Safe and Clean Drinking Water

By Julia Tourbina-Kolomiets, Atchaya S Kanagasabai, Elisabeth Hamelin, Amina Bourai

This post is part of a series of opinion pieces in diverse mediums focusing on the theme “What can we do to address inequities in Global Health?” These submissions are by McGill students who were part of the course PPHS 511 Fundamentals of Global Health in Fall 2022.

Water is essential to life, yet not everyone has access to clean water. Even in Canada, there are considerable disparities in the distribution of clean water to specific communities. We must address this issue by acknowledging it, proposing solutions that will provide clean water to those who lack it and support them in becoming self-sufficient.

Forty percent of the global population does not have access to sufficient clean water1. In Canada, a high-income country, many First Nations lack access to clean water, which is essential for basic human needs. Over 30 water advisories have been issued in First Nations communities across the country, some lasting over 25 years. Per advisory, 5000 people lack access to safe and clean drinking water. That puts 73% of the First Nations􏱁 􏱂ater s􏱃stems at medium or high risk of contamination2. Some solutions ha􏱄e been put in place. One solution is the 􏱅Drinking Water Internship Program􏱆, 􏱂hich teaches skills for positions such as certified water treatment plant operators and allows the people interning to become operators and professionals while enabling them to get paid. This program has already positively impacted the graduates, one of whom said: 􏱅Before this job, I didn't care where the water came from. I turned on the tap, and that's it. I came in for a job and came out with a career. Because of this, my son and I are set."3

Even though First Nations live in a high-income country, on lands that belong to them, they are not treated with the dignity they deserve. Water inaccessibility in Canadian First Nations is even more appalling, knowing that Canada has one of the largest supplies of fresh water in the world4. The problem is known, yet it seems to be swept under the carpet, and not much is done about it by the government.

We believe that we should first remedy the lack of funding by repurposing a portion of the Department of National Defence (DND) budget to fund the drinking water systems on reserves. This would represent as little as 0.6% of the budget from 2019-2020 to fill the deficit gap5. Further, we believe indigenous people should be at the forefront of solutions. As such, we suggest investing in Indigenous- made Water programs such as the 􏱅Drinking Water Internship Program􏱆, instead of funding costl􏱃 Public-Private Partnerships that often result in the loss of community control and jobs and in the privatization of water2, which goes against the end goal of this issue.

References

1. Canada, G. A. Water in developing countries. GAC https://www.international.gc.ca/world- monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/environmental_protection- protection_environnement/water-eau.aspx?lang=eng (2017).

2. Safe Water for First Nations. The Council of Canadians https://canadians.org/fn-water/ (2019).

3. Drinking Water - Water First Education & Training Inc. https://waterfirst.ngo/what-we- do/drinking-water/.

4. Environment. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/env/env- eng.htm.

5. Defence, N. Defence Budget. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national- defence/corporate/reports-publications/transition-materials/defence-101/2020/03/defence- 101/defence-budget.html (2021)