Boil-water advisories at First Nations communities to remain past March 2021: feds

OTTAWA — Government officials say at least 22 boil-water advisories in First Nations communities will remain in place after March 2021, the deadline to deliver on a promise to lift all long-term advisories made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau five years ago.

Christiane Fox, the deputy minister of Indigenous Services, says the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into efforts to upgrade water systems and carry out on-site training, with supply chains snarled and some reserves opting to restrict travel.

Fox says the complexity of projects, which can include infrastructure overhauls, on remote sites have added to the delay.

“In some cases, because of COVID, many projects lost a full construction season. And this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says, adding there are other reasons the government won’t finish the work by the deadline.

“From shorter and warmer winters and making access to communities by winter roads more unpredictable, to hiring and retaining qualified staff in isolated and remote communities, as well as respecting infrastructure planning and priorities, as well as infrastructure delays that affect many other projects in Canada and far too often Indigenous communities. These are all factors that need to be taken into consideration when working towards ensuring access to clean, safe, and reliable water for First Nations on reserves.”

The department says 97 boil-water advisories have been lifted since 2016, while 59 remain in place in 41 communities as the problem of unreliable drinking water persists.

“Our government is not and will not abandon our commitment to ensuring First Nations on reserve have clean, safe, and reliable drinking water,” Miller says.

In late October, about 250 residents of Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario, which has had a boil-water advisory in place for 25 years, were evacuated from their homes following the discovery of an oily sheen in it reservoir.

In its fall economic statement Monday, the Liberal government pledged to invest $1.5 billion this year to work toward lifting all long-term drinking water advisories in Indigenous communities, on top of $2.1 billion already committed since 2016.

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