EDITOR'S NOTE: This entire article makes me very ashamed to be a Canadian! MANY letters need to be written to the Federal government DEMANDING they get busy and fix these deplorable conditions!

Water ‘source of fear’ for native communities, report says

Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, May 22, 2008

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=532780

Water quality in aboriginal communities and reserves across the country has reached a "boiling point," warns a new report released Thursday by the Polaris Institute, the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Labour Congress.

"The deplorable conditions that First Nation people live in would not be accepted in any other part of the country," says the report, co-authored by Andrea Harden and Holly Levaillant from the Polaris Institute, a citizens' rights advocacy group that challenges corporate influence on public policy issues. "For many, water has become a source of fear, and people have good reason to believe that what comes out of their taps may be making them sick. What is happening should be considered a violation of fundamental human rights in this country."

The report, which focused on six First Nations communities across the country; Landsdowne House and Pikangikum in Ontario, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg in Quebec, Yellow Quill First Nation in Saskatchewan, Fort Chipewyan in Alberta, and LittleSalmon Carmacks in the Yukon territory- says that the situation has reached a crisis for many local residents.

"One of the problems that we face, of course, is that there is a tendency to blame us for the situation," said Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, at a news conference. "Well in fact, we never polluted or contaminated our water, yet we're being held accountable to make sure we fix this, and I think this is completely unfair."

About 100 aboriginal communities across the country remained on drinking water advisories as of last month without adequate response from the federal government, according to the report.

"While $330-million in the 2008 budget was allocated to safe drinking water in First Nations communities over two years, the current government has backed away from the Kelowna Accord that dedicated $5.1 billion to improving the socio-economic conditions and access to water for aboriginal people," says the report. "Although the accord would not have closed the gap between the standard of living for First Nations and non-aboriginals in Canada, it was a sign of progress."

Mr. Fontaine said there has been progress in some communities, but that many aboriginals continue to face "startling" conditions that would shock many Canadians, such as water that is contaminated by uranium, harmful bacteria or substances that can stain metal. He added that Landsdowne House, which is profiled in the report, has been under a boiling water advisory for more than a decade.

"This is a challenge that is before the entire country. It isn't just the people that experience poverty- First Nations people," said Mr. Fontaine. "It's a direct result of gross negligence on the part of successive governments."

The report also raises concerns about the impact of development in Alberta's oilsands on water quality and the environment for the Fort Chipewyan community where a local physician, John O'Connor, was the subject of a complaint from the federal and provincial governments when he spoke out about an outbreak of a rare form of cancer affecting the locals.

The federal and provincial government announced Thursday a study into the high incidences of colon, liver, blood and bile-duct cancers in Fort Chipewyan.

1995: A federal study says one reserve in five has problems with safe drinking water that might lead to health problems.

July 2001: A group of federal politicians hosts a roundtable on drinking water on reserves and declare the problems acute and in need of urgent attention.

December 2001: A study by Health Canada conducted a few months earlier finds water quality problems in one-third of reserves in Manitoba.

November 2002: A survey released by the federal government identifies problems in 1,300 water and sewage treatment plants on native reserves across canada.

March 2004: A boil water advisory is lifted at the Yellow Quill First Nation in Saskatchewan. It was in place for eight years.

April 2004: A report by the Ontario Clean Water Agency on water quality in Ontario reserves is forwarded to the federal government (but not made public until November 2005). Fifteen of 95 reserves examined in the province were identified as high risk because of poor training of the operators of the local water systems.

September 2005: The commissioner of the environment releases an audit of drinking water on reserves that notes problems continue despite $1.9 billion invested since 1996.

October 2005: The James Bay-area Kashechewan reserve is evacuated after the Ontario government declares a medical emergency because the water treatment plant was not working. Hundreds are moved to southern towns for about a month until repairs are made to the plant.

November 2005: A report made public during the Kashechewan evacuation notes that 30 per cent of Ontario reserves have boil water advisories in place.

March 21, 2006: The government announces an action plan for First Nations drinking water focussing on improving the conditions in the worst reserves and establish basic water quality standards.

October 2006: A report by Northwest Health Unit in Ontario describes the poor conditions in the Pikangikum reserve. Most homes in the northern Ontario reserve are not connected to the new water treatment plant, leaving many residents to transport water by bucket or collect it from a lake.

November 2006: Government releases the report of an expert panel on safe drinking water.

January 2008: A progress report released by the federal government says things are improving.