Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, as well as to the clerk and all the committee members today. I'll get right into my statement so we can get into discussion and questions. Thank you all today for your time. I want to acknowledge the beautiful, unceded and unsurrendered Treaty 4 territory that I'm calling from in the city of Regina today.
Good afternoon, members of the INAN committee, staff, my fellow presenters and those observing in person and online. On behalf of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents the 74 first nations in Saskatchewan and Treaties 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10, I bring greetings and express my thanks for being given the opportunity to speak to Bill C-61. The FSIN supports federal legislation respecting first nations drinking water, waste water and source water. However, we have concerns regarding the act in its present form. I will note that it has been improved significantly since it was introduced in February 2023, but there's more that needs to be done.
The recommendations in the paper we submitted earlier are based on the position held in our territories since the signing of the numbered treaties and are entirely consistent with UNDRIP, the UN covenant on human rights, the 1982 Constitution Act and the 1763 Royal Proclamation. We hold that as an equal partner in treaty, our nations remain sovereign. It should be rightfully acknowledged, in the current context, as an order of government alongside the federal and provincial governments.
The functionality of this means our job here is to work towards sharing jurisdiction and powers within a co-operative confederation built on reconciliation. This position has been described as treaty federalism. It should be noted that the Constitution Act says nothing on the structure of federalism, only that Canada is the creation of our interlocked rights. Sovereign rights and powers of first nations, which are the basis for all treaty agreements, form the oldest foundation of the Constitution. This is why we call certain sections of Bill C-61 a legislative overreach. The aboriginal treaty rights in section 35 include self-determination. We determine our path. Bill C-61 says Canada affirms first nations' right to self-government, and jurisdiction that imposes layers of federal law narrows our jurisdiction until there is very little room to move.
None of this has anything to do with drinking water and should be taken out. Fresh water will become highly valuable in the near future, and we see the legislative overreach in Bill C-61 as part of a larger strategy by Canada to strengthen its decision-making over water.
We understand this strategy includes the Canada Water Agency and the modernization of the Canada Water Act. However, the paltering that has occurred to draw attention away from the connection between Bill C-61 and these other initiatives raises concern that an additional motive of the strategy is to limit our rights, especially given the overreach described in the paper. Section 35 means that any discussions regarding source water protection or interjurisdictional agreements should occur at treaty tables on a nation-to-nation basis, not through a policy process administered by the Canada Water Agency, which seems to be implied in clause 6(1)(b). As your treaty partner, we remind Canada that our relationship already contains collaborative processes that can be used to reach durable agreements.
When this bill was first discussed, it was in the context of fulfilling Canada's fiduciary duty and preventing another water crisis. If this is still the case, then the use of the “best efforts” clause and sections relating to funding must be amended. It does nothing more than create a loophole that undermines the entire intent and purpose of the act. If Canada truly wants to affirm our section 35 rights and jurisdiction, as stated in the preamble, it will provide us with the proper resources to develop and enforce our own laws and not impose its own beyond what is necessary to ensure proper waste-water and fresh water services for all first nations and prevent future crises. This would be a positive step towards reconciliation and a good way to honour those in our communities who have been affected by a lack of clean water.
Thank you for listening. To committee members, to the staff and to my colleagues, I wish you all good luck in this important work.
[Witness spoke in indigenous language]
[English]