January 17, 2022

“Nibi is thirsty – but the water in her sink is brown and the water in the river isn’t good to drink either. What can Nibi do?” This is the opening line to a children’s book, Nibi’s Water Song by Sunshine Tenasco. 

Canada is a country founded on stolen Indigenous land, a country with a history of not only stolen land but stolen lives and genocide. While we try to reconcile the mistakes of the past, we continue to ignore what remains of our Indigenous people and their calls for help and action. 

For over 20 years, many Indigenous communities and reserves have had drinking advisories on their water. One drinking advisory can mean 5000 people lack access to clean and safe drinking water. While the Canadian government promises to resolve all water issues, dozens of communities are still waiting. 

The lack of access to safe drinking water is not only an infringement on Indigenous people’s rights but also a public health crisis. We, the petitioners, urge the federal government to declare this issue an emergency and recognize the need for immediate action. You must work with Indigenous communities to invest in publicly funded and controlled water supply, to put an end to water advisories and water-related illnesses in Indigenous communities.

Furthermore, Nutrition Canada, the result of almost 10 years of surveys on Canadian health and nutrition, makes Indigenous people seem inherently unhealthy. In Alicia Elliot’s collection of essays, A Mind Spread Out On The Ground, she criticizes the Canadian government for failing to “consider the limited access to fresh food on reserves, or the higher costs of food on reserves compared to in urban centers”. 

Food Secure Canada claims food insecurity among Inuit, First Nations, and Métis adults in Northern Canada is five to six times greater than the national average. We urge the federal government to support initiatives and eliminate barriers to proper nutrition in Indigenous communities. You have to consider and protect the environmental needs to ensure Indigenous populations have access to traditional, healthy, and affordable food. 

We call on you to fulfill the promises you’ve made to Indigenous populations. The promise Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and his government made in 2015 to end all drinking-water advisories on First Nations reserves by 2021. As well as his promise to implement and commit to all of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Affordable Food in the North.” Food Secure Canada, 26 Apr. 2016, 

           https://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/news-media/we-want-affordable-food-north  

“Canada Fails (Again) to Ensure Clean Water in First Nations: Auditor General.” Indigenous Nationhood, 1 March 2021, http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.com/2021/03/canada-fails-again-to-ensure-clean.html Accessed 17 January 2022.

Elliott, Alicia. A Mind Spread out on the Ground. Penguin Random House Canada, 2019. 

“Safe Water for First Nations.” The Council of Canadians, https://canadians.org/fn-water  

“Statement by the Prime Minister on the Fifth Anniversary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Prime Minister of Canada, https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2020/12/15/statement-prime-minister-fifth-anniversary-final-report-truth-and  

Whiteduck, Roy. “Collaborative Study Urges Decision-Makers to Address First Nations Food 

Insecurity and Sovereignty.” Assembly of First Nations, 21 Oct. 2021, https://www.afn.ca/collaborative-study-urges-decision-makers-to-address-first-nations-food-insecurity-and-sovereignty/