WC128 JanFeb2023 - Magazine - Page 20
WATER RESOURCES
More than funding
Defining decolonization as full, sovereign control, the paper
remains open-ended about actual remedies for ailing water
and wastewater systems. “What the return of jurisdiction looks
like remains to be seen,” the authors explain. “It could take the
form of a First Nations-led water authority, or perhaps several
First Nations-led regional water authorities, or it could take
a completely different form. This paper is not designed to be
prescriptive but, rather, to catalyze discussions on the importance
of water sovereignty, and the need to decolonize existing water
management structures and restore First Nations jurisdiction
over our water.”
The authors note that, as of 2015, 36 per cent of drinking water
advisories in Ontario First Nations had been in effect for more
than 10 years, and they attribute this in part to unpredictable and
often insufficient funding from ISC to build, operate, maintain,
and monitor water and wastewater systems. “The federal government funds a portion of operations and maintenance costs for
First Nations’ public water and wastewater systems on reserves,
leaving a standard 20 per cent deficit for the First Nations to
cover. The federal government does not evaluate the ability of First
Nations to make up the difference, despite limited community
resources.” Furthermore, the authors say, ISC has failed to spend
substantial budgeted funds in recent years and hasn’t monitored to
see if its investments produce positive outcomes.
The authors chastise the federal government for failing to set
targets and for missing key deadlines. “In 2015, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau committed to ending all long-term drinking
water advisories by March 2021. When that deadline passed, the
government recommitted to ending long-term advisories without
a target date.”
In some cases, the authors found basic data unavailable. “In
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WATER C AN ADA • JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2023
First Nations perspective
Invoking UNDRIP’s emphasis on Indigenous political and cultural rights, the paper’s authors introduce a spiritual dimension
to their argument, advancing the Anishinabek word nibi to denote the sacred, life-sustaining place water holds in First Nation
worldviews, and say a new approach to governance, designed
and led by First Nations, would understand water as more than
a resource and commodity.
Following the paper’s release, Water Canada spoke with
OFNTSC executive director Melanie Debassige and operations
director Glen Goodman about the document’s implications
and possible next steps. “It’s about decolonizing how water is
delivered, and water governance,” Debassige says. “Because, right
now, we’re just delivering government programs. It’s not based
on our own self-determination.”
Debassige points out the irony that, although Ontario’s
standards for drinking water are among the safest in the world
and the province itself borders freshwater giants the Great Lakes,
a substantial number of Indigenous communities still boil their
water and deal with contamination from deadly pollutants.
“Something’s not balancing here,” Debassige says, citing mercury
poisoning at Grassy Narrows in northwestern Ontario from pulp
and paper operations as one example.
Goodman, meanwhile, says he sees the position paper as articulating the need for Indigenous communities to fully manage their
own infrastructure, with the OFNTSC continuing to provide
technical support to help maintain and enhance operational, supervisory and management expertise at a local level. “Historically,
the Government of Canada’s approach is ‘We’ll manage it for you’,
so they keep throwing money at the wall,” Goodman says. “But
that hasn’t proven to be successful. The approach we’re proposing
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation, Magpie: Getty Images
Water operators from Scugog First Nation show OFNTSC Circuit Rider Training
Supervisor, Shayne Dale (right), around the water treatment plant.
2003, the federal government’s National Assessment on Water
and Wastewater Systems in First Nations Communities highlighted the state of water for First Nations people. At the time,
the government report estimated that 13.5 per cent of First
Nations had trucked-in water, 13 per cent had individual wells
and 1.5 per cent had no water service at all. Attempts to obtain
recent statistics on these figures turned out fruitless.”
Decolonizing Water Governance also points to impacts from colonialism, including the forced relocation of many communities to
areas where water scarcity, resource extraction, and industrial pollution place additional stress on potable sources. “Financial commitment alone will not solve the water and wastewater crisis on
First Nations reserves. Along with infrastructure investments, the
government should remedy a range of problems that contribute to
the water crisis. These include: the lack of binding regulations on
water quality on First Nations reserves; persistent under-funding
and arbitrary budgeting for water system costs, including capital,
operation, and maintenance costs; lack of support for household
water and wastewater systems; worsening conditions of source
water; and lack of capacity and support for water operators.”
