Public Accounts committee  Were 27 eliminated since November? No, not quite. I believe that in the November report, about 96 had been lifted, and as of March there were 106. Those are the data points that I have in terms of lifts.

Public Accounts committee  The focus is on public utility. If ever there would be conversations about needs outside of that, we are always talking to communities about their needs, but the program is focused on public utility.

Public Accounts committee  In situations like Shamattawa and Red Sucker Lake, in COVID we have been working in lockstep with community leadership to support them during this pandemic. As you noted, COVID has pointed to the lack of housing and some of the other socio-economic gaps that exist. We are committed to working with Red Sucker Lake and Shamattawa and to using these investments to address long-term solutions for the community.

Public Accounts committee  I was just looking at my chart. We've lifted 179 short-term advisories, and then I'm going to have to get you the precise number for the active ones. I don't want to mislead you. I'll get you the precise number of how many short-term are active right now.

Public Accounts committee  I'm sorry; it's nine. Nine is the answer. It's here.

Public Accounts committee  As I mentioned, there are 33 communities that still have 52 long-term drinking water advisories. We're going to continue to work very closely with them. What we're looking at in the short term is what kind of progress can be made over the next few months, especially taking into account the spring and summer construction.

Public Accounts committee  First of all, it might be helpful for the committee to know that in terms of the risk rating, we look at very specific points for the risk rating of a system: the water source, the system design, the system operation and maintenance, the operator training and certification, and the record keeping and reporting.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely, I realize the issue. Absolutely, I am committed to it, and absolutely, the department is committed to it. There is no doubt. The conversations that we are having with our partners and also with the OAG take very seriously the recommendations that they've brought to us and how it can help inform the way forward.

Public Accounts committee  Through its action plan, the department is committed to ensuring the elimination of all long-term advisories so that people can access safe drinking water. This drives us to take action and continue the work. We want to ensure that communities aren't under advisories. We completely agree that all Canadians should have access to safe drinking water.

Public Accounts committee  I think that it should be noted—

Public Accounts committee  It is important to note that in March 2020, the department was beginning to think about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We did a reassessment, over the summer, when the second wave seemed to be diminishing. We thought that a decrease in cases would allow us to begin work.

Public Accounts committee  First of all, you raised a question in your last intervention around whether or not we would penalize people who are taking legal action. I would say categorically no, we would not. We respect the right of indigenous groups to take the decisions that they need to take for their communities.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, it is in place today.

Public Accounts committee  Correct.

Public Accounts committee  In terms of the water operators and the salaries for the water operators, it is the decision of the communities to make and to establish the rates. However, obviously, with the increase in O and M that we can give to the communities, they have the ability to have competitive salaries in their communities.