Canadian First Nation Files Boil Water Advisory Class Action

A Manitoba First Nation chief filed a class action lawsuit against the Canadian federal government, aiming to represent all First Nations that have been subjected to long-term boil water advisories that were in effect for more than one year, since November 1995.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence claims that the government has not invested adequately in water treatment that primarily affects First Nation members.

Allegedly, the government has been aware of this inadequacy and has not responded appropriately. 

A boil water advisory is an advisory in which the government cautions a community that their drinking water is or could be contaminated by pathogens, and should therefore be boiled before it is consumed. 

Chief Spence calls Canada’s response to the lack of clean water “a toxic mixture of inertia and human incompetence.” According to a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, the Canadian government has promised more infrastructure since the year 2016, but these have been insufficient.

Chief Spence says the conditions “would shock Canadians who have never visited affected communities,” and claims that the conditions “constitute nothing less than a national embarrassment.”

In detailing the issues plaguing the First Nations communities, the Canadian water infrastructure class action lawsuit says that the first treatment plant for Tataskweyak was built in 1959. Allegedly, this plant required community members to get water by filling pails. 

Chief Spence says that a larger plant was built in 1987, and is the plant that still remains in use. Allegedly, the plant had problems since it was built. The lawsuit claims that it is insufficient in treating the water in the lake, which has reduced in quality as population has increased downstream and the area has weathered recent floods.

The boil water advisory class action lawsuit goes on to state that the water quality for the community was further diminished when hydroelectric development upstream increased.

In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly pledged to end the long-term water advisories that have been in effect, and promised to do so by 2021. Allegedly, 87 water advisories have been lifted since he made this promise, but 57 water advisories are still in place. 

This boil water advisory class action lawsuit is not the first filed by First Nations communities —  four Alberta First Nations filed a similar lawsuit in 2014.

Reportedly, the water is not safe to drink, and those who bathe in it can get rashes. The water quality class action lawsuit says that most people have to pay for bottled water because the water available in their community is unusable. 

Further highlighting both the health and cultural effects of the problem, Chief Spence goes on to claim in the boil water advisory class action lawsuit that “Traditionally, water is a powerful medicine for the Cree people, but the members of Tataskweyak Cree Nation now consider their water to be poison.”

The chief is seeking damages on behalf of her community and others, and is pursuing an injunction that would require the Canadian government to fund and implement adequate and effective water systems for First Nations.

The proposed Canadian government water quality class action lawsuit has not yet been certified.

Have you experienced a long-term boil water advisory? Share your story with us in the comments below.

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