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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
The First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is calling on the federal government to fund First Nations infrastructure projects the same way it funds municipal and provincial projects to fulfill its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. A news release from FNFA says this relationship would be rooted in “partnership rather than paternalism.”
First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is urging Canada to embrace a new and innovative method of funding Indigenous infrastructure based on partnership rather than paternalism to keep its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. "The federal model for funding infrastructure has failed to deliver the housing, clean water and other critical infrastructure that will improve the living conditions in First Nations communities," said FNFA President and CEO Ernie Daniels. "We believe there is a better way, a way that works with First Nations as partners rather than the colonial approach that's rooted in the almost 150-year-old Indian Act."
Today, Ahousaht First Nation is celebrating the completion of their new wastewater treatment plant, located at Ahousaht First Nation's Maaqtusiis Reserve No. 15. This plant replaces the old septic tank treatment and lift station, as well as the old outfall pipe, which was located in an area with a shellfish habitat sensitive to sewage contamination. The old system was unable to properly protect seafood safety and did not meet regulatory standards.
A decision to extend the Lake Huron water supply system to a London-area First Nation has earned the full support of water board members. The Lake Huron Water Supply System management board unanimously voted Thursday to endorse a request by Oneida Nation of the Thames to connect to the water supply system, making it the first London-area First Nation to join one of the region’s two water supply systems. “It’s exciting to hear our local First Nation is one of the first in the area to pursue this type of partnership,” said Adrian Chrisjohn, chief of Oneida Nation of the Thames, southwest of London.
The first Indigenous owned and operated water utility in Canada developed by way of public-private-community partnership is a step closer to reality in the North Okanagan. A formal agreement has been signed between the Okanagan Indian Band Group of Companies, EPCOR and Enterprise Canada. The companies will identify commercial opportunities in utilities-related infrastructure, including water, wastewater and irrigation management, to provide quality drinking water and ensure adequate firefighting supply to serve the OKIB reserve lands.
The Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations (WBAFN), a tribal council with six member First Nations in Northern Ontario, and Canadian charity Water First Education & Training Inc. announce their partnership to deliver a drinking water treatment and environmental water science internship program for young Indigenous adults. Approximately 12 interns will be recruited from six participating First Nations communities across the tribal council’s region to pursue Operator in Training (OIT) and Water Quality Analyst (WQA) certifications.
