Canada’s largest First Nation is taking Ottawa to court over unsafe and inadequate water systems that don’t reach most homes on its reserve, demanding an immediate fix and at least $25-million in compensation.
Six Nations of the Grand River is situated within Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe, the most densely populated region in the country, where millions of residents can drink from taps connected to vast municipal distribution networks.
Yet Six Nations faces a starkly different reality: a modern water-treatment plant reaches just 30 per cent of the community’s 13,000 residents. The remaining 70 per cent rely on a patchwork of unmonitored wells and cisterns that have tested high for harmful bacteria and other contaminants, according to a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court.
“Bacteriological contamination in wells and cisterns causes physical health harms including gastrointestinal illnesses, skin infection and respiratory infection,” the lawsuit states.
The allegations have not been tested in court and the federal government has not yet filed a statement of defence.
“Everyone in Canada should have access to safe and clean drinking water,” said Indigenous Services Canada spokeswoman Jacinthe Goulet in an e-mailed statement. “The Government of Canada respects the choice of First Nations, including Six Nations of the Grand River, to seek the court’s assistance on the important issue of safe drinking water.”
The Liberal government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau made eliminating long-term drinking water advisories on First Nations within five years a central promise after taking office in 2015. While the government failed to meet the five-year pledge, it managed to reduce the number from 133 to 35.
In 2021, Ottawa settled class-action lawsuits brought by First Nations affected by long-term drinking-water advisories for around $8-billion.
Under the terms, affected communities had to prove that they had faced drinking water advisories lasting a year or more – something Six Nations was unable to do despite a long history of water problems.
“The metric of who was allowed to apply for those funds left out large swaths of First Nations,” said Dawn Martin-Hill, a Six Nations resident and founder of McMaster University’s Indigenous Studies program.
Many of the First Nations included in the settlement were unable to produce safe drinking water, owing to inadequate or dysfunctional water-treatment plants. On Six Nations, the problem is less about quality and more about distribution. There is a relatively modern water-treatment plant in the community, constructed in 2013 at a cost of $41-million. Even though many residents don’t trust the plant’s water, it does produce “drinking water that meets minimal drinking water standards,” the lawsuit states.
But it doesn’t reach most homes. Prof. Martin-Hill says her home, like many others in the community, features an underground cistern filled periodically by trucks. She estimates that the average cost of having cisterns filled and wastewater trucked away is about $250 a month for most families.
And that doesn’t include upfront construction costs. “I just built our house, and the whole infrastructure around the cistern and holdings tanks was around $65,000 to install,” said Prof. Martin-Hill.
In 2023, the Trudeau government introduced a bill that proposed recognizing safe drinking water as a basic human right for all First Nations, setting water-quality standards on reserves and helping protect the sources of water flowing onto First Nation lands. It died with the prorogation of Parliament.
On the campaign trail, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has committed to enshrining First Nations’ rights to safe drinking water while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed a new tax mechanism that would allow First Nations to fund water-infrastructure development through revenues from industry.
The lawsuit portrays a community that has run out of patience with promises and politics. It requests an injunction requiring an immediate remedy to unsafe drinking water and sewage conditions throughout Six Nations.
“The holdup is the federal government not providing the resources that we need to be on par with our neighbours in terms of access to clean water and waste management,” said Prof. Dawn-Hill.
“That’s why we unfortunately now have a lawsuit. You can only ask so many times, and it becomes infuriating to consecutive leaders who try to get the most basic services for their community and are continuously denied.”