Clean water and efficient waste management are a high priority to any community. First Nations communities, often distant and isolated from major water treatment centers, are a major concern. But addressing these needs can be involved and expensive. Recently (1), National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, expressed a concern about S-11, the proposed First Nations Safe Drinking Water Act introduced by the Federal Government. While it identifies the need, it fails to offer a means to achieve the objective.
While Bill S-11 proposes regulations to improve First Nations water supplies, once the observer scratches the thin glittering patina, he finds that beneath lies a lead façade.
Merrell-Ann Phare of the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources pointed out at the CFCAS Water Security Symposium (2) that “The number one opposition to the Bill is the lack of capacity and resources”, a stance that is echoed by the Assembly of First Nations.
The City of Winnipeg (population 675,000) is proceeding with a ¾ billion dollar contract for water and sewage upgrades for the city (3), in addition to an undisclosed 30 year contract for maintenance with Veolia (4). Using the same model, coupled with the fact that the aboriginal population of Canada is over 1 million and growing, one would expect that there would be a budget of at least $1 billion just to initiate the infrastructure. In fact this value should be much greater, given the poorer state of existing facilities and the remoteness of the locales.
In the end of course the costs will be absorbed by the communities but, since they have little in the way of available existing funds to respond to the proposed regulations, this amounts to the wind whistling through the heads of the politicians proposing the bill.
As Chief Atleo states:
“This legislation will create new regulations for First Nations drinking water but does not specify how First Nations will be equipped with the facilities, skills and resources to meet those regulations,” said Atleo. “First Nations need infrastructure, training and support to meet the requirements of the new regulations. Regulations without the capacity and financial resources to support them will only set up First Nations to fail and to be punished for this. In my view, we must address the capacity gap as well as the regulatory gap. After all, the safety and health of First Nations people is the stated goal.”
There is a powerful drive to improve the status of aboriginal communities, mostly by the communities themselves, but it is premature to propose the bill without first putting in place the means to achieve the objectives. It is easy to sit in an office in Ottawa and theorize on goals, but it is meaningless to formally present them if no effort has been made to achieve those goals. As the saying goes, “Million [or in this case billion] dollar ideas are a dime a dozen”.
Further, to have federal politicians once more play the role of overlords, pontificating about needs that people have been aware of and requesting for generations is arrogant and superficial.
[The situation reminds me of the franchise rage that dominated in the 80’s and 90’s.. A company would offer their name to a franchise, charge fees, dictate their promotional spending, and garner the glory. The small business owner would put up the money, do all the work, take all the risk, and suffer the losses for ideas that didn’t work.]
In this case the bill needs to be based upon well prepared studies focusing on the specific needs and capacities of the communities (with input from and consulting with aboriginal communities); after comprehensive financial assessments are made; and only when substantive funding can be sourced or structured to support the legislation. Until then, the S-11 does nothing but offer water but no bucket with which to carry it.
References:
(1) Water Canada: The Complete Water Magazine, http://watercanada.net/2010/the-capacity-gap/
(2) Canadian Water Security – The Critical Role of Science, May 27-28, 2010, The Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences and Environment Canada
(3) Council approves Veolia sewage deal, Mary Agnes Welch, Winnipeg Free Press, May 19,2010 http://stage.www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Council-votes-today-on-secret-water-deal-94241879.html
(4) Veolia, Formerly Vivandi, has a history of water rights acquisition in foreign countries.
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