Water insecurities amongst Canadian Indigenous Populations
By Mohini Patel
This post is part of a series of opinion pieces in diverse mediums focusing on the theme “What makes you mad about global health?” These submissions are by McGill students who were part of the course PPHS 511 Fundamentals of Global Health in Fall 2021.
Over the years, scholars have criticized the distorted representation of issues related to water insecurity as being restricted to the global South. In fact, there have been growing efforts in trying to debunk the idea that household water access is “universal” in high-income countries. More often than not, marginalized communities suffer from a complete lack of water security even in countries deemed most water-secure in the world (2). A striking example of such a situation is found in Canada, a high-income country, where Indigenous communities continue to live under persisting conditions of water insecurity. Studies have shown that, “[in] Canada, First Nations’ homes are 90 times as likely to be without running water as the homes of other Canadians” (4). Further statistics highlight the shockingly unmet needs of Indigenous communities in Canada in the context of water accessibility which continue to prevail even today. How is it that, in a developed country such as Canada, “Indigenous communities have disproportionately higher levels of water insecurity as compared to non-Indigenous populations” (2)? Why is it that, to this day, one in five First Nation communities across Canada remain on a boil water advisory (2)? These are the type of questions that occupy the minds of many in response to the distressing disparities in household water access between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian communities. It is clear that the absence of an adequate safe water supply amongst Canadian Indigenous homes stems from – rather than water shortages or insufficient technologies – discriminatory systems and pure neglect.
It is important to recognize the heavy influence of the settler-colonial mindset in dictating the ways in which water governance – amongst other things – is managed in Canada. For example, the past and ongoing forced displacement and relocation of Indigenous families plays a crucial role in creating gaps concerning safe water access between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian populations. In fact, there is a clear absence of necessary infrastructures or policies required to ensure proper water access in Canadian reserves (2). Moreover, “[…] provincial and territorial regulations that govern safe drinking water do not extend to First Nations reserves” (2). This segregation, at the level of water governance, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is one of the many discriminatory acts against Indigenous families that continually puts their well-being and overall health at risk. Studies have determined that water contamination is responsible for approximately 90 deaths and 90 000 illnesses on a yearly basis (3). These preventable deaths and illnesses primarily occur in Canadian Indigenous populations as opposed to other Canadian communities (3). Additionally, in 2017, it was determined by the Parliamentary Budget Officer that a minimal sum of 3.2 billion dollars was required to update on-reserve water systems (1). However, the federal government has only offered a total of 305 million dollars to aid Indigenous populations, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (1). As such, it is clear that individuals in power are not only failing to ensure equitable water services but also, in some ways, participating in the sustainment of unfavourable conditions for Indigenous communities’ well-being and health.
References:
Levi, E., & Robin, T. (2020). COVID-19 did not cause food insecurity in Indigenous communities but it will make it worse. Yellowhead Institute. Retrieved from https://yellowheadinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/covid-food-insecurity.pdf
Meehan, K., Jepson, W., Harris, L.M., Wutich, A., Beresford, M., Fencl, A., … Young, S. (2020). Exposing the myths of household water insecurity in the global north: A critical review. WIREs Water, 7 (6). Retrieved from https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/wat2.1486
Metcalfe, C., Murray, C., Collins, L., & Furgal, C. (2011). Water Quality and Human Indigenous Communities in Canada. Global Bioethics, 24 (1-4). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/11287462.2011.10800705?needAccess=true
Staddon, C., Everard, M., Mytton, J., Octavianti, T., Powell, W., Quinn, N., … Mizniak, J. (2020). Water insecurity compounds the global coronavirus crisis. Water International, 45(5). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/02508060.2020.1769345?scroll=top&needAccess=true
Acknowledgments:
We would like to thank Professor Madhukar Pai for setting and sharing this assignment results with us and the teaching assistants Alexandra Jaye Zimmer, Lavanya Huria and Angie Sassi for their support in coordinating the results.
The thumbnail image for this article on the homepage is from Macdonald-Laurier Institute and is being used under the Creative Commons License 4.0.