Future of First Nations Clean Water Act could be dead in the water with prorogation

A pivotal bill that would have ensured First Nations had clean water and wastewater services that are on par with Canadian cities could die with the collapse of the Liberal government. 

Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act, is one of several bills that could be doomed, after Trudeau's resignation on Monday prompted a Liberal leadership race and prorogation of Parliament. 

Under a prorogation, all bills that did not reach royal assent are wiped off the board and must be reintroduced once Parliament returns to sit. Parliament will be prorogued until March 24, and it's unclear if the First Nations Clean Water Act will be brought back onto the legislative table before an election is triggered. 

Opposition parties like the NDP, Bloc and Conservatives have clarified that they will vote non-confidence to topple the government as soon as possible, sparking a spring election. 

John P. Brown, the executive director of the First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water, calls the bill “imperfect” but essential. It would have legislated “for the very first time that Canada had the duty and obligation to provide adequate access to clean water to First Nations across the country,” he said. The bill would have also ensured Ottawa’s legal obligation to fund the development and maintenance of water infrastructure. The bill would also have provided minimum quality standards in cities in non-Indigenous Canada, but these standards are non-existent within First Nation communities.   

It’s why the bill represented “fundamental human rights that, up until now, have not been protected for Indigenous peoples,” Brown added. 

Brown has worked for years towards major reforms of First Nation water policy and played a role in launching an $8-billion class action lawsuit of approximately 259 First Nations over the right to clean water. The federal government settled, and agreed to modernize First Nations drinking water legislation. The settlement led to the repeal of a Harper-era water act and the development of bill C-61. 

Now, after years of work by several Indigenous organizations and individuals to get the bill close to the finish line, Brown calls the bill’s uncertain future a “tragedy of immense measure.” 

Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, the Assembly of First Nations National Chief, calls the failure to pass bill C-61 “a failure to uphold commitments to First Nations and their right to safe drinking water.” 

Woodhouse understands that political parties want “to do their politics” ahead of an election, but she believes clean drinking water for First Nations peoples should be a priority for Ottawa. 

“All parliamentarians must protect children in this country, including First Nations children,” Woodhouse added in her interview with Canada’s National Observer. 

On Wednesday, Elizabeth May, Green Party leader, wrote to all federal party leaders, urging them to work together to pass key legislation, including the First Nations Clean Water Act. 

Mike Morrice, Green MP representing Kitchener Centre understands the bill's importance. He worked closely with the neighbouring Chief of Six Nations located near Kitchener to put forward amendments to the bill. 

Morrice calls the bill imperfect, but says nonetheless it would have made a difference for Six Nations, where 70 per cent of those living on reserve don’t have access to clean drinking water. 

“It's a big part of why Elizabeth wrote the letter — to see if there's any openness to try to ensure that we could get support for the items we agree on before an election,” he said.

Partisan politics has preempted cross-party collaboration ahead of an election. It remains unclear if the opposition parties will agree to pass key nonpartisan legislative items before an election. 

If legislation is not passed, voters will have a say in what kind of government they want at the helm to reintroduce the bill. National Chief Woodhouse says the AFN will continue to lobby for the legislation, whether when Parliament returns in March or after an election. 

In a statement, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada Patty Hajdu said that Members of Parliament had a critical opportunity “to right historic wrongs” by passing the legislation but failed to do so, pointing to opposition parties. 

“During a critical moment to do what was right, the NDP and Conservatives unfortunately blocked the Bill from moving forward,” she said. 

“While the future of the Bill is unknown, what remains certain is our work with First Nations partners to ensure clean drinking water for generations to come,” the statement added. 

In a statement, NDP Indigenous Services critic Lori Idlout took stabs at the Liberals and Conservatives. 

Liberals had a decade to end boil water advisories and ongoing human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples, but failed to act until the last minute, Idlout said, pointing out that the last Conservative federal government, under Stephen Harper, didn’t do any better. That government weakened water protections, which sparked major Indigenous resistance with Idle No More in 2013. 

“An NDP government will uphold its obligations and ensure every First Nation has the clean drinking water that meets minimum human rights standards as contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the statement continued. 

The Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois did not return requests for comment ahead of publication. 

— with files from David Baxter 

Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer / Local Journalism Initiative