It’s about clean water. It’s always been about clean water. Miranda Dick, Secwépemc, repeatedly emphasizes the importance of clean water when she speaks about her actions trying to stop the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. She said for her whole life, stemming from her mom and dad, she’s been protecting the watershed. Her mom passed away from cancer more than 18 years ago. “She always said it was in the food we eat and the water we drink – this cancer would be contaminating our human consumption. So she always said to protect clean water, protect the berries, and protect the salmon and the deer. It’s our food supply, right?” remarked Miranda. “So I always led with that, over the course of time, protection of clean water.”

The First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is calling on the federal government to fund First Nations infrastructure projects the same way it funds municipal and provincial projects to fulfill its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. A news release from FNFA says this relationship would be rooted in “partnership rather than paternalism.”

“Few could recall any recent actions taken by the government of Canada specifically related to ensuring access to clean drinking water,” said Canadians Views. Indigenous people also told pollsters more immediate concerns included inadequate housing, lack of high-speed internet, crime rates, and “a strained relationship with law enforcement.”

Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation (ONTFN) has been under a boil water advisory since 2019. However, the first steps in the slow process of changing that are expected shortly. “There is an agreement coming, it's just at the table now,” said ONTFN Chief Todd Cornelius. “We're expecting to inform our community soon of the agreement.” Cornelius was tight lipped about the timeline, but CTV News has learned an announcement is imminent.

First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is urging Canada to embrace a new and innovative method of funding Indigenous infrastructure based on partnership rather than paternalism to keep its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. "The federal model for funding infrastructure has failed to deliver the housing, clean water and other critical infrastructure that will improve the living conditions in First Nations communities," said FNFA President and CEO Ernie Daniels. "We believe there is a better way, a way that works with First Nations as partners rather than the colonial approach that's rooted in the almost 150-year-old Indian Act."

Mistreatment of Innu people by colonial governments continues today, said an elder and activist who has fought for decades to protect the Innu's traditional culture and land in Labrador. "I will start on how we have been treated by the white man, and the treatment is still ongoing today," said Tshaukuesh (Elizabeth) Penashue, on Thursday when she began her testimony at an inquiry examining how Innu children and families have been affected by the child protection system.

As a years-long boil water advisory continues to drag out, there’s cautious optimism that clean water will be flowing to residents of Oneida Nation of the Thames. But it won’t be any time soon. In fact it could be a number of years yet before the community can lift its boil water advisory. "Over the holidays I heard from a lot of community members feeling a sense of hopelessness, but also a sense of guilt," said Oneida Councillor Brandon Doxtator, who oversees environmental issues for the community." Just taking a five minute shower has caused community members to be worried about their part of exacerbating the problem," he said.

Canada’s first environmental racism bill was back before the House of Commons this week after the committee studying the bill approved it without amendment. The bill was first tabled by former Nova Scotia MP Lenore Zann in February 2020. “Environmental racism is something that has been ignored for far too many years,” Zann, the Liberal MP for Cumberland-Colchester, said in bringing forth the private member’s bill for second reading in the House of Commons on Dec. 8, 2020.

Autumn Peltier of Wiikwemkoong First Nation is a finalist for this year’s International Children’s Peace Prize. Peltier, 18, is one of three people who made a shortlist selected by a panel of experts from more than 175 nominees from 46 countries. The winner will receive 100,000 euros, or about $135,000, half of which will go to a project they support. “Global youth environmental activist Autumn Peltier, also known as ‘The Water Protector,’ has been advocating for clean water in Canada and beyond for many years,” said a news release Tuesday from kidsrights.org.

An innovative way to bring clean water to indigenous communities is being installed in homes at a reserve not far from Toronto. The project is an early step in a plan that advocates hope will eventually spread across Canada. “Water is a basic human right no matter how rich or poor we are, where we come from, what the colour of our skin is we all deserve clean drinking water,” said water rights advocate Autumn Peltier.

Seventeen-year-old Canadian indigenous rights activist and designated "water protector" Autumn Peltier is empowering young people to protect the environment. As the chief water commissioner for Anishinabek Nation, she has spent nearly half her life speaking about the importance of clean water to organizations including the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. Peltier, who grew up in Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Ontario's Manitoulin Island, first became aware of the need for water advocacy at just eight years old. When visiting a neighboring indigenous community, she discovered that they were unable to drink their tap water due to pollution. That kickstarted her career as an activist.