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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
Construction and upgrades of the water treatment plant at Neyaashiinigmiing are getting underway. A release from The Chippewas of Nawash Unceeded First Nation says a groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 21st. Last July, $59.8 million in federal funding was announced for the planned water treatment plant. Indigenous Services Canada’s website says the Cape Croker Public Water system has had a boil water advisory since January 2019, which became a long-term advisory the following year.
Batchewana First Nation members have received some welcome news. It was announced this past week that a ground-breaking ceremony was staged for a water treatment plant expected to be fully functional on the First Nation in northern Ontario by the end of 2021. “They’re happy,” Chief Dean Sayers said of the Batchewana First Nation members who will have access to clean drinking water in their homes.
For the past month, Greater Sudbury’s Jordan Cheff has been taking dips in the freezing waters of Lake Nepahwin. November and December might seem like an odd time to visit the beach, but it’s all part of Cheff’s initiative, Cold Water 4 Clean Water, which aims to raise awareness of the issue of FIrst Nations communities in Canada that are living without clean water. The issue has been in the news lately, as the federal government says it will not meet a marquee pledge by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lift all boil-water advisories in First Nations communities by March 2021.
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.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal and provincial governments across Canada are looking for ways to manage any economic hardship. Part of their assorted strategies has been to build new, or repair, existing infrastructure. The federal government now has an opportunity to stimulate the economy, while correcting a heinous historical injustice. It’s time to build the required infrastructure to provide all Indigenous communities in Canada with clean drinking water and reliable sewer systems.
SHOAL LAKE, ONT. — A joint venture (JV) involving Shoal Lake 40 Contractors LP and Sigfusson Northern Ltd. has been named the winning bidder in a competition to earn the right to construct a new water and wastewater system for Shoal Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Indigenous Services Canada is contributing $33 million for the project, which includes construction of a water treatment plant, reservoir, raw water intake structure and lift station as well as the installation of watermain connections and fire hydrants, stated a Sept. 6 release.
