(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said his Liberal government remains committed to ending all long-term drinking water advisories that exist for First Nations, even though he has not set new date to do so.
Trudeau spoke of the work done so far on the issue during a speech Thursday during a virtual chiefs gathering with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).
To date, the Liberals have helped lift 120 long-term drinking water advisories, the Prime Minister said. A government website reports that 42 such notices are still in place in 30 different communities.
I agree that it is unacceptable that some communities are still waiting. So I can assure you that wherever there is an advisory regarding long term drinking water quality, there is a project team and an action plan in place to resolve it.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Ensuring that reserves across Canada have access to clean drinking water was a flagship promise made by Trudeau around reconciliation before he became Prime Minister in 2015.
Mr. Trudeau had promised to end all long-term drinking water advisories by March 2021, which has not happened.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu has said in recent weeks that she is reluctant to set a new deadline for the remainder of these notices to be lifted.
PHOTO PATRICK DOYLE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services
She explained that each community has a different set of priorities and that some have unique challenges, such as the remoteness of their territory, which affects how quickly the work can be done.
Trudeau spent his speech Thursday highlighting the steps his government has taken to advance reconciliation. In addition to helping improve access to clean water, the Prime Minister has lauded the federal money spent to build more schools in First Nations.
His remarks at the rally come as Indigenous leaders and more non-Indigenous Canadians demand justice from the federal government for its role in creating the residential school system, where thousands of Indigenous children were subjected to physical and sexual abuse.
The scrutiny of Mr. Trudeau’s promises regarding reconciliation was triggered this year in the wake of the confirmation by the First Nations of the discovery of anonymous graves on the sites of former residential schools.
He opened his speech on the issue and spoke of his government’s commitment to appoint a special interlocutor to work with indigenous communities as they continue to search for anonymous graves.
The appointment is designed to “advance justice in residential schools,” Trudeau said.
“The children who have never been home should not be forgotten,” the Prime Minister said.
Earlier in the week, AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald shared her concerns with Justice Minister David Lametti, saying she had heard chiefs stress the importance of ensuring the government federal government does not create a position under which it would itself be responsible for investigating.