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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
On a rock-covered beach in the heart of the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, Alex Moonias gazes east, then north. All he sees is undisturbed land, water and air. Some 100 kilometres from where he stands, the province plans to build a road as part of its pledge to mine the area, which is said to be rich in metals needed for electric vehicle batteries.
We have a great deal to lose if we don’t acknowledge our shared responsibility to protect and restore the Great Lakes. That’s the underlying premise of Biinaagami, a multi-year collaborative project undertaken by Canadian Geographic and Swim Drink Fish. The project was launched September 26 in Niagara on the Lake with a number of First Nations leaders from Manitoulin Island as key participants.
First Nations leaders, community activists and university scientists say they're growing increasingly worried about the Qu'Appelle Valley chain of lakes, with water quality sometimes dipping below recreational use standards and toxic algae blooms increasing in severity. "We're going to get hit with some wicked blue-green-purple algae if we don't start building policies and protecting our fresh water," said Aura Lee MacPherson, chair of the Calling Lakes Ecomuseum, an advocacy group that works to protect the Lower Qu'Appelle River watershed, in southeastern Saskatchewan.
Rebecca Zagozewski, executive director of the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, said she has seen contractors save on costs when building water treatment plants on reserves by using obsolete parts and failing to include maintenance manuals, ventilation or chemical rooms, and bathrooms. “Engineering companies will put in their bids obviously as low as they can go,” said Zagozewski.
