Canada can do more for First Nations’ water

Kudos to The Examiner for highlighting the necessity of solving the boil water advisories that have plagued Curve Lake First Nation!

Apparently the community has suffered more than a decade of warnings to boil the water before using. That is disgraceful and flaunts our obligations to the treaties made with First Nations.

Let us remember we are settlers on land which our ancestors acquired by somewhat questionable means –land which has enabled us to become one of the best countries in the world in which to live.

When the UN points out that Canada is very high on the quality of life index but Canadian First Nations are way down that same list we should be very ashamed.

It would take a measly $25 million to put in a filtration plant. And I say measly because I’m comparing that expenditure, a basic necessity of life, to the huge monies spent on something that does more damage than good, the military.

We presently spend about $17 billion annually on defence, a sum scheduled to rise to $30 billion by 2027-2028; this despite the end of the Cold War in 1990 and no visible enemy in sight.

So let us not say we can’t afford it. What we can’t afford is increased military budgets in a world which has proven once again that our military technology has outstripped our humanity.

Getting a water treatment plant and the water mains to every home in every Indigenous community across the country is the minimum Canada needs to do. And Curve Lake is our particular priority here.

The Examiner calls for renewed effort from MP Maryam Monsef, who called this her “No.1 priority.”

The Suzuki Foundation has just completed another report on water in First Nations communities.

It concludes “while some steps are being taken by the federal government, they fall short of the strides needed for this government’s promises to become a reality.”

We hope you step up, Maryam – Canada, and in particular your own community, are behind you on this.

Sheila Nabigon-Howlett Cambridge St.