CLEAN WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT.
Access to safe, clean drinking water is a fundamental human right. In July 2010, the United Nations officially recognized the rights to water and sanitation, acknowledging that they are essential to human dignity, health, and well-being.
- 2015: The federal government under Liberal leader Justin Trudeau committed to ending all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations communities within five years. While progress was made, many communities continued to face ongoing water infrastructure challenges and unsafe drinking water conditions.
- December 2020: Minister of Indigenous Services, the Honourable Marc Miller, admitted that the government would not meet its deadline of March 2021 to end all boil water advisories.
- 2021: The Auditor General reported that Indigenous Services Canada failed to provide the support necessary to ensure First Nations communities had reliable, long-term access to safe drinking water. The report highlighted ongoing concerns related to infrastructure, operations, maintenance, and long-term planning.
- April 2021: An Access to Safe Drinking Water in First Nation Communities action plan was released by the government stating that the new deadline to end drinking water advisories was 2023-24 and that it would take an additional 2-3 years to provide long term solutions to affected First Nation groups.
- December 2021: The federal government issued a press release welcoming the approval of a multi-billion dollar class-action litigation settlement regarding clean drinking water and said it looks forward to implementing the ‘historic settlement’. Out of necessity, the deadline to apply to be a member of the class action has recently been extended to March of 2024.
- 2025-2026: The Auditor General again rated Canada’s progress as ‘unsatisfactory’. By 2026, 39 long-term drinking water advisories remained in effect across 37 First Nations communities – some in place for more than a decade. The ongoing crisis demonstrates that while important progress has been made, long-term investment, accountability, and collaboration with Indigenous communities are still needed to ensure everyone in Canada has access to safe, clean drinking water.
According to Indigenous Services Canada, there are currently 39 active long-term drinking water advisories affecting 37 First Nations communities across Canada. Ongoing short-term advisories also remain, many of which risk becoming long-term when underlying infrastructure and operational issues go unresolved.
The ones that remain in place tend to be complicated, can include problems with the execution of construction or with challenge to hire, train and retain water plant operators. The federal list does not include communities who rely on wells or cisterns. Many more communities across Canada are not under official advisories but still lack access to safe, clean water.
Long-term drinking water advisories do not tell a full story of the state of access to drinking water in Canada.
The Still Thirsty for Justice campaign tells these stories and provides readers with the opportunity to take action to make things right.