Bill C-61

First Nations Clean Water Act

An Act respecting water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on First Nation lands

This enactment affirms that the inherent right to self-government, recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 , includes the jurisdiction of First Nations in relation to water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on, in and under First Nation lands. It sets out principles, such as substantive equality, to guide the provision for First Nations of clean and safe drinking water and the effective treatment and disposal of wastewater on First Nation lands. It provides for minimum standards for water quality and quantity and wastewater effluent. It also provides pathways to facilitate source water protection.

Indigenous Services

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Chair, it is a privilege for me to speak to our government's commitment to closing the infrastructure gap in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

Earlier, the Minister of Indigenous Services introduced Bill C-61, an act respecting water, source water, drinking water, waste water and related infrastructure on first nation lands. My riding of London West neighbours and houses members of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, the Chippewas of the Thames and the Munsee-Delaware Nation. This bill is really important. It is a step forward for my community and for ensuring that everyone in Canada has access to safe and clean drinking water.

First nations have long called for legislation that affirms their inherent rights, recognizes their stewardship in keeping water clean and meets first nations' needs. This bill is part of the government's commitment to establish new proposed safe drinking water and waste water legislation in consultation with first nations. Today, my remarks will focus on infrastructure and indigenous housing.

The federal government is committed to closing the infrastructure gaps in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities by 2030. Since 2016, we have committed more than $25 billion to support these efforts. Despite these investments, we know more work is needed. In the 2022-23 period, the department engaged with first nations, Inuit and Métis to identify and prioritize the infrastructure needs in their communities, and the work required to close this gap.

The government will continue to work directly with indigenous partners and other federal organizations to identify what further measures and investments may be required. This includes working with first nations communities and organizations, other government departments and financial institutions to define a new approach to how the department funds infrastructure for first nations lands. Exploring how new financial tools could improve infrastructure service delivery will be a fundamental aspect of this infrastructure modernization.

We know that housing is a fundamental need across the country, and we know that indigenous peoples are more likely than the general population to experience poor housing conditions and overcrowding. As part of our responsibility, our government supports indigenous housing across the country, from the east, west, north and south, not only on reserve, but also in rural and urban areas.

I want to emphasize two important points. Indigenous housing is backed by significant funding. In fact, budgets 2022 and 2023 committed up to $4.3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Since 2016, we have been tracking the progress that we have made together on housing, although we acknowledge that there is still so much work to done. Indigenous housing priorities are being co-developed or led by indigenous peoples with a focus on specific needs of first nations, Inuit, Métis and self-governing modern treaty groups. In other words, Indigenous Services Canada does not work alone. Whether for water, housing or infrastructure, the department works with indigenous communities to make sure that we have the tools they can use to decide for themselves.

That is why I want to highlight a few successful and innovative approaches to housing that have been developed by indigenous peoples. I will begin with the Nuxalk in Bella Coola, British Columbia, which has been building homes designed by and for their own people for many years now. This started with Richard Hall, a Nuxalk Red Seal carpenter, who worked in construction for 33 years as a builder and building inspector, on and off-reserve. Richard noticed that existing houses were not suitable for the climate, which is very wet, with high winds and erratic temperatures. He created a design for homes and other buildings that could withstand these conditions. He also noticed that existing homes were not suited for all that people did in their kitchens to cook fish and wild game. Ventilation was improved with people being taught new maintenance and home care tips.

Through its B.C. regional office, Indigenous Services Canada supported Nuxalk Nation with developing and implementing its own housing strategies. The Nuxalk Nation leveraged this funding, along with their own equity and other financing partners, to implement this vision for culturally appropriate and safe housing. They further reduced costs by using their own resources, such as timber and a mill.

There are so many other examples of innovative housing across the country that I could share. For example, indigenous innovators are moving forward in developing their own ideas under their indigenous homes innovation initiative. The initiative has an indigenous steering committee made up of first nations, Inuit and Métis nation experts in infrastructure and housing.

The selected innovators come from all regions of Canada and their ideas cover a range of new ways to respond to indigenous and social housing needs. The innovators are provided with mentoring support from indigenous architects and other professionals to refine their ideas and build fully implementable projects.

Some of the projects include the following. The Central Urban Métis Federation of Saskatoon built the Round Prairie Elders' Lodge, a three-storey complex with 26 one-bedroom units. This facility offers wraparound health and cultural supports, enabling Métis seniors to live independently in an environment that provides services to address age-related challenges.

This past July, the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre in Ontario built a three-floor, 30-single-unit transitional housing facility called Suswin Village. It provides safe, accessible and dignified housing for indigenous community members who are ready to leave the emergency shelter system. Suswin, which means “nest” in Ojibwa, provides stable housing and necessary services to find permanent housing, employment and overall long-term success. The lower level is being used for programming, counselling, life skills teaching and other gatherings.

As I noted earlier, the responsibility for housing is shared, with partnership playing an important role to address on-reserve housing needs. Targeted funding, in addition to ongoing funding from Indigenous Services Canada, supports housing projects in first nation communities, including new builds, retrofits and renovations.

As of September 30, 2023, ISC is supporting 4,631 housing projects in 611 first nation communities. In 2023, so far, 2,763 new homes have been built, another 5,956 homes renovated and upgraded, and many more are under way. Another 1,500 housing-related capacity development and innovation projects have been funded in first nation communities. This includes supporting the creation and implementation of housing authorities and housing management training.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is working in partnership with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit treaty organizations on the delivery of Inuit-specific investments premised on self-determination and the implementation of the co-developed Inuit Nunangat housing strategy. Since 2016, when the government began providing direct funding to Inuit partners, more than 500 new units have been constructed, with many more units repaired and critical Inuit-led housing programming expanded. This success will be accelerated by the budget 2022 investment of $845 million over the next seven years.

The four Inuit treaty organizations determined housing delivery. Delivering housing in Inuit Nunangat and supporting those most in need requires all levels of government to work together. This approach to housing differs in each of these four regions of Inuit Nunangat and can involve regional governments, public and private partners, provincial or territorial governments and of course the Government of Canada.

In 2018, a Canada-Métis nation housing sub-accord was signed by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Métis nation leadership. The sub-accord outlined the design, delivery and administration of housing services undertaken, such as purchasing new houses, repairing existing houses and providing rent supplements to families in most need. To date, governing members of the Métis National Council and the Manitoba Métis Federation have bought or built 1,575 housing units and have renovated an additional 4,600 housing units. They have also provided down payment assistance to 1,537 households and rental supports to 9,528 households.

In March, the Manitoba Métis Federation opened Fre Maachi, which means “fresh beginnings” in Michif, with four two-bedroom suites and 16 studios, including six accessible units. The building includes a spiritual room, access to computers, free Wi-Fi, fully furnished units, free laundry and more. Fre Maachi provides wraparound services like mental health and addiction help, employment and training, and cultural programming.

In closing, the federal government has a responsibility for infrastructure and housing, but we are not the only ones. It will take all levels of government to work together, and many other partners.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Chair, I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

I would also like to preface my comments this evening by reminding colleagues in the House that we are not just talking about numbers or policies here. We are talking about people, communities, families and children, and what we do in this House really matters.

It was my great honour to be here today as the Minister of Indigenous Services introduced Bill C-61, an act respecting water, source water, drinking water, waste water and related infrastructure on first nation lands.

We do not always have good days in this House, but today was a good day. First nations have long called for legislation that affirms their inherent rights, recognizes their stewardship in keeping water clean and meets first nations' needs. Today, we collectively leapt closer to making access and security to safe and clean drinking water a reality.

Before I came to the House, and I have spoken many times about my role in education, I was a teacher. I think about my time at Fredericton High School in particular. I used to teach my students about the ongoing water crisis here in Canada and what our nation was and was not doing to address it. I often pointed to the example of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation in Winnipeg. At the time, it was under 18 years of a long-term boil water advisory. Community members had to bring in large jugs. They could not brush their teeth, cook or bathe in the water. Then we built the human rights museum, and they could see this museum from their community. I always thought, “Whose human rights are we fighting for in this country?” I am so proud to say that Shoal Lake 40 First Nation has come off the long-term boil water advisory list.

Everyone in Canada should have access to safe and clean drinking water. This simple and seemingly uncontroversial reality has been denied to first nations communities for centuries. It was only through the tireless advocacy of first nations partners and allies that this reality can come to be. This day belongs to them.

Clean, safe and reliable drinking water, as well as an environment that helps sustain this reality, as first nations have enjoyed and protected from time immemorial, requires effective legislative tools. It is critical that we have effective legislation, a national regulatory regime and first nations-led institutions, so we can support sustainable access to clean, safe and reliable drinking water in first nations communities in perpetuity. That is why we introduced Bill C-61 today, which is a key commitment to establishing new proposed safe drinking water and waste water legislation in consultation with first nations. I really want to highlight that last piece; consultation is critical.

The proposed legislation is aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It was developed through engagement that put first nations' voices at the forefront. Our government worked directly with first nations rights holders, including modern treaty and self-governing first nations, through their own representative institutions, and first nations organizations, including the Assembly of First Nations and the first nations advisory committee on safe drinking water, to help ensure that the bill is responsive to first nations' needs and priorities.

I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this process and helped strengthen this bill. Engagement leading to this bill began in 2018. Consultation drafts were posted online in the spirit of partnership, and we have encouraged feedback from as many first nations as possible. This consultation process is ongoing, and I think that is important. We want to hear from all voices across this country, and we hope that everyone will have the chance to be heard. This is what partnership looks like. Hand in hand, we will continue to grow and learn from each other, and we can certainly improve and do better at every turn.

The days of paternalistic, one-sided and ineffective policy that ignores indigenous voices are gone, and we must ensure that they stay gone. The result is new proposed legislation that would affirm the inherent right of first nations to self-government. Bill C-61 would ensure that first nations have the tools necessary to protect source water and maintain drinking water and waste water infrastructure in a self-determined way.

It is important to understand that this proposed legislation would hold the federal government accountable for investing in water infrastructure. It would also lead to the application of minimum standards for clean drinking water in every first nation across the country. It would lay the groundwork for the creation of a first nation-led water institution to support communities.

Specifically, the bill would achieve a few things. It would require the Minister of Indigenous Services to make best efforts, in consultation and co-operation with first nations, to provide access to safe drinking water on first nations lands. It would strengthen funding commitments through best efforts to provide adequate and sustainable funding for water services on first nation lands, equitable to the services received in non-first nation communities. It would require that funding, at a minimum, meets the commitment of expenditures set out in the 2021 safe drinking water for first nations class action settlement agreement and establish minimum national standards for drinking water and waste water on first nations lands based on first nations' choice.

It would facilitate water agreements, including transboundary source water protection agreements, which should involve first nations, Canada and provincial and territorial governments, as well as bilateral financial agreements between first nations and Canada to support the exercise of first nations jurisdiction.

It would commit to supporting the establishment of a first nations water commission to assist first nations in exercising greater control over their drinking water and waste-water services, as well as the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including through consultation and co-operation on federal regulatory and funding allocation decisions.

To those listening at home, this is huge. It is incredibly transformative, and I really cannot underscore that enough.

I want to be clear: The government's commitment to sustainable access to safe and clean drinking water on first nations communities does not end with the introduction of this bill. We will continue to work with first nations rights holders and organizations to ensure access to safe drinking water, now and for future generations, so that no one else has to grow up without being able to brush their teeth, bathe at home or cook their food in the water that surrounds their community.

I would also like to acknowledge the Auditor General's third report, titled “Access to Safe Drinking Water in First Nations Communities”. This report provided important recommendations for us to consider, and I want to thank the Auditor General once again for her work.

We are working hard to do better for first nations communities. Previous governments of all stripes could not say this. It is the reason I ran to be involved in federal politics: I needed to see a change. The government has made historic investments to help first nations communities meet their needs. I am proud of this work, of this team and of our commitment to keep going. Recognizing that it is not a perfect path forward, we are committed to doing it in partnership with indigenous communities and leadership.

When it comes to water and waste water, as of September 30, more than $3.6 billion of targeted funding has been invested to support 1,244 water and waste-water projects. Of these, 547 are now complete, while 697 are ongoing. These projects will serve 471,000 people in 591 first nations communities.

We know these investments must continue. The fall economic statement announced in November included a renewal of $1.55 billion from 2024-25 to 2025-26 to support clean drinking water for first nations. This funding will ensure that water and waste-water projects continue without interruption.

We heard from first nations leaders. They need strong, ambitious, sustainable and predictable investments. That is what is required, and that is what is being delivered. These investments are directly improving the everyday lives of first nations communities. We are making progress every day, and it is important to acknowledge these efforts while also acknowledging the need to go farther.

Since 2015, first nations, with support from Indigenous Services Canada, have lifted 143 long-term drinking water advisories; 267 short-term drinking water advisories have been prevented from becoming long term. Comprehensive action plans are in place in 26 communities to resolve the 28 active long-term advisories. One long-term boil water advisory is one too many. We have a team on each project working at pace and in partnership with communities. This country will no longer dictate terms to first nations on how to achieve their goals; instead, we are extending a hand and letting the leadership shine and carry these remaining communities forward.

We understand that many of these projects come with complex challenges, such as procuring resources, especially in remote communities, and extreme weather conditions that continue to affect infrastructure projects across the country. The solutions to address the lack of access to safe drinking water are unique to each first nation community. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Plans have been developed for each community, and we are currently working with them at different stages of these plans to improve infrastructure and operations.

Ultimately, we understand and acknowledge that there is no one solution to this complex issue, but despite the complexity, there are many examples of positive results and innovation being led by first nations. I think we need a bit of hope at this time. Through my visits to communities, I have been fortunate to see some of these results and to meet with many leaders about the important work they are doing and the ways we can support them.

For example, this June, Northwest Angle No. 33 in Ontario lifted three long-term drinking water advisories by leading the construction of a new centralized water treatment plant, replacing the outdated pump houses.

Another example is the Okanagan Indian Band, where community leaders used an integrated project delivery approach to harness the talents of all participants and ensure accountability in environmental stewardship. The result was improved access to clean water and faster project delivery.

One of the most critical areas of our work is to define a new approach to how the department funds on-reserve infrastructure and to return decision-making to where it belongs: with first nations communities. Over the next year, Indigenous Services Canada will continue to work on this important issue with first nations communities and organizations, other government departments and financial institutions.

Above all, we are focused on service transfer in partnership with indigenous peoples. Service transfer is the basis of our work on access to safe drinking water, and it is critical to supporting indigenous self-determination.

We share the goal of supporting sustainable first nations-led approaches to ensure that on-reserve water systems are safe. It is critical that first nations communities have the tools to decide for themselves, and I am honoured to work alongside them as we do this work for the next generations.

Woliwon.