First Nations boil-water advisories to continue

Star Blanket Cree Nation Chief Michael Starr said he isn't surprised to hear the federal government's Wednesday admission that long-term boil water advisories on First Nations will stay past March 2021.

“I wish their words would be different,” he said. “I wish they would do their best to meet (their goals).”

A water advisory has been in place on his First Nation since January 2007, according to the federal government.

Starr said his community's efforts to upgrade water treatment facilities have snagged on bureaucratic delays, despite the First Nation's best efforts.

“We should have it up already, but their lack of understanding, their lack of moving things forward quickly has delayed the project,” he said.

“That's frustrating for us.” Star Blanket Cree Nation, which is about 119 kilometres northeast of Regina, has one of eight long-term water advisories on First Nations in Saskatchewan.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations didn't respond to a request for comment by press time.

Indigenous Services Canada said at least 22 long-term water advisories affecting First Nations will remain in place beyond that deadline, which was set following an ambitious 2015 Liberal election promise to lift them all within five years.

“What communities want is not an Ottawa-imposed deadline,” Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday during a news conference in Ottawa.

Their lack of understanding, their lack of moving things forward quickly has delayed the project.

“It's a long-term commitment to access to clean water.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into efforts to upgrade water systems and carry out on-site training, with supply chains snarled and construction put off as some reserves opted to restrict travel, the department said at an earlier briefing.

“COVID has really changed everything,” Miller said. “Because of COVID, many projects lost a full construction season.”

He called the continued lack of access to clean water on scores of First Nations “totally unacceptable,” but did not set a second deadline.

The complexity of projects, which can include infrastructure overhauls and depend on increasingly unreliable winter roads, have added to the delay, he said.

It has also been a challenge to hire and retain operators for water and wastewater treatment plants on remote sites.

Miller has held the Indigenous Services portfolio since November 2019.

“Ultimately, I bear the responsibility for this, and I have the responsibility and the duty to get this done,” he said.

The department said 97 boil-water advisories have been lifted since 2016, while 59 remain in place in 41 communities as the problem of unreliable drinking water persists.

In its fall economic statement on Monday, the Liberal government pledged to invest $1.5 billion this year to work toward lifting all long-term drinking water advisories in Indigenous communities, on top of $2.1 billion already committed since 2016.