Mr. Speaker, I am asking under Standing Order 52(2) that we have an emergency debate in the House of Commons with regard to the government missing its self-imposed deadline to provide clean drinking water to first nations. We need this debate. This is the first opportunity to bring this into the chamber since the government's deadline was missed this past March, but it is more than that. We are now into April, which means that the government has fundamentally broken its commitment to indigenous people.
The fact that the deadline imposed by the government has come and gone without resolution is an emergency. The fact that the government refuses to set a date for when this will be solved is an emergency. The lack of clean drinking water is the emergency. There are still 58 emergencies in first nations as a result of decades of neglect on the part of Liberal and Conservative governments. The government will say it failed because of COVID, but we know this is not the case. In fact, the Auditor General was clear: “Indigenous Services Canada did not provide the support necessary to ensure that first nations communities have ongoing access to safe drinking water.” It is utterly shameful and beyond cynical that the government will blame its failure on COVID when we know this is not the case.
Debating this is urgent. MPs who represent first nations know well the problem. Here in northern Manitoba, Tataskweyak Cree Nation does not have clean drinking water. The government refused to even test for the contaminant that was making people sick, forcing TCN to pay for independent testing. Stomach illnesses are widespread in the community. Children are covered in skin rashes and sores from bathing in the treated tap water. This is an emergency.
The government continues to fight first nations in court over its own failures. Having missed its own deadline, the government still will not commit to when this problem will be fixed, instead offering up a website as its only solution. First nations, and indeed all Canadians, deserve an answer and action now. An emergency debate would allow MPs to urgently address this situation and determine a way to move forward. It would allow the Government of Canada to hear the deliberations of MPs to develop a more robust strategy, identify where gaps exist in our water-testing system and develop a clear deadline for when all Canadians will have access to clean drinking water without further delay.