CLEAN WATER ON RESERVES

It's hard to think of any other liberal democracy with something akin to Canada's Indian Act: An openly racist document hated by everybody that nevertheless continues to define a major swath of federal policy. It's eminently clear by this point that no conventional federal government would ever have the conviction, courage or political savvy to comprehensively reform the Indian Act the way it so desperately requires. When it comes to Indigenous policy, Canada can't even deliver on the absolute barest minimum of expectations: Ensuring that the first peoples within its borders don't have to boil their water before drinking it.

At any one time, 100 of the approximately 600 First Nations are subject to a drinking water advisory, according to the Council of Canadians. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had promised to end all long-term drinking advisories by this year. But like virtually everything managed by Indigenous and Northern Affairs, the rollout has been kneecapped by Soviet-levels of red tape and top-down mismanagement. Maybe a reserve will get a one-time lump sum to upgrade their water treatment, but no provision or funding for someone to maintain it. Or a reserve gets funding for a new treatment plant, but no means to connect it to neighbouring homes.