how they’re just across the river from us, the agreement gives the tribe the right to draw down 3.75 million cubic metres out of the Saint Mary Reservoir every year.

While this isn’t going to mean that starting tomorrow people living on the reserve can turn on their taps and take a drink of uncontaminated water, it does mean that the tribal government can begin to develop a safe community water system.

No small thing given the ongoing scandal that is the water supply in most First Nations communities.

While the Kainai band did not comment, a spokesperson for the Cree specifically singled out Premier Notley and Minister of the Environment Shannon Phillips for breaking the logjam of years of denial and neglect of these files under previous provincial administrations.

Sometimes, when people do the right thing, it should be recognized.

Ken Sears

Lethbridge