By Claire Bastien, Tewatati
A House of Commons committee has begun its study of Bill C-37, the First Nations Clean Water Act. First Nations leaders and advocates are pressing MPs to change one word choice above all: how the bill describes the right to safe drinking water.
Section 3 of the bill declares it the policy of the Government of Canada “to further the progressive realization, for individuals on First Nation lands, of the human right to safe drinking water, as protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.” The Assembly of First Nations, in a bulletin on the bill, lists among its concerns a “lack of commitment to the full achievement of the human right to water.”
The Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) has held two meetings on the bill and has a third scheduled for Tuesday. It has not set a date for clause-by-clause review, where amendments are voted on.
A minister’s hour and a ‘silly question’
According to LEGISinfo, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty introduced the bill on June 16. The House passed it at second reading and sent it to committee on Oct. 9.
Gull-Masty opened the committee’s study on Oct. 22 with officials from Indigenous Services Canada and the Department of Justice, the minutes show. APTN News reported that Conservative MP Billy Morin asked her: “Which First Nation told you or gave you the permission to roll back that definition of the human right? Was there a First Nation?”
According to APTN, Gull-Masty answered: “So I’m not there to respond to such a silly question. I’m sorry. I do think that is something that would be absurd to ask.”
The minutes also record that Conservative vice-chair Jamie Schmale gave notice of a motion. It notes that the meeting notice “indicated that the Minister of Indigenous Services would appear before the committee for two hours regarding Bill C-37, but the Minister appeared for only one hour.” It asks that the committee “immediately invite the Minister to return for an additional hour of testimony at the earliest opportunity.” No vote on the motion appears in the committee’s minutes since then.
On Oct. 27, the committee adopted a $19,625 budget for the study, according to the minutes of that meeting.
Who has testified, and who is next
On Oct. 29, the committee heard from:
- Dawn Martin-Hill, professor emerita, appearing as an individual.
- Philip Tangie of the Aboriginal Water and Wastewater Association of Ontario.
- Theresa McClenaghan of the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
- Chief Emerita Emily Whetung-MacInnes and John Brown of the First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water.
- Chief Greg Gabriel of the Penticton Indian Band.
- Melinda Moch of the Indigenous Bar Association.
The House has not yet published an official transcript of that meeting or of the Oct. 22 meeting.
McClenaghan’s organization published an analysis of the bill in September that proposed amendments. It urged the government to “consult with First Nations, make the necessary changes to the Bill, and pass it quickly.”
The witnesses for Tuesday’s meeting, according to the amended notice, are:
- Clayton Leonard of JFK Law.
- Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige of the Anishinabek Nation.
- Chief Wilbert Marshall and James MacKinnon of the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority.
- Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation.
What First Nations want changed
The AFN bulletin sets out several concerns with the bill:
- Lands: The definition of First Nation lands is “limited to reserve lands and does not include title lands or lands subject to claims processes.”
- “Best efforts”: Several provisions rely on “best efforts” language “rather than mandatory obligations.” Section 26, for example, says the minister “must make best efforts to ensure that access to clean and safe drinking water” is provided on First Nation lands.
- Source water: The AFN warns that the “best efforts” language and the narrow lands definition could limit source water protection across traditional territories and watersheds.
- Regulations: The bill removes requirements for the federal cabinet to work with First Nations to co-develop regulations.
- Timing: The act would come into force only one year after royal assent.
The AFN also says the government “developed Bill C-37 with no consultation or input from First Nations or the AFN, although the AFN did co-develop Bill C-61.” C-61 was the previous Parliament’s version of the bill. According to Indigenous Services Canada, INAN heard 94 witnesses on C-61 and made more than 40 amendments before the bill died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025.
On funding, the AFN counts $4.6 billion announced with C-37 plus $2.3 billion over three years in Budget 2025, “almost $7 billion” in total. It says that is “less than 20%” of the roughly $44 billion it estimates is needed.
When the bill was introduced, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in a statement: “Clean drinking water is a human right, and it is an obligation for governments to honour that right for everyone, including First Nations.” She added: “We also encourage Committee members to actually visit First Nation communities impacted by these boil water advisories as part of their work.”
In a Chiefs of Ontario statement, Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict said “there remains some concern surrounding sections that have weakened the recognition of our inherent rights.” Debassige said in the same statement that “we are concerned that a limitation has been introduced as it relates to water in ‘protection zones,’” and warned: “The Walkerton crisis proved that water management failure is fatal.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation was more supportive. “The legislation introduced today is not perfect, but it addresses the most immediate needs of our communities,” Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said in NAN’s statement, calling it “a strong starting point.” NAN says Neskantaga First Nation has been under a boil water advisory for 31 years, the longest in Canada.
The settlement behind the bill
The bill follows a class-action settlement that the Federal Court and the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench approved on Dec. 22, 2021. According to the federal government’s announcement, the settlement included:
- $1.5 billion in compensation for individuals.
- A $400 million First Nation Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund.
- At least $6 billion to support safe drinking water on reserves.
- The planned modernization of Canada’s First Nations drinking water legislation.
The pressure has continued outside the committee room. At the First Nations–First Ministers’ Meeting in Ottawa on Oct. 26, Fiddler asked Prime Minister Mark Carney and the premiers: “How can you expect a community like Marten Falls to effectively negotiate a meaningful agreement while trying to access clean water for themselves?” In his published remarks, he said the community “has been on the boil water advisory list since 2004.”
Comment
Indigenous Services Canada’s media relations office acknowledged Tewatati’s questions on Oct. 26 and 27 but had not sent answers by publication time. Committee chair Terry Sheehan, the committee clerk, Morin, Schmale, the AFN, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
The West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, temporary home of the House of Commons, April 2019. The committee’s Oct. 22 meeting with the minister was held there. Photo: WildComet / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized).
Claire Bastien covers Parliament and its Indigenous affairs committees for Tewatati.
.jpg){kind=link}