Many BC communities, including Powell River, recently welcomed news of a water infrastructure funding announcement by community development minister Peter Fassbender on the final day of the Union of BC Municipalities conference held in Victoria.
Under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, Fassbender announced that the federal government is matching provincial funding for a total of $450 million for 35 communities, including $3.5 million to upgrade the Haslam Lake water main.
Known for having some of the cleanest water in North America, Powell River’s abundant supply is a blessing, but it raises very tough questions about what is going on in the rest of Canada, specifically in first nations communities.
The Assembly of First Nations has passed resolutions to invest in first nations’ access to clean drinking water. In August, the Globe and Mail revealed that current drinking water posed health threats to one-third of people living on reservations. Last year, a CBC news investigation found that two-thirds of all first nation communities have been under drinking water advisories at some point in the past decade, including three first nations in BC that have been boiling their water for more than 15 years.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau promised to end boil-water advisories on first nation reserves within five years of being elected, a campaign promise some critics have said will be difficult to keep due to a variety of factors.
Recent news coverage of the Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton and its many years of suffering with unsuitable tap water, which sometimes comes out of faucets thick and black, has brought this issue to the forefront again.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Canada, here we are with a clean water supply rivalled by few other communities. Water-boil advisories are very rare in these parts, and even water restrictions are uncommon.
Tla’amin Nation currently receives its water from Sliammon Lake and, although the water is clean, it is almost at capacity. Tla’amin has been working with City of Powell River on a combined wastewater treatment plant. If pipes need to be built into Tla’amin for wastewater it makes perfect sense to bring the nation more reliable drinking water at the same time.
This is an easy fix, but perhaps we can come up with other ideas to ship some of our pristine water out to first nations communities in desperate need. According to Tla’amin hegus Clint Williams, the nation is willing to explore ways to help other communities.
Transportation costs would be the major obstacle, but with all of the talk about pipelines, water pipelines would be the more suitable option.
Jason Schreurs, publisher/editor
