First Nations call for Ontario minister to resign over clean drinking water bill

Liam Casey · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 10:21 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

Several twelve First Nations successful Ontario called for the resignation of the province's situation curate Wednesday aft helium asked the national authorities to not reintroduce a measure that would enshrine cleanable drinking h2o rights successful law.

Last month, Todd McCarthy and Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz wrote to national Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin asking her to determination distant from authorities that they accidental would "delay task improvement and undermine competitiveness."

They singled retired Bill C-61, authorities introduced successful the past Parliament that sought to guarantee First Nations person entree to cleanable drinking h2o and tin support caller h2o sources connected their territories.

The measure faced a lengthy committee process but was not passed into instrumentality earlier Parliament was prorogued earlier this year, and Dabrusin said past week that her authorities plans to reintroduce it successful the fall.

Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Linda Debassige, whose enactment represents 39 First Nations successful bluish and confederate Ontario, said she was shocked and disappointed that McCarthy would reason the codification successful instrumentality of First Nations' close to cleanable drinking water.

"The situation curate needs to resign, he's got to go," Debassige said.

There are 37 First Nations crossed the state that person semipermanent boil-water advisories, and 26 of them are successful Ontario.

McCarthy's bureau said the volition of the missive was to marque wide that Ottawa needs to guarantee a "regulatory situation that supports economical growth."

"Ontario has ever supported the close to cleanable drinking h2o successful each First Nations communities," said McCarthy's spokesman, Alexandru Cioban.

"Ontario powerfully believes this is not an either-or proposition: we tin and request to bring cleanable drinking h2o to First Nations communities portion besides bringing regulatory certainty that attracts investment."

Cioban did not supply further details astir McCarthy's concerns astir the bill.

The state says McCarthy's occupation is safe.

Bill 5 precocious passed

McCarthy's missive came connected the heels of a tense gathering astatine Queen's Park betwixt the authorities and First Nations, who person been livid implicit precocious passed legislation, known arsenic Bill 5, that aims to velocity up the completion of ample projects, including mines.

The state gave furniture the powerfulness to suspend provincial and municipal laws done the instauration of alleged "special economical zones" that First Nations accidental disregard their pact rights.

The state intends to sanction the mineral-rich Ring of Fire successful bluish Ontario arsenic the archetypal specified zone.

Debassige and respective twelve First Nation chiefs met with Premier Doug Ford a fewer weeks agone to sermon Bill 5. Ford had said the time earlier that First Nations should halt coming to him "hat successful hand" if they don't get connected committee with Bill 5.

He past apologized to Debassige and those chiefs successful a backstage gathering earlier repeating it astatine a quality league connected unrecorded television.

Debassige and the chiefs accepted that apology and agreed to determination guardant with extended consultations connected the caller law.

Debassige said Ford told them that time helium was successful afloat enactment of cleanable drinking h2o for each Ontario First Nations and was going to fig retired a mode to help. That contented is simply a national one, though Ford hinted connected vigor precocious the state mightiness measurement up if the national authorities does not.

"Everyone deserves caller drinking water," Ford said of First Nations connected NewsTalk 1010.

Debassige inactive takes the premier's connection and believes McCarthy had gone "rogue."

"To perceive straight from the premier that helium is successful afloat enactment and past person 1 of his ministers crook astir and inquire the premier curate of Canada to fundamentally decommit successful introducing C-61 is simply a implicit amusement of disrespect, a amusement of incompetence and he's a escaped cannon successful my view," said Debassige.

Ontario passed the Clean Water Act successful 2006, which ensures the extortion of municipal drinking h2o systems. That came successful effect to the deadly E. coli outbreak successful Walkerton, Ont., that killed 7 radical and made much than 2,000 radical sick.

But that Ontario measure does not widen to First Nations successful the state due to the fact that of jurisdictional issues.

The national cleanable h2o measure is portion of a court-ordered colony implicit a class-action suit First Nations won against Ottawa implicit this precise issue.

Debassige helped draught that legislation, saying it was historical successful galore ways, including the information the national authorities worked with First Nations to constitute it.

"The process we went done and we were capable to negociate was a testament to the government's committedness to reconciliation," she said.

"This is not reconciliation. I cognize the premier's bureau is precise alert of our presumption and our effect to these idiotic comments."

First Nations accidental this is the latest 'slap successful the face'

The Ford authorities has been taking pains to assuage First Nations' concerns implicit Bill 5 successful the past month, pledging extended consultations and a accidental successful however related regulations are drafted.

Neskantaga First Nation successful bluish Ontario has lived nether a boil-water advisory for much than 30 years. The assemblage says the h2o gives them lesions, eczema and a big of different tegument issues if they ablution oregon bathe successful it. It leads to gastrointestinal issues if they portion from the taps and astir fractional of the assemblage has ne'er lived astatine a clip erstwhile the h2o was harmless to drink.

The national authorities flies successful planeloads of bottled h2o to the distant First Nation respective times each week.

McCarthy's missive was the latest "slap successful the face" from the province, said Neskantaga Chief Gary Quisess.

"It doesn't consciousness close to the mediocre radical successful Neskantaga," helium said. "It's precise disturbing."

The assemblage has been traumatized implicit decades of unsafe drinking water, helium said.

"We person a intelligence wellness situation and trauma that is precise overmuch related to the boil-water advisory, including suicides," Quisess said. "Life is precise pugnacious and there's nary extremity successful show to the trauma here."

The Chiefs of Ontario, which represents each 133 First Nations successful the province, called the missive "a nonstop onslaught connected the rights, wellness and information of First Nations."

"This authorities was developed to guarantee that our communities yet person entree to clean, harmless drinking water, a basal quality close that acold excessively galore person been denied," said Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict.