Bill C-61 is the next step to ensure First Nations have clean drinking water for generations to come.
Ottawa – Everyone in Canada should have 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. Effective legislation, a national regulatory regime, and First Nations-led institutions are essential to supporting sustainable access to clean, safe and reliable drinking water in First Nations communities.
Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, introduced a Bill in the House of Commons as part of the Government’s commitment to establish new proposed safe drinking water and wastewater legislation in consultation with First Nations.
Aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the proposed legislation was developed through extensive engagement that put First Nations voices at the forefront. Canada worked directly with First Nation rights-holders, including Modern Treaty and Self-Governing First Nations, through their own representative institutions, and First Nation organizations including the Assembly of First Nations, to help ensure the Bill is responsive to First Nations’ needs and priorities. In the spirit of partnership, and to encourage feedback from as many First Nations as possible, consultation drafts were posted online. Engagement leading to this bill began in 2018.
Bill C-61 would affirm the inherent right of First Nations to self-government. It would ensure that First Nations have more tools necessary to protect source water and maintain drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in a self-determined way. It would hold the federal government accountable to continued funding investments in water infrastructure. It would also lead to the application of minimum standards for clean drinking water in every First Nation and lay the groundwork for the creation of a First Nation-led water institution to support communities.
More specifically, the Bill would:
- Require the Minister of Indigenous Services to make best efforts, in consultation and cooperation with First Nations, to provide access to safe drinking water on First Nation lands;
- Strengthen funding commitments through best efforts to provide adequate and sustainable funding for water services on First Nation lands comparable to services received in non-First Nations communities;
- Require that funding, at a minimum, meets the commitment of expenditures set out in the 2021 Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Settlement Agreement;
- Establish minimum national standards for drinking water and wastewater on First Nation lands, based on First Nation choice;
- Facilitate water agreements, including transboundary source water protection agreements (First Nations, Canada, and provincial and territorial governments) and bilateral financial agreements between First Nations and Canada to support the exercise of First Nation jurisdiction;
- Commit to supporting the establishment of a First Nations Water Commission to assist First Nations in exercising greater control over their drinking water and wastewater services; and
- Support the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including through consultation and cooperation on federal regulatory and funding allocation decisions.
The Government of Canada’s commitment to sustainable access to clean and safe drinking water in First Nations communities does not end with the introduction of this Bill. The Government of Canada will continue to work with rights-holders and First Nation organizations to ensure access to safe drinking water now and for future generations.