Tap water, a right for whom?

In several First Nations communities, you cannot drink tap water without boiling it, sometimes for years. Ottawa committed to ending all long-term drinking water advisories affecting public systems on reserves, and has been counting them since November 2015. In February 2021, the Auditor General found that 60 of these advisories were still in effect as of November 1, 2020, nearly half of them for more than ten years. She also noted that the funding formula for maintaining the systems had not been reviewed in 30 years.

Communities turned to the courts. On December 22, 2021, the Federal Court and the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench approved a settlement of about $8 billion: $1.5 billion in individual compensation, $400 million for an economic and cultural restoration fund, and at least $6 billion for drinking water on reserves. About 142,000 people from 258 First Nations were eligible.

According to Indigenous Services Canada, 151 long-term advisories have been lifted since November 2015, but 38 remain in effect in 36 communities, and new advisories keep appearing. Each advisory lifted is the fruit of the work of operators, band councils and families who did not give up. Water connects us all: as long as a single tap stays closed, the circle is not complete.