Queen's Park

Ontario should stop playing 'jurisdictional ping pong' with First Nations' water crisis, says NDP MPP

Ontario should stop playing 'jurisdictional ping pong' with First Nations' water crisis, says NDP MPP

The NDP MPP for the region with the longest-running boil water advisories of any First Nations in Canada is demanding the Ontario government become part of the solution. Sol Mamakwa, who represents the riding of Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario, said the provincial government could do more to help alleviate the suffering of communities on long-term drinking water advisories.

Neskantaga First Nation water crisis shows 'apartheid system' of clean water access, NDP MPP says

Neskantaga First Nation water crisis shows 'apartheid system' of clean water access, NDP MPP says

A week after the evacuation of a remote First Nation in northwestern Ontario, First Nations leaders say there is still no plan to restore running water to the community. It's possible evacuees may not be able to return to Neskantaga this winter, Mamakwa said. "Especially during a pandemic, to see the continued complacency of government, in 2020, in Ontario, in Canada, you can see how racism affects this community," Mamakwa said. That racism costs lives, he added, noting that a 23-year-old woman died by suicide in Neskantaga last year, without ever having tasted clean water from the tap in her home.