Federal Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty introduced Bill C-37: An act respecting water, source water, drinking water, wastewater, and related infrastructure on First Nation lands to the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The bill, which would guarantee the right to clean and safe drinking water for First Nations, has been in the works for more than a decade.
In response to the bill’s introduction, Indigenous leaders from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Chiefs of Ontario held a press conference to comment on the event.
“It’s an important step, a necessary step forward,” said Regional Chief Abram Benedict of the Chiefs of Ontario. “Our communities have waited too long to see this legislation come forward… but we welcome this opportunity.”
The right to clean water is a key issue for Indigenous communities across Canada, but of particular importance to First Nations in northern Ontario’s remote communities, as over three-quarters of Canada’s active long-term boil water advisories are in Ontario, some of which have been active for more than 20 years.
Abram called the boil water advisories “very unfortunate,” explaining that the new legislation “is required for many of our communities to bring clean water to their homes.”
Bill C-37 is the culmination of years of back-and-forth lobbying and consultation between the federal government and Indigenous leaders and advocates, as well as legal battles, including two class action lawsuits between First Nations living on reserves with long-term boil water advisories and the crown.
In 2023, the bill materialized as Bill C-61: First Nations Clean Water Act. But that bill never made it into law, as it was dropped from the Liberal agenda at the end of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s final term in January 2025.
Over the past year, the bill has found its way back into the agenda of the Liberal party, but under a new title and with some changes.
Cautious Optimism
At Tuesday’s press event, some of the bill’s protections aspects earned praise from Benedict.
“We’re encouraged to see that this legislation has a recognition of source water, an acknowledgement of the cultural and spiritual importance of water, and what that means to our nations and our citizens,” he said.
Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige pointed out that Bill C-61 was crafted through two decades of advocacy and two years of cooperation with the Trudeau government.
On the other hand, “Bill C-37 represents a significant departure from the collaborative approach followed with Bill C-61,” Debassige warned, stating that it was introduced “without broad or meaningful input by First Nations.”
She says the Carney government notified Indigenous leaders that Bill C-61 was back on the agenda, but not much more.
Elaborating in response to a reporter’s question, Debassige explained that the Chiefs of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation had both failed to procure a meeting with the Minister of Indigenous Services.
“Our letters of advocacy have been met with a deafening silence, to be honest.”
The lack of engagement is noteworthy, given that meaningful changes have been made to the bill’s new iteration.
Most critically, Bill C-37 commits the Government of Canada to “progressively realize the internationally recognized human right to safe drinking water.”
Bill C-61, on the other hand, included a commitment from the feds to “uphold” the rights of First Nations under the constitution.
While the change seems small, the concern is that in the new language, the federal government could grant itself more leeway to approach solving boil water advisories over a longer timeline, rather than immediately.
Debassige called the change “insane.”
“I mean, it’s been a progressive realization for many of our nations for decades. If we’re going by that timeline, I’m absolutely concerned with that language in that bill,” she remarked.
Ground Zero
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation hails from Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation, which has been under a boil water advisory since 2003.
“You cannot even begin to imagine the impacts that this is having on our people, especially our youth and children,” he says. “It affects every aspect of their lives: their mental health, their spiritual health, their emotional health, their schooling — everything.”
Fiddler describes clean drinking water as the utmost issue for communities without it, calling it “ground zero.”
Fiddler, Benedict, and Debassige all maintained that it was a good thing that the new bill was finally coming forward, but still hope to see changes, and to be involved in the process as it goes from the House of Commons into the law of the land.
“We need to remain involved,” said Fiddler. “Because it is our people that are most impacted.”
