Sit-in at Queen's Park to demand access to drinking water
It has now been 20 days since the running water was shut off after dangerous hydrocarbons were found in the local water reservoir at the Neskantaga First Nation, located 450 kilometers north of Thunder Bay.
Share November 6, 2020 7:19 p.m. Share Sit-in at Queen's Park to demand access to drinking water
Émilie Pelletier Local Journalism Initiative – Le Droit TORONTO – NDP MP Sol Mamakwa this week led a sit-in calling on the Ford government to do more to ensure First Nations access to safe drinking water.
Sol Mamakwa is the only First Nations member to serve in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
It has now been 20 days since the running water was shut off after dangerous hydrocarbons were found in the local water reservoir at the Neskantaga First Nation, located 450 kilometers north of Thunder Bay.
The indigenous peoples of this community, who have been struggling with a boil water advisory for over 25 years, had to be evacuated from the territory. No other boil water advisory has been issued for this long in the country.
This is the second time in two years that Neskantaga has had to turn off the running water. In 2019, a pump failure forced the partial evacuation of the community. The latter had to pay the costs of the evacuation itself, deemed unnecessary by Ottawa.
This time, the First Nation has developed very specific requests before considering repatriation to their territory. In particular, they are asking for water to run from taps 24 hours a day, even if a boil water advisory is in progress. They also require the decontamination of homes as well as the repair of hardware such as pipes, sinks and faucets, in poor condition due to the crisis.
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Pressure on the Ford government
Members of the Neskantaga community traveled to Toronto this week to protest the water crisis. “Some of them slept at the hotel on Sunday night and one of the first things they told me when we got to Queen's Park was how happy they were to have it. 'running water,' said Mamakwa.
When they came to power in 2018, the Progressive Conservatives halved the services of a group that provided services to communities struggling with water treatment problems, laments the MP. “Last year they only spent 20% of the funding. “
During a recent visit to the community of Neskantaga, Mr. Mamakwa witnessed some troubling situations. “Some of these people are now adults and grew up never having clean drinking water available at all times. “
Mountains of plastic water bottles are piling up as far as the eye can see in landfills, he also notes, recalling the importance of the environmental issue.
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Ford government seeks federal help
“The federal government must ensure that adequate funding is provided to improve the quality of water on reserves and to ensure that the infrastructure, operation, maintenance and training of the water system is sustainable. water are supported, ”said the office of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Greg Rickford.
The ministry says a team from the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) visited Neskantaga at the invitation of the chief and was informed that work is already underway to assess the community's overall system.
A 14 day stress test will begin in the next few days and work is underway to “provide high level recommendations for longer term system durability, focused on removing the boil water advisory from the water, in place since the mid-1990s ”.
“The Ontario government remains committed to working in partnership with First Nations communities to address the issue of water quality on reserves, and we call on the federal government to fulfill its responsibility to ensure the safety of water on reserves. “
