Yes. Thank you very much.
Wachiye, boozhoo.
My name is Anna Betty Achneepineskum, and I serve as the deputy grand chief for the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
First of all, I want to thank you for inviting us to make a presentation to the committee on its study of Bill C-61, an act respecting water, source water, drinking water, waste water and related infrastructure on First Nation lands. I want to acknowledge that this committee meeting is taking place in Ottawa, an unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation, whose presence there reaches back in time immemorial.
The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is composed of 49 first nations communities, most of which are signatories to Treaty 9 in the Ontario portion of Treaty 5. Treaty 9 is unique among the historical treaties because it was an agreement signed by first nations with Canada and Ontario. We also state that the people of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation are a sovereign people with sovereign and inherent rights by virtue of being the first peoples of their lands.
As of September 23, 2024, today there are 13 long-term drinking water advisories within 12 of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities, including my home community of Marten Falls. There are nine drinking water advisories that have been in place for less than a year.
There are nine communities that have difficulty accepting that treated water is safe to drink, even once drinking water advisories have been lifted. We have to ask ourselves why. A lot of that is because of the trauma associated with and the health impacts of the lack of safe water.
NAN has submitted a briefing to the advisory committee, the text of which is available on the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs website. NAN chiefs have not endorsed a formal position on Bill C-61, but believe that several amendments could be made to strengthen the wording in the bill. The amendments recommended by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation include ensuring that Bill C-61 is binding on the Crown; ensuring that Bill C-61 is worded so that first nations laws also have the force of federal laws; and ensuring that adequate, long-term funding provisions are provided in Bill C-61.
Bill C-61 does not provide a clear framework for the government on source water protection zones, leaving it ambiguous as to who has the ultimate authority over the establishment, management and enforcement of these zones.
In the remaining time I have, I would like to ask our legal counsel, Maheegan Armstrong, to speak a bit more about the suggested changes to Bill C-61 that are outlined in the brief submitted by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.