Speaking Notes for

the Honourable Jim Prentice,
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and
Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians

For the Grand Opening of the Eden Valley Water Treatment Plant
Stoney Tribe’s Bearspaw First Nation

Eden Valley, Alberta
October 20, 2006

Check against delivery

Elders, Chief Dixon, Councillors, students from the Chief Jacob Bearspaw Memorial School school, ladies and gentlemen of Alberta. Thank you for your kind invitation to join you in celebrating this great occasion — the grand opening of the new, state-of-the-art Eden Valley water treatment plant.

I would like to begin by congratulating Bearspaw First Nation and all of Stoney Tribe on your accomplishment today. With the completion last month of its fourth and final phase, this modern, state-of-the-art, computer-controlled water treatment plant is now ready to serve the residents of Eden Valley. It’s truly an outstanding facility, and it’s also an excellent example of what can be achieved by working together.

I’m sure everyone here appreciates the real, practical importance of what we are celebrating this afternoon.

We all recognize that clean drinking water is absolutely vital to the health and safety of every Canadian and every community. For this reason, on March 21st of this year, Canada’s New Government and First Nations launched a new, collaborative effort to address the longstanding issue of unsafe drinking water in many reserves.

At that time, I announced a detailed Plan of Action designed to provide First Nation leaders with the tools and resources they need to deliver clean water to their community. The Plan laid out five directions for action, and we have been pursuing these vigorously:

We are developing remedial action plans for First Nation communities with high-risk drinking water systems;

We have implemented guidelines - the Protocol for Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Communities - which provide First Nations staff with clear standards for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of drinking water systems;

We are ensuring that all treatment-plant facilities are supervised by fully trained and certified operators;

We assembled a panel of experts to provide various options for a new regulatory framework;

We will deliver regular reports on progress

These are the features of the Plan of Action in general. But Canada’s new government, of course, recognizes that each community is unique, and that individual solutions must be found and tailored to meet individual community needs.

And so it gives me special pleasure to see how the general steps outlined in the Plan of Action have led here, in Eden Valley, and to the state-of-the-art facilities that this community, starting today, will enjoy for years to come.

This treatment plant also offers a concrete example of how the practical results of the goals of the Plan of Action can be achieved, one community at a time, by the government and First Nations working in collaboration.

It is important for us to work closely with First Nations as able partners on all issues that directly affect the quality of life of First Nations people - not only water quality, but also education; improving the lives of women, children and families; and housing.

These are the most fundamental matters of everyday life for everyone. And in addressing them we are proud to continue to support First Nations in developing healthy, prosperous communities.

It seems proper to speak today, if only briefly, of these wider goals. Because water is a symbol of life, and so the opening of this new treatment plant can be seen, in a way, to mark the beginning of a new life for Eden Valley and Bearspaw First Nation.

But make no mistake, Canada’s New Government doesn’t deal in mere symbols and superficialities. Our only interest is in what we celebrate today - the practical results and lasting real benefits of our partnerships with First Nations.

Thank you again for your hospitality, for welcoming me into your community, and for allowing me to share in today’s celebration.

I would like to call Chief Dixon forward to join me in the unveiling of a plaque which was designed for display in the water treatment plant.

Chief Dixon, please stay at the front. I would like to present you, along with the four Bearspaw Councillors, with a gift commemorating this event.

Councillors Donald Dixon, Roderick Hunter, Keith Lefthand and Gordon Wildman, please come forward.

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