Eleven First Nations communities in B.C. still can't drink tap water

Hundreds of people in 11 First Nations communities in B.C. still struggle with water restrictions that force them to boil — and often buy — water to drink, bathe and cook with, often for months, if not years, on end.

On March 31, the federal government announced an end to the last long-term drinking water advisory in B.C. — a 15-year boil water advisory that had been in place in the Semiahmoo First Nation, located on a small triangle of land on the other side of 8th Avenue in White Rock.

The end of the advisory, which Semiahmoo Chief Harley Chappell said lifted the existing boil-water advisory but “doesn't address growth,” cost roughly $15 million and involved a new water main, road upgrades and connecting 40 homes to Surrey's water system.

The Hesquiaht and Canim Lake First Nations, both of which are supported by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), have been under boil-water advisories since June 2020. William Olscamp, an ISC spokesman, called the advisories “precautionary” and said they were expected to be lifted by July — just before the cutoff for when the advisories would have to be classified as “long term.”

Long-term water advisories are those that have been in place for more than a year. At the beginning of the year, water advisories were in place in 18 First Nations communities in B.C., six of which were funded by ISC. Of those six, half had been in place for more than a decade.

According to a February report from the auditor general of Canada, Indigenous Services Canada “did not provide the support necessary to ensure that First Nations communities have ongoing access to safe drinking water.”

“Fifteen years after we first examined the issue some First Nations communities continue to experience a lack of access to safe drinking water,” the AG wrote in her report.

ISC Minister Marc Miller called long-term advisories “unacceptable” and said they “should never have been there in the first place.”

Miller noted the money being spent now by the government was an indication of just how underfunded First Nation communities have been when it comes to drinking water.

Chappell said his community was looking forward to finally having the opportunity to build their community, both economically and socially.

Fifteen years after we first examined the issue some First Nations communities continue to experience a lack of access to safe drinking water.