BACKGROUNDER

Progress Report

Plan of Action for Drinking Water
in First Nations Communities

On March 21, 2006, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development announced a Plan of Action for Drinking Water in First Nations communities that included the following commitments to improve drinking water quality on reserves:

• To issue a clear protocol on water standards;
• To ensure mandatory training and oversight of water systems by certified operators;
• To address the drinking water concerns of all high risk systems, starting with 21 priority communities;
• To create an expert panel to provide options for a regulatory regime for drinking water on reserve; and
• To report to Parliament on the progress of the Plan of Action.

On Dec. 7, 2006, the Minister released the details of progress made on those commitments.

Clear Protocol on Water Standards

The Protocol for Safe Drinking Water in First Nations Communities was issued and put into effect on March 21, 2006.

This document compiles and clarifies departmental standards for design, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of drinking water systems, covering all aspects of water systems from source water protection to emergency response plans.

All new water systems are now designed and constructed to these standards and operator training now includes the operation and maintenance standards of the protocol. The Protocol also includes annual performance inspection requirements, currently underway in most regions.

Mandatory Training and Oversight of Water Systems by Certified Operators

24-hour Hotline

• A 24-hour hotline and emergency support is now available to all First Nations, except in Ontario, to ensure they have 24-hour access to technical support and assistance. Experts are available to immediately go into the community to address emergency situations as required. The hotline service will be in Ontario by the end of December 2006.

Expansion of Operator Training

• The expansion of the Circuit Rider Training Program is underway to ensure that it will be available to all First Nations. This program provides qualified experts who rotate through a circuit of communities, providing hands-on training for the operator and helping First Nations with the operation and maintenance of their systems. Training will be co-ordinated with operational oversight of the systems. As well various regional Circuit Rider Trainers have been networked so that they can share the best practices.

Oversight

• Oversight will be provided to help the First Nations when issues or emergencies arise. The oversight operator will be on-site more frequently than the Circuit Rider trainer to provide training and local capacity-building.
  
  
• Phase two will include monitoring of systems and occasional visits of the oversight operator to evaluate performance and progress of the operator. This will include, where needed, the installation of remote monitoring equipment, and where possible the periodic review of the operator’s logs and records. The Quebec region has already implemented this phase as the local Circuit Rider trainers have accepted to take on this additional responsibility.
  
  
• Frequent assessments by oversight operators will be in place in 2007-08.

Third-party Oversight

• The Safe Water Operations Program is hiring third-party service for communities the most in need. It will take several months to put this service in place in all communities.
  
  
• The third phase of oversight will include full third-party operational control of the system by the oversight operator. This level of oversight will only be implemented where the local First Nations operator has not achieved certification and where significant operational issues have been identified in assessment reports. It is expected to take several months to hire third-party service providers for all of the communities in need.

Address All High-Risk Systems, Starting with 21 Priority Communities

• At the time of the announcement in March, there were 193 identified high-risk systems in 170 First Nations.
  
  
• Of the 170 communities, the Minister identified 21 communities as priority because they had high-risk water systems with several deficiencies, and were also under a Drinking Water Advisory.

Progress on the 21 Communities

• Six of the 21 priority communities have had the Drinking Water Advisory lifted. These include: Constance Lake, Wabigoon, Lake Ojibway, Dene Tha’, Driftpile, Shuswap and Taku River Tlingit.
  
  
• Seven more should have the Drinking Water Advisory lifted by the end of March 2007. They are: Pabineau, Northwest Angle No. 37, Ochiichagwe’bibigo-ining, Kingfisher, Muskrat Dam Lake, Frog Lake and Canoe Creek.
  
  
• Remedial action plans were created for all of the 21 priority communities and are in various stages of implementation.

Progress on other High Risk Communities

• Significant progress has been made. Today there are 133 communities with significant water issues (either high risk or with a Drinking Water Advisory), down from 224.
  
  
• In March 2006 at the time of the announcement there were:
  
  
  • 149 communities with one or more high risk systems.
  • 54 communities that had Drinking Water Advisory.
  • 21 communities - those chosen as the highest risk that had both one or more systems considered high risk plus a Drinking Water Advisory in place.
  
  
• Remedial plans have been developed for all 133 communities and are in various stages of implementation.
  
  

Creating an Expert Panel to Provide Options for a Regulatory Regime

• A panel of experts was created in May 31, 2006, with a mandate to examine and provide options on the establishment of a regulatory framework to ensure safe drinking water in First Nations communities.
  
  
• Hearings were held between June and August 2006 in Whitehorse, Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Québec City, Halifax and Thunder Bay. More than 100 First Nations and non-First Nations presented their views to the panel.
  
  
• The panel submitted its Final Report to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada on Nov. 15, 2006.
  
  
• The report was tabled in Parliament Dec. 7, 2006.

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