Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu is expected to introduce much-anticipated legislation on Monday aimed at improving the quality of drinking water in First Nations communities.
The bill will be introduced more than a year after Canada repealed a previous law on safe drinking water for First Nations, and two years after a Federal Court decision that approved an $8 billion settlement of dollars for drinking water advisories.
In an interview with The Canadian Press this fall, the minister declared that the upcoming legislative measure was prepared with the First Nations, which some indigenous leaders refute.
At M’s officeme Hajdu, we refuse to provide details of the bill before it is tabled in the House of Commons.
In June 2022, the federal Liberals abolished the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2013.
The government at the time maintained that the law was intended to support the development of federal regulations to improve the quality of drinking water among First Nations and allow for more efficient treatment of wastewater.
Many First Nations, however, said the law was ineffective and dangerous, citing concerns about a lack of sustainable funding and violation of constitutional rights.
In December 2021, the Federal Court and the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench decided to approve an $8 billion class action settlement.
It covered all First Nations and their members who were subject to drinking water advisories for at least one year, between November 1995 and June 2021.
The settlement included $1.5 billion in compensation, $400 million to create a First Nations Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund and a new commitment to lift all long-term drinking water advisories.
The government was also to allocate at least $6 billion to promote access to drinking water in First Nations communities and to modernize legislation on First Nations drinking water.
“This is how colonialism works: they take away and appropriate land and water, take away your authority. You fight and spend a lot of time and money in court doing what you can, and then you get a little bit of movement,” said Dawn Martin-Hill, a professor at McMaster University.
“It’s exhausting,” said M.me Martin-Hill, who directs the Ohneganos Ohnegahdę:gyo Indigenous Water Research Program, in interview.
Others feel the same way.
“Codevelopment”
During a recent House of Commons committee hearing, Mr.me Hajdu was asked about her government’s work to ensure First Nations have clean drinking water.
NDP MP Blake Desjarlais notably questioned the minister in the name of Treaty No.o 8 in Alberta.
Indigenous leaders are concerned about funding and how the bill will work. They also question the use by Mme Hajdu of the term “co-developed” to describe the legislation, said Mr. Desjarlais.
“You can’t say you co-developed these things when your partner doesn’t say the same thing,” he noted.
Mme Hajdu countered that it’s difficult to describe what co-development looks like because it “has never been tried before.”
“I have worked closely with First Nations through this process, and I will continue to strive to consult with Indigenous leaders who wish to participate in the process,” she said.
In an interview with La Presse Canadienne in September, Mme Hajdu said she tried to follow the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in this process.
The minister maintains that governments should consult indigenous peoples “in good faith” to obtain free, prior and informed consent before implementing legislation that could affect them.
The declaration also states that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination and the right to participate in decision-making on matters that could impact their rights.
This bill “is the closest we’ve come to co-development,” she said at the time.
Mme Martin-Hill has previously criticized the Liberals’ handling of the water issue, especially regarding the scope of their commitment to ending boil water advisories.
Although the content of the bill is not yet known, Mme Martin-Hill emphasizes that good governance would include the creation of water authorities in indigenous communities.
“Most of the people who care for, monitor and manage our waters are not indigenous, and they do not consult us about their findings or initiatives,” she lamented.
If the authorities responsible for water management were established within these communities, these powers would be transferred to First Nations, who could have some legal capacity to prevent the destruction or exploitation of this resource without consent.
She gives the example of the Grand River, which runs through her Six Nations reserve in Ontario. Dams make it difficult for fish to pass, the water is cloudy and continually polluted, according to Mme Martin Hill.
She believes that if people who live nearby were able to manage the river themselves, they would be able to clean it up themselves and make better decisions.
Perhaps even the sturgeon that was once abundant in the river would decide to return.
“It’s our food source. When you say indigenous people are poor, well, that’s government-induced dependency,” she insisted.
“It wasn’t something we created. »