The Green Party of Canada criticizes the Liberal government’s announcement that it will miss its target to end boil-water advisories in First Nations communities by March 2021.
“Why wasn’t providing clean drinking water during a pandemic a priority? Somehow, extracting resources from Indigenous communities is always doable, but providing basic services takes decades”
-Green Party of Canada, December 4
The Green Party of Canada released statements on Twitter today, condemning the Trudeau government’s inability to provide clean drinking water to First Nations communities during a pandemic. For many this exemplifies the institutional, extractivist attitude that the Government of Canada has historically held towards Indigenous affairs.
The Liberal government’s Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller announced on December 2 that the government will miss its own target to ensure all First Nations communities have access to clean drinking water by March 2021. Currently, 59 advisories are still in place in 41 communities (1).
The Liberal government cites the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for delays in upgrading or completing water systems and creating supply chain problems.
The United Nations Resolution 64/292 explicitly recognizes the human right to clean drinking water and sanitation, that they “are essential to the realization of all human rights”.
For more information:
1.https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-services-minister-drinking-water-target-1.5824614
