Harsh words from chiefs, opposition on government’s First Nations Clean Drinking Water Act

There were impassioned speeches from First Nation chiefs, councillors, community members and activists as the focus on day one of the AFN’s annual general assembly turned to federal clean drinking water legislation.

NDP MP Leah Gazan said Bill C-37 is the “most recent example” of the Liberal government’s violation of section 35 rights in the Constitution Act.

Gazan pointed out Canada was legally obligated to pass First Nations clean drinking water legislation because of a court-ordered settlement in 2021. Five years after that legal settlement, the most recent bill, the First Nations Clean Water Act, introduced this spring by Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, still falls short according to a dozen speakers.

“I’m concerned by this legislation,” Gazan said. “I’m concerned it’s another attempt by the Carney Liberal government to erode Indigenous rights while trying to disguise it as progress.”

While Gull-Masty did not attend the session, Liberal MP Ginette Lavack, the parliamentary secretary for Indigenous Services who was standing in for her couldn’t answer reporters when asked why the government rewrote the section of the bill that recognized their right to safe drinking water.

“Bill C-37 continues to recognize the inherent right of First Nations people to clean drinking water and this legislation, this proposed legislation as it stands really puts First Nations at the center of all of it,” Lavack said.

Lavack couldn’t commit to putting that inherent right back into the language of the bill.

“As we’ve mentioned in the presentation I made, this is the continuation of engagement on this legislation. It’s not the end of it,” Lavack said, noting there are a number of opportunities for First Nations to continue to “engage with us.”

When asked how much longer First Nations dealing with boil water advisories will have to wait, Lavack was also vague.

“I can’t commit to a time frame. But I can tell you that given the track record of this government, we do try to move forward in a timely fashion,” she said.

For communities who have lived with long term boil water advisories and are still waiting for infrastructure, members are tired of government inaction.

“I don’t want to live in my community anymore,” said band Councillor Claudius Koosees from Kashechewan First Nation, a community long plagued by water woes in northern Ontario.

Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Linda Debassige said the previous iteration of the legislation, Bill C-61 could have passed before Parliament was prorogued in January 2025 when former prime minister Justin Trudeau stepped down as Liberal leader. But, Debassige said it wasn’t a priority of the government.

“As we heard from our parliamentary secretary speaker, there is this buzz, I think coming from government, encouraging us to say this is okay, this is acceptable and this is something that can be worked on,” Debassige said.

“And then we are told time and again ‘well, there’s a parliamentary process. We encourage you to come and input briefs and come and speak at committee.’ Well, ultimately what we saw in the last round in C-61 any recommendations to make that legislation stronger were ultimately rejected by the governing party.”

Ramon Kataquapit of Attawapiskat First Nation-part of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, an organization that represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario and where the bulk of the water issues are in Canada, also questioned delegates after hearing their speeches saying “it’s a good fight” but asked “where’s that fire in everyone,”  noting that water stands to be affected most by fast tracking approvals for major projects.

Residential school denialism

During the morning session of the AGA, chiefs voted on an emergency resolution calling on the AFN to lobby the federal government to criminalize residential school denialism. While it has long been a crime to deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people in World War II, there’s no such recognition of the cultural genocide Indigenous peoples experienced at residential schools.

Amendments to Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, would have made residential school denialism a crime, but the amendments were defeated in the senate. Tuesday’s resolution passed unanimously.

Day two of the AGA will see a morning discussion around the planned meeting of the prime minister, premiers and First Nations leaders scheduled for October. It will be the first time the AFN has had a seat at the table when the provincial and territory premiers hold their annual meeting.

In the afternoon, delegates will hear from Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, as they discuss long term reform of child welfare.

Ontario is the only province to sign a comprehensive regional child welfare agreement directly with the federal government. The $8.5-billion Ontario Final Agreement (OFA), which took effect in May 2026, overhauls the First Nations Child and Family Services Program to reform the system and expand community control.

First Nations leadership has emphasized the importance of community-led control and transitioning away from historic discriminatory practices. The AFN reached a tentative $47.8 billion Final Agreement of the FNCFS program, but the AFN ultimately rejected that deal in October, 2024.

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Harsh words from chiefs on federal clean water bill at AFN AGA

By: Leanne Sanders

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