Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty vowed last summer a new bill would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
A new First Nations clean water bill set to be introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government changes a provision in a previous bill that would have recognized First Nations have a human right to clean drinking water.
The Canadian Press has obtained a draft of the bill labelled “for consultation until June 11, 2026.” It’s not clear if any changes were made since the consultation period ended.
Some First Nations leaders had expected the bill to be introduced as early as Monday, but that didn’t happen. It’s now expected on Tuesday and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is scheduled to hold a news conference.
The House of Commons is expected to rise by Friday for the summer break, which means the legislation likely won’t be debated or voted on until the fall.
A previous bill was introduced in 2023 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Indigenous Services minister, Patty Hajdu.
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That legislation, drafted in response to a lawsuit against the government that was settled in 2021, went beyond the terms of the settlement. It included an option for source water protection and recognition that First Nations have a human right to clean drinking water.
The legislation was opposed by the provinces of Alberta and Ontario, which warned that it would undermine resource development.
That bill was drafted with input from First Nations and nearly became law after weeks of study and debate, but it died when Parliament was prorogued last year.
In January of last year – months before the last federal election – Hajdu said she hoped “whoever’s in government next time picks this up” and called the bill “incredibly thoughtful legislation that was co-drafted with First Nations people.”
Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty vowed last summer a new bill would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water.
Some First Nations leaders said they have not been consulted on the new legislation.
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Both versions of the bill share the goal of ensuring First Nations have reliable access to safe drinking water and waste water treatment, but the new draft legislation blurs the language in the old bill that affirmed access to clean drinking water as a human right.
“It is declared to be 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 new draft bill says.
The previous legislation said “it is recognized and affirmed that it is a human right of every individual on First Nations land to have access to clean and safe drinking water in accordance with this Act.”
The new legislation also appears to weaken source water protections afforded by the previous bill.
Billy Morin, the Conservatives’ Indigenous Services critic, said in a social media post that the Carney government was moving a “watered down” bill that “only expands government jobs and doesn’t actually get results for First Nations.”
Indigenous Services Canada reports there are 37 boil-water advisories in place in 36 communities, most of them in Ontario.
Trudeau vowed to end all boil water advisories by 2021 but did not succeed.