World Water Day but make it Canadian
Access to clean water is a human right.
What is World Water Day?
World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance that raises awareness for the two billion people (out of 7.8 billion people in the world) currently living without safe access to water. It's been observed worldwide since 1993, and in recent years, the focus of WWD has been to inspire action to supply clean water worldwide by 2030.
Before you dismiss this as something that is happening in developing, war-torn, low income and, some may say, "uncivilized" parts of the world, it is important to realize this is an issue to people living in Canada.
That's right, Canada, a country that is rich, both in water (we are home to nearly a quarter of the world's freshwater resources) and financial wealth, has Indigenous communities that still don't have access to clean drinking water.
To put it bluntly, Canada is failing and violating people’s human rights.
What does not having access to clean water look like in Canada?
Right now, there are 36 long-term water advisories in effect in 29 Indigenous communities across Canada
People living on Indigenous reserves are 90x more likely to be without running water than other people living in Canada
73% of First Nations’ water systems are at high or medium risk of contamination.
The number of water-borne infections in Indigenous communities is 26x greater than the Canadian national average
What are boil advisories?
"Boil water advisories are public announcements advising the public that they should boil their drinking water prior to consumption in order to eliminate any disease-causing microorganisms that are suspected or confirmed to be in the water.”
Via Health Canada
A boil water advisory for a week is bad enough, a boil water advisory for decades means that everyday for years that tap water needs to be boiled for at least one minute before drinking it, using it for washing fruits and vegetables, or using it for brushing teeth, etc. What sort of quality of life are we saying is acceptable here? This is horrific.
It's not enough until everyone has access to clean drinking water
Promises from the Canadian Federal government to solve the staggering lack of clean water resources date back more than 30 years.
Yep, that's as long as World Water Day has existed.
It should go without saying, but since we're still talking about it today: these promises were clearly lip service.
Most recently, in 2015, Justin Trudeau promised to end all long-term water advisories in Canada by March of 2021. To date, 128 long-term advisories have reportedly been lifted, which is fantastic. But it's not all of them.
We're not just a year late - we're 30 years late. At least.
"We found that the Canadian government has violated a range of international human rights obligations toward First Nations persons and communities by failing to remedy the severe water crisis."
Human Rights Watch
Are we better than the OG Colonizers?
Often in our comments, we see people saying that it is really awful that all of this happened, but they weren't personally alive when these violations occurred. We're going to swallow the scream in our throat and instead say this:
Each of us reading this is alive today while Canada continues to violate the human rights of the Indigenous people of this land. So, are we really any better than colonizers of the past? Because, to put it bluntly, this kind of feels like the same shit, different century.
That is the truth of our relationship with the First Nations, Metis and Inuit. We take from them, lie to them, kill them, make false promises to them, take away their agency, take away their children, and that's not even all of it.
We need to acknowledge that both the government and Canadians have been shitty treaty partners because giving a land acknowledgement and wearing an orange shirt isn't enough.
Treaty Partners, Take Action:
The thing is, while we may not have been good treaty partners in the past, we can (and must) become them now. Each of us living in Canada are treaty partners. So now that we know better, how will we do better? Because yes, the government needs to do better but so do those of us who are non-Indigenous.
Learn more and spread awareness. We each have platforms and communities: take the time to educate yourself and use these spaces to create critical conversations. How each of us champion this issue is directly correlated to how far it spreads, and how much momentum we can build.
Contact your elected officials and ask what measures they take everyday to ensure the water they drink from the tap, use to take a shower, put in their Keurig, is safe to drink. Ask them why that safety isn't afforded to every person living within Canada? Demand immediate action. www.oncanadaproject.ca/findyourrep. Schedule emails for the 22nd of the next few months.
Make Noise. Sign this petition. Tweet at our Prime Minister and cc/ other party leaders. If there was ever an issue that deserved bipartisan support, clean water would be it.
