| HotSpots H2O: Report Spotlights Funding Gap in Canada’s First Nations Water Crisis
Canada will need to spend significantly more to solve the decades-long water crisis in its Indigenous First Nations, according to a new report from the country’s federal budget officer. The report, published last week, found that the government has allocated more than enough funding to build the necessary water infrastructure. But an additional $138 million is needed annually to allow First Nations to maintain and operate those systems. This would mark a 50 percent increase from planned spending. Without this investment, the report warns, “water-related infrastructure may continue to deteriorate at a faster-than-expected rate, and overall costs may continue to increase as the infrastructure ages.” The ongoing crisis is generations in the making. Many of the country’s Indigenous communities haven’t had clean tap water for decades, often having been forcibly relocated from their ancestral lands. Nearly half of First Nations’ water systems have substantial deficiencies, a quarter of which are considered to be “high risk.” According to the latest report, these figures have barely budged since 2014, despite billions in federal investment. | 