Oneida First Nation and other communities left out of Canada’s clean water promise: Grand Chief

AIAI Grand Chief Joel Abram has been lobbying in Ottawa with other AIAI member nation representatives for the past three days.

Oneida Nation of the Thames falls through the cracks of the federal government’s commitment to safe drinking water for First Nations communities, according to the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) Grand Chief Joel Abram.

He and other AIAI nation representatives have been lobbying in Ottawa this week for a different set of criteria that determines whether a community gets public money: one that Abram says doesn’t focus on remedying only “the worst of the worst.” The government added nearly 250 more drinking water systems to their commitment last week, meaning they’ll provide financial support to end 91 long-term drinking water advisories on First Nations communities throughout Canada by March 2021.

But Abram says Oneida, and other communities that don’t fall within the parameters of the policy, are being ignored. “Bad water is bad water, no matter if you have a boil-water advisory or not,” he explained. Oneida hasn’t had such an advisory in three years he says, but its water treatment […]

Full article: Oneida First Nation and other communities left out of federal clean water promise: Grand Chief

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