TL;DR
In this edition of IYR Explains, we’re breaking down Bill C-61: First Nations Clean Water Act.
Details
Content Warning: Please use the number below if you need support, or visit www.hopeforwellness.ca | 1-855-242-3310 – available in Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut.
Bill C-61 At A Glance
- Despite vast freshwater resources in Canada, and ongoing government commitments to resolve the crisis, many First Nations communities remain without access to safe drinking water.
- On December 11, 2023, the federal government introduced Bill C-61: First Nations Clean Water Act in the House of Commons. The proposed law affirms the inherent rights of First Nations to self-govern water resources on their lands (including establishing and enforcing their own water-related laws) and sets out principles to ensure that First Nations communities are provided with clean and safe drinking water and the tools to effectively treat and dispose of wastewater on their lands.
- The bill sets out minimum standards for water quality and provides methods to support sustainable source water management (untreated water from lakes, rivers, and underground sources).
- The bill is also connected to commitments Canada has made through the UNDA Act, which seeks to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) UNDRIP recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to all aspects of self-governance and self-determination, including the right to control natural resources on their territories.
- As of June 17, 2024, Bil C-61 has passed Second Reading at the House of Commons and is now in consideration by the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
Read Our Report
Further Reading
- Bill C-61: First Nations Clean Water Act
- Bill C-226: Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism Act
- Tip of the iceberg: The true state of drinking water advisories in First Nations
- Indigenous Safe Drinking Water Crisis in Canada- Overview
- Canada Introduces Bill C-61: First Nations Clean Water Act
- Prairie First Nations call on Ottawa to rewrite clean water bill
- Clean Water bill ‘just the first step,’ NAN Grand Chief says
- Federal First Nations clean water bill gets mixed reaction in Sask
- Conservatives stall Indigenous clean water law, minister says
- Neskantaga marks 29 years under BWA
- UN expert finds ‘flagrant breaches’ of First Nations rights to clean water
- Courts approve settlement agreement to resolve class action litigation related to safe drinking water in First Nations communities
- Not true reconciliation:’ FSIN reacts to federal bill on water
- Water crisis in First Nations communities runs deeper than long-term drinking water advisories
- Quantifiable progress of the First Nations Water Management Strategy, 2001–2013: Ready for regulation?
- On World Water Day UBCIC Calls on Governments to Prevent Predicted Water Shortages
- Water is a Source of Life
- Reconciling our relationships to preserve Mother Earth for future generations: Voices of Indigenous youth leaders on reconciliation
- Resistance & Sovereignty at Grassy Narrows First Nation