Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Drinking Water in First Nations Communities
(Chapter 5 - 2005 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

17 November 2005

Johanne Gélinas
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to present the results of Chapter 5 of my September 2005 Report, Drinking Water in First Nations Communities. With me are Jerome Berthelette, the principal, and André Côté, the director on this audit.

The audit examined whether programs and funding from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada have helped First Nation communities provide residents with access to safe drinking water. We also examined how well the First Nations Water Management Strategy is being implemented. This five-year strategy was introduced in 2003 to substantially improve the quality and safety of drinking water on reserves.

In a country like ours, we all assume that the water we drink is of high quality. But the truth is, Mr. Chairman, that in some areas where the federal government has responsibilities, not all Canadians can be sure their drinking water is safe. This includes the nearly half million Canadians living in First Nations communities.

In these communities, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada are the two main departments involved in providing drinking water. INAC covers the full costs of designing, constructing, and repairing water systems and 80 percent of the systems' operation and maintenance costs. The department also covers the cost of operators' training. Health Canada funds First Nations to monitor and test tap water to determine whether it is safe for drinking. According to INAC and Health Canada, First Nations are responsible for ensuring that water systems are planned, designed, constructed, and operated in accordance with the terms and conditions of their funding arrangements. Under these arrangements, First Nations are also responsible for the day-to-day operation of the drinking water systems, including water testing.

Mr. Chairman, the government has known for years about the problems with drinking water on reserves. In 2001, based on an on-site assessment of water systems, INAC found that three quarters of the water systems posed a significant risk to the quality or safety of the drinking water. Despite the hundreds of millions in federal funds invested to improve drinking water on reserves, a significant proportion of drinking water systems continue to deliver water whose quality or safety is at risk. While access to drinking water has improved, there is still substantial risk that the drinking water could be unsafe or of poor quality. We found that many of the reasons for this situation are systemic.

Mr. Chairman, when it comes to the safety of their drinking water, residents of First Nations do not benefit from a level of protection comparable to that of people who live off reserves. This is due in large part to the fact that, unlike other communities, there are no laws and regulations governing the provision of drinking water in First Nations.

INAC and Health Canada attempt to ensure access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities through their policies, administrative guidelines, and funding arrangements with First Nations. However, we found that this approach means that important elements necessary for providing safe drinking water are missing. For example, there is no approval and licensing process for water treatment plants, no ongoing monitoring, no compliance and enforcement mechanisms, and no public reporting requirements. Further, no one is legally empowered to ensure that all the required tests for drinking water are carried out.

We found that INAC has no comprehensive list of codes and standards applicable to the design and construction of water systems. This weakness can have consequences for the quality and safety of drinking water. Faulty design or construction can result in risks to operator safety, inability to meet water-quality objectives, or inability to produce the expected quantity of water.

We found that INAC's programs to support and develop First Nations capacity to provide safe drinking water are limited and that the technical support is fragmented. In 2001 10 percent of the operators of First Nations' systems met the certification requirements for their specific province. In 2005 that number had increased to almost 40 percent. However, provincial requirements are becoming more stringent, and many of the First Nations operators have difficulty meeting the education and experience requirements. In our view, there is a high probability that INAC's goal of having all operators certified to the level that is appropriate for the complexity of their plant or else having all operators directly supervised by a certified operator by 2006 will not be met.

In addition, hands-on, on-site support is not available to all communities and is not mandatory. We also found that a significant amount of the trainers' time is spent resolving technical problems rather than providing training.

The Health Canada files we examined indicate that regular testing of drinking water is not carried out in most First Nations communities. The lack of tests severely limits the ability of Health Canada and First Nations to detect water problems and to deal with them. In addition, Health Canada has no comprehensive plan to achieve its objective of meeting the testing frequency set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, by 2008.

Finally, we found that Parliament is not adequately informed about the drinking water situation on reserves. For instance, INAC needs to identify the number of systems meeting the applicable standards and report this to Parliament. Both departments have agreed to provide Parliament with better information beginning with the 2006–07 fiscal year.

We believe that unless strong action is taken, it is unlikely that the funding, including the $600 million being invested in the First Nations Water Management Strategy, will result in safer drinking water in the future. We made key recommendations to INAC and Health Canada to overcome these systemic problems in co-operation with First Nations.

In our view, until a regulatory regime comparable with that in provinces is in place, INAC and Health Canada cannot ensure continuing access to safe drinking water on reserves. As a minimum, this regime should deal with roles and responsibilities, water quality requirements, technical requirements, certification of systems and operators, compliance and enforcement, and public reporting.

INAC and Health Canada have not made a commitment to implement this recommendation but agreed to explore with First Nations the options and feasibility of regulations. Both departments agreed fully with our other recommendations.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to acknowledge the input we received from the First Nations in this audit. Although we do not audit First Nations communities, we seek their views and take them into account during our audits. This input is extremely helpful.

Mr. Chairman that concludes my opening statement. My colleagues and I would be pleased to answer any questions members may have.