Minister expected to table First Nations drinking water legislation today
The draft softens a human-rights clause while keeping measures for safe drinking water, wastewater treatment and source-water protection.
- Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is expected to table long-awaited legislation today to govern clean drinking water in First Nations communities in the House.
- A previous bill introduced in 2023 by Patty Hajdu died when Parliament was prorogued, despite being co-drafted with First Nations people who hoped the government would eventually pass it.
- The new draft bill frames access as "progressive realization" under the International Covenant, departing from the previous version's explicit recognition of a "human right to safe drinking water."
- Some First Nations leaders report they have not been consulted on the new legislation, contrasting with Hajdu's 2023 bill she called "incredibly thoughtful legislation that was co-drafted with First Nations people."
- The legislation enables tripartite source-water protection agreements between First Nations, provinces, and the federal government; Several First Nations groups are expected to comment after the bill is tabled in the House.
49 Articles
49 Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
Lawyers say language change in First Nations water bill looks to shield government
OTTAWA - Two lawyers say the blurring of language on the right of First Nations to clean drinking water in a new bill serves as a shield for the federal government as it argues against that right in court.
Ottawa announces 'largest funding commitment ever made for First Nations'
On Tuesday morning, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) announced the proposed First Nations Clean Water Act, Bill C-37, along with the “single largest funding commitment ever made for First Nations,” $4.6 billion over five years.
Canada’s First Nations water bill C-37 faces criticism
Photo: Christopher Katsarov Luna / The Canadian Press Federal Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty has unveiled a new and long-awaited bill to provide safe drinking water to First Nations, which she says was written to ensure “we have provincial partners at the table.” Ontario chiefs say they were shut out and their right to clean water was not recognized. Gull-Masty denied her government caved to provincial pressure in Bill C-37, o…
The Minister of Aboriginal Services Mandy Gull-Masty describes a "modern and effective legislative framework."
Feds reintroduces First Nations water bill after long delay — with changes to rights clause
The federal government reintroduced long-awaited First Nations clean water legislation Tuesday, after months of pressure from chiefs to bring the bill back. The new bill, called the First Nations Clean Water Act, includes a major change to section 3, the rights clause, changing the language from “upholding the rights of First Nations peoples” to a “progressive realization, for individuals on First Nations lands, of the human right to safe drinki…
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