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A scathing report has been released by Canada’s Auditor General concerning on-going boil water advisories in First Nations communities. Karen Hogan says the support provided by Indigenous Services Canada has not been adequate to address long-standing problems with safe drinking water for many. Hogan says drinking water notices remain a part of daily life in many aboriginal communities, with almost half of existing long-term advisories in place for more than a decade.
The Trudeau government has helped lift 97 long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations since 2015, according to Indigenous Services Canada. Currently, 59 advisories are still in place in 41 communities. Since forming government, the Liberals have spent more than $1.65 billion of the $2.19 billion they set aside to build and repair water and wastewater infrastructure, and to manage and maintain existing systems on reserves. The $1.5 billion proposed in Monday's fiscal update is in addition to that $2.19 billion.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to walk back his government’s promise to end all water-boil advisories in First Nations communities by March 2021. Pressed by reporters Friday, Trudeau wouldn’t commit to meeting the 2021 deadline and said the federal government was working to lift the remaining drinking water advisories “as soon as possible.”
