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Results: 1 - 15 of 54
View Leah Gazan Profile
NDP (MB)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for Minister Bennett.
On April 11, 2016, you promised this very committee that your government was committed to putting an end to long-term boil water advisories on reserve within five years. On June 11, 2019, you promised that boil water advisories would end by 2021. Clearly, your government is going to be breaking another promise to indigenous people.
I looked on the website. It has not been updated in terms of boil water advisories since February 15, 2020. That was prior to COVID.
In the estimates, you've allocated approximately $6,832,500 for capital investments. How much of that $6 million will be invested to end boil water advisories?
If you could you limit your response because of the short amount of time, thank you.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
I would perhaps note that this is a question that most likely should have been directed to me, since Indigenous Services Canada is in charge, in addition to the communities that are affected, in eliminating those boil water advisories.
I believe what you have said to be correct. There have been no public updates since March and perhaps the end of February.
We have continued to invest in ensuring that short-term water advisories do not become long-term ones. Those that are on the list, and indeed the ones remaining, are the most complicated, but I would note that as of December 31, 2019, we've invested more than $1.4 billion with targeted funding to support over 602 waste-water projects, including 276 that are actually now complete. These projects serve about half a million people in first nation communities.
View Leah Gazan Profile
NDP (MB)
I have just one last point. With COVID, we now know that it's more urgent. This is a very clear human rights violation, and wilful. What is your plan? How long is this going to take? This is a life and death matter.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
We continue aggressively to meet that spring 2021 date that we've set. My team is working around the clock, despite COVID, to keep working on that date. This is community-by-community decision-making, and we are engaged with those communities to ensure that they have the supports they need, even in the face of communities that have decided to close down. We want to make sure that they do have that support for what is best described as an essential service.
View Leah Gazan Profile
NDP (MB)
Mr. Jackson, thank you so much. I have a million other questions I would love to ask you.
Grand Chief Fiddler, you spoke about the issue of access to clean drinking water. The Liberal government promised to end all boil water advisories. This is coming up in a couple of months and it's very clear that the government is not going to keep that promise.
We're currently in a pandemic, which for me speaks to the need to quicken the process to end all boil water advisories. What difference would it make if the government made substantial and real investments immediately to protect the health and safety of your communities and respond to this basic human right that's currently being violated?
Alvin Fiddler
View Alvin Fiddler Profile
Alvin Fiddler
2020-06-12 12:29
You can take anything, any sector, and on the reserve there are no standards. There are no standards on health care. There are no standards on education. There are no standards on housing or water. That's what this government needs to look at, building those standards, the standards on the reserve.
Again, water is a source of life. We cannot live without water, and we need to create standards to work in partnership with other jurisdictions and provinces, to build these standards and to fund the communities to be able to meet the standards.
View Jagmeet Singh Profile
NDP (BC)
Will the Prime Minister commit to not just pretty words but real action ensuring that all indigenous communities have access to clean drinking water?
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, the NDP needs to know that we have eliminated over 80 long-term boil water advisories through our work over the past years, and we are on track to eliminating all of them on time by next spring.
This is something we committed to Canadians and we are doing.
View Jagmeet Singh Profile
NDP (BC)
Mr. Chair, the Prime Minister needs to speak to indigenous communities who talk of a completely different reality. They do not have access to clean drinking water, and communities are going off the list only to return back on to the list of boil water advisories.
Will the Prime Minister commit to ensuring all indigenous communities have clean drinking water?
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, that was a commitment we made to Canadians and a commitment we are keeping. The member opposite continues to talk as if there has been no progress made. There has been significant progress made. We are on track to eliminating those boil water advisories.
It would be great if the members opposite talked about some good news instead of just highlighting the very real problems that are there. There is good news and there is challenging news. We are working on those together.
View Mumilaaq Qaqqaq Profile
NDP (NU)
View Mumilaaq Qaqqaq Profile
2020-05-21 13:47
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
That wasn't actually any answer, so I and my office will be following up.
Prior to COVID-19, communities across Nunavut were already facing a lack of clean drinking water. Nunavummiut are working as hard as they can to follow the health guidelines that have been proposed. They face painful decisions like choosing to wash their hands or having enough water be able to cook and clean.
As we move into summer months, especially with spring melt and everything going on environmentally, it will be even harder for some communities to access basic drinking water and meet other accessible water needs. COVID-19 has put Nunavut's basic human rights into focus. When will this federal government commit to making sure that every community in Nunavut has access to clean water. If they need funding for it, why don't they finally crack down on tax havens?
View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to begin by commending the Government of Nunavut for its hard work during this pandemic. I believe it's because of their hard work and their actions that we have not seen the same outbreak in Nunavut that other regions have seen.
I completely agree that the needs of Nunavut are unique, and that is why Nunavut has received over $30 million to address the immediate health, economic and transportation priorities related to COVID-19, as well as $5 million for air services.
The issue of water for Canadian citizens, north and south, Inuit and non-indigenous, is of tremendous importance to our government. We have committed to making sure that every Canadian, every Inuit citizen, every first nation and every Métis citizen has access to drinking water.
View Leah Gazan Profile
NDP (MB)
Thank you very much, Mumilaaq.
Thank you so much for your graciousness, Adam, and your generosity.
I have a question about clean drinking water.
The Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations noted that indigenous people would be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The disease has been detected in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec first nations and the region of Nunangat. In 2010, in a report about lessons learned from the H1N1 pandemic, the government noted that limited access to running water has been a factor affecting the pandemic response in remote and isolated communities.
Last week in committee, when I asked a question about what the government was doing to ensure real action on ending boil water advisories, they said they would look into it. That was a concerning response considering the government indicated they would end those advisories by 2021.
I want to ask this of one of the panellists, since I know I don't have a lot of time. In your opinion, how has the failure of this government to end all water advisories, as they promised in 2015, contributed to and exacerbated the vulnerability and lack of preparedness on reserves during COVID?
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