Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak are urging MPs from all parties to support legislation to ensure First Nations have clean water in their communities .
The government has introduced a bill that seeks to do just that, and also seeks to protect water sources on First Nations territories.
Hajdu has called it the first piece of legislation truly co-developed between Canada and First Nations, although some First Nations disagree with that framework.
The bill has been before a House of Commons committee for months, where MPs have heard chiefs and experts express concerns that the legislation does not go far enough to protect their rights. They also question how strong it will be in ensuring their communities receive adequate funding to maintain and operate water treatment plants.
Hajdu accused the opposition of delaying the bill.
“If we continue to see the kind of obstruction that we are seeing from the Conservative Party, we will be in a place where we will not be able to finish the debate on this bill and send it to the Senate,” Hajdu said. after she appeared before the House committee studying the legislation.
“Ultimately, we have a race against time here.”
The Conservatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Woodhouse Nepinak said Canada and First Nations must work together to ensure the legislation is passed before the next election, calling it the top priority for First Nations.
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The next federal election is due in October 2025, but the minority Parliament is in a precarious state and the Conservatives are promising more no-confidence votes to try to topple the Liberal government this fall.
“We are hearing the crisis loud and clear from First Nations and it is important that we work together, that First Nations work together and that all Members of Parliament are changing the dial on this issue,” Woodhouse Nepinak said.
Canada was in court this week defending itself in a class-action lawsuit brought in 2022 by the Shamattawa First Nation in northern Manitoba.
That community has been under a boil water advisory since 2018 and hopes the case will lead to recognition that the federal government is legally obligated to ensure First Nations have drinking water.
A defense statement from the Attorney General of Canada argues that Canada provides drinking water to on-reserve First Nations as “a matter of good governance rather than as a result of a legal duty.”
It goes on to say that while Hajdu has said Canada is committed to providing clean water to all First Nations members on reserves, it was done “in a particular context” and “did not provide a legal opinion.”
The acting grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs criticized the government’s defense in a news release this week.
“Pointing the finger at First Nations for the entirely predictable consequences of Canada’s lack of adequate support is not only shameful but also a violation of the trust our people are trying to develop with the government,” said Betsy Kennedy .
“The federal government has publicly acknowledged its role in this crisis, but in court they deny any responsibility. “This is a clear act of hypocrisy that is unacceptable.”
Asked if he had directed Canada’s lawyers to take certain positions in court, Hajdu said he couldn’t comment on legal issues, but that the legislation “wouldn’t give those kinds of arguments to government lawyers.”
Woodhouse Nepinak told the House of Commons committee Thursday morning that it fuels the distrust First Nations people have of the federal government when government lawyers go to court and say “stupid things.”
Later, speaking to reporters, he quoted Shamattawa First Nation Chief Jordna Hill calling the water crisis “a national shame.”
“It’s time for Canada to do what’s right for First Nations people,” he said.
“We urge you to have cross-party support for this as we work on amendments. “Time is crucial.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
