Blog
Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
Autumn Peltier of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has been named to the national Clean50 list, which recognizes “outstanding contributions to clean capitalism.” The initiative was created in 2011 by the Delta Management Group, a staffing firm with a focus on ‘green’ initiatives such as cleantech, renewable energy and sustainability.
Activists in northeastern Ontario fighting for safe, clean water in First Nations communities across Canada are getting tired of broken promises. After five years and millions in spending, the Liberal government announced in early December that it would not fulfill its commitment to end all long-term water advisories on reserves by March 2021. Although some progress has been made – 97 advisories have been lifted since November 2015 – there’s still a long way to go. There are 59 active long-term water advisories in 41 communities across the country, and activists maintain that clean water should be a priority for the federal government, especially during a global pandemic. “Water is a basic human right, and nobody should have to beg for it. This is wrong, and it’s come to the point where I think it comes down to racism,” said Autumn Peltier, a teenage water-rights activist from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island.
Oct. 14 marked Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. The day has historically been celebrated as Columbus Day in the U.S., but a number of states have decided to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead. They recognize the Indigenous populations that were displaced and decimated after Christopher Columbus and other European explorers reached the continent. And this year, the American celebration had a very Canadian appeal, if you looked in the right place.
