skin conditions

First Nation community 2 hours from Toronto still doesn’t have clean, running water

First Nation community 2 hours from Toronto still doesn’t have clean, running water

For as long as she’s been alive, Chief Emily Whetung of Curve Lake First Nation says her community has been without clean, running water. “When you live in a place where you have reliable clean drinking water, you put your child in the bathtub and they play around, and they splash, and you don’t worry about it. When you live in a community that has constant water problems, you sit beside your child the entire time and make sure their face doesn’t go in the water,” said Whetung, who added the water is not only unsafe to sip but can be unsafe to the touch. “Many families in my community and others have to watch for skin conditions.”

Bad water sickens First Nations, but government doesn’t track the toll

Bad water sickens First Nations, but government doesn’t track the toll

The true toll of the water crisis in First Nations communities across Canada can’t be known because the government has failed to track and study water-related illnesses. That stands in the way of tackling the problem, experts told the Institute for Investigative Journalism as part of “Clean Water, Broken Promises,” a year-long investigation conducted in collaboration with universities across the country and a consortium of media outlets including The Tyee. Some critics charge the “black hole” of information is intentional because it allows authorities to duck responsibility. A disproportionate number of illnesses that occur as a result of contaminated drinking water are in First Nations communities with substandard water systems, but the data needed to map the reality are missing.