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Safe drinking water in Indigenous communities must be a higher priority

Safe drinking water in Indigenous communities must be a higher priority

On the United Nations' World Water Day Unifor is renewing its call to guarantee safe drinking water for Indigenous communities across the country. "Canadians must hold this government to account," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. "Safe drinking water is a right." United Nations' World Water Day coincides with the Trudeau government's self-imposed deadline to eliminate water boil advisories and ensure safe drinking water in Indigenous communities. A Parliamentary Budget Officer's report last year cast doubt on whether there was enough funding to get the job done.

Tataskweyak suing federal government with class-action lawsuit over failure to provide clean water

Tataskweyak suing federal government with class-action lawsuit over failure to provide clean water

Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) in Northern Manitoba, which has been under a boil-water advisory since 2017, is one of the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the federal government that seeks to have access to drinkable water recognized as a right and spur the federal government to do more for it and other First Nations under long-term water advisories.

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

This time of year, with the temperature plunging below -20 C, a snowmobile and an ice chisel are required tools for anyone in Tataskweyak Cree Nation in need of fresh water. There’s the bottled stuff, trucked into town courtesy of the federal government, but the weekly shipment of 1,500 cases is only sufficient to meet basic consumption needs. For cleaning, cooking and basic hygiene water, many residents need a supplementary source. And rather than use their tainted tap water, they follow a snowmobile trail several kilometres to Assean Lake, pails in hand.