“The failure of some Canadian mining companies to respect the environment and human rights throughout the Americas – from Canada to Argentina – has forced the many communities affected to stand up and protest,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands.  “As a Canadian, I am ashamed that the irresponsible behaviour of some Canadian corporations has reached this level that brings our global reputation into disrespect.”

60% of the world’s publicly traded mining companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, accounting for more than 3,200 exploitation projects in over 100 countries.   Canada is the largest stakeholder in the resource extraction industry in the Americas with 37% of total investment.

Too many Canadian-based mining operations have forced people from their homes, destroying communities and livelihoods; they have threatened water and food safety and caused long- term health problems.  As well, they have disregarded indigenous and human rights and led to small-scale miners, union, environmental, and community activists being threatened and often jailed. 

Large-scale mining explorations and exploitations have also led to an irreversible loss in biodiversity.  Despite the fact that resource extraction is presented by the Harper Conservatives and CIDA as good for jobs and economic growth, too often the reality for local people is the opposite.

“Until Canadian mining operations abroad can prove that their impact is truly beneficial – and not just for profits, the Conservatives should divest public funds, including our pensions, from these extraction industries,” said May.  “They should support a Corporate Responsibility Act, such as Bill C-323, that establishes corporate accountability standards, penalizes companies linked to human rights violations, and allows foreign nationals to pursue legal action for damages in Canadian courts.

Mr. Harper should also stop signing free-trade agreements that pave the way for nearly unrestricted extraction.”

The Green Party leader also noted that public institutions, including the Museum of Natural History in Ottawa, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto, York University, and CIDA, should avoid getting involved with high-profile public relations campaigns conducted by resource extraction companies.

The Continental Day of Action Against Mega Resource Extraction is being organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network (LACSN).  Coordinated actions will range from rallies, demonstrations, and letter writing campaigns to protests in front of mining corporate offices and Canadian embassies.

The post Green Party Supports Continent-Wide Day of Action: Behaviour of Canadian Mining Companies Too Often Destructive appeared first on Elizabeth May.

“By closing this unique, globally recognized research facility, the Harper government is once again sullying Canada’s international reputation,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “The research made possible by the ELA is fundamentally important to realizing Canada’s international commitments to both the human right to clean water and the rights of Indigenous peoples, and to close it at this critical time for water is just one more black eye for Canada on the world stage.”

First Nation Chiefs in Ontario and Manitoba have called upon the government to reverse its decision to terminate the ELA program because of the impact the closure will have on the understanding of effects of pollution and other stressors on First Nations treaty rights.

“The impacts the omnibus budget bill and the cuts to the ELA program will have on our Great Lakes and First Nations communities will be felt for countless generations,” says Ron Plain, Environmental Policy Analyst for the Southern First Nations Secretariat.

“The ELA is necessary to ensure that our traditional territories include clean lakes and protected fish habitat,” states Chief Garrison Settee, of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation. “Without the on-going scientific study of ELA, our treaty right to fish could be compromised. Freshwater is becoming an endangered resource on this planet,” adds Berens River First Nation Chief George Kemp. “It is sad to see the ELA being shut at this critical juncture of history. Tragic!”

Indigenous people have a special relationship with fish and wildlife – a relationship based on subsistence needs and values extending back thousands of years. Contamination of freshwater fish with toxins, particularly mercury, has significant health implications for indigenous people.

“Research at ELA has demonstrated that reducing atmospheric mercury emissions from burning fossil fuels will rapidly lower mercury levels in fish,” says mercury expert Dr. Drew Bodaly, former ELA head scientist. “ELA research has also provided guidance on where to locate hydroelectric reservoirs to minimize mercury accumulation in fish.”

The ELA has been critical for developing mitigation strategies for reducing contamination of fishes with mercury and other toxins. Termination of this federal research program will seriously undermine the federal government’s ability to develop such mitigation strategies in the future.

“The decision to close the ELA has led to a national and growing movement, shocked at the short-sightedness of deciding to eliminate our scientific capacity”, says Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, “I am honoured to join with First Nations in calling for a reconsideration.”

The post First Nations and their allies oppose closure of Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area appeared first on Elizabeth May.

“The Canadian government continues to fail First Nations.  Many of the current problems could have been prevented by signing the Kelowna accord, but it was a victim of political partisanship,” said Lorraine Rekmans, Aboriginal Affairs Critic for the Green Party of Canada.

There are 116 First Nations in Canada without access to clean drinking water. More than 20,000 First Nations people living on reserves have no running water or sewage systems. One in four First Nation children lives in poverty.

“Sadly, government inaction continues to perpetuate the terrible living condition of our First Nations.  Fundamentally, all Aboriginal peoples deserve their dignity.  They deserve respect, an end to policies of assimilation, and strong support for health and education on and off reserve,” said May.

The Green Party of Canada supports the restoration of the $5.1 billion commitment of the landmark Kelowna Accord reached between federal and provincial, territorial and First Nations governments in Canada in 2005, with the proviso that the ensuing programs do not lead to greater infringement on Aboriginal and treaty rights. One of the central features of the Accord is the creation of “baselines,” critical to assess the levels of Aboriginal health and well-being. The Green Party also believes in the importance of respecting the Haida decision–the right of Aboriginal peoples to be not just consulted but their concerns accommodated regarding decisions that may impact their resources and their future.

“The Attawapiskat crisis needs immediate action,” said Rekmans.  “It should also wake us up to the incredible complexity of the needs of First Nations in Canada.  They are still reeling from the impacts of generations of assault upon their traditional cultures and values. We need to ensure basic needs like adequate housing in the short term, but we must also take a broad perspective to ensure this situation is not repeated.  This will require collaboration from all levels of government, including First Nations governments.”

The post Collaborat​ive Approach Needed to Help Attawapisk​at appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Motion: That the House call on the Government of Canada to address on an urgent basis the needs of those First Nations communities whose members have no access to clean, running water in their homes; that action to address this disparity begin no later than spring 2012; and that the House further recognize that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.

Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time I have risen to ask a question in the debate today, I want to thank the Liberal Party of Canada for putting forward this important resolution to focus our attention on first nations drinking water quality and I thank the hon. member for Kootenay—Columbia for his presentation on the issue.

[guJMZVS6q8E]

I think we are all of one mind in the House and I would like to take partisanship out of it. As long as I can remember, parliamentarians of all stripes have been talking about the scandal that first nations in this country do not have drinkable water. It is a federal responsibility and yet it seems to bedevil the solution.

I would like to ask the hon. member for Kootenay—Columbia, can he suggest how, with new legislation, we could deliver the results we want if we do not back it up with billions more dollars?

Mr. David Wilks: Mr. Speaker, it has been recognized in the past that we have thrown billions and billions of dollars at this problem. Without a standard of law being put in place, we will not be able to ensure this works well. When we put the regulation in place, it will also be a matter of law to ensure that all systems are run properly, legally, and within the letter of the law.

The post First Nations Drinking Water appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Motion: That the House call on the Government of Canada to address on an urgent basis the needs of those First Nations communities whose members have no access to clean, running water in their homes; that action to address this disparity begin no later than spring 2012; and that the House further recognize that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.

Mr. Scott Simms: Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from St. Paul’s who has provided a great deal of leadership. I would also like to thank and congratulate the preceding speaker from Saanich—Gulf Islands, the leader of the Green Party, who did a fantastic job on her speech. It was a pleasure sharing the time with her.

The post First Nations Drinking Water (E) appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Motion: That the House call on the Government of Canada to address on an urgent basis the needs of those First Nations communities whose members have no access to clean, running water in their homes; that action to address this disparity begin no later than spring 2012; and that the House further recognize that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.

Mr. Alain Giguère: Mr. Speaker, the member who just spoke talked of fundamental respect. I would like to make an aside, a little comment meant for everyone here. Nearly 150 years ago, two founding peoples decided to create this country. A third people was deliberately left out of the discussion, left out of the creation of this country. And this colonialism still exists. We, the political representatives of the two founding peoples, are going to decide what right the third people has to water and what the quality of that water will be.

These discussions will go on and on as long as we do not accept the fundamental fact that the Indian Act is colonial and outdated. These discussions will take place as long as we refuse to recognize the first nations as one of the founding peoples. Two or three years from now, we will be talking about housing and education rights. That is the problem. The first nations have a basic right to be part of the discussion and to fundamental respect.

Ms. Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his comments. Generally, we agree, but the question of the role of the Indian Act concerns aboriginal people first and foremost. National Chief Atleo has said that there are major problems with the act. He wants to see changes made to it, but that is an issue for a broader dialogue than today’s debate on the right to clean, safe water.

The post First Nations Drinking Water (D) appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Motion: That the House call on the Government of Canada to address on an urgent basis the needs of those First Nations communities whose members have no access to clean, running water in their homes; that action to address this disparity begin no later than spring 2012; and that the House further recognize that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.

Mrs. Cheryl Gallant: Mr. Speaker, on the topic of consultation that the member opposite referred to, in the summer of 2006 the expert panel held a series of public hearings for first nations across Canada, hearing from over 110 presenters and receiving more than two dozen written submissions.

In April 2007 a joint workshop was held between federal officials and the Assembly of First Nations technical water expert group to engage technical experts on the government’s proposed option, incorporation by reference, and allow the experts to identify issues and challenges that would need to be resolved in order to effectively implement this option.

From May to July 2008, INAC, Health Canada and Environment Canada met with regional first nations organizations, the Assembly of First Nations and provincial territorial officials to prepare for future engagement sessions on a legislative framework. First nations expressed support for continued discussions on the development of legislation and regulations.

From February through March of 2009 a series of engagement sessions were held with first nations communities, regional first nations organizations and provincial-territorial officials, and these sessions offered a forum for participants to suggest solutions and recommendations on how to best address the existing regulatory gap for drinking water and waste water in first nations communities.

In 2009-10 the federal government met with first nations chiefs and first nations organizers to discuss specific regional issues raised during the engagement sessions held from February to March 2009. During these sessions, key elements of the draft legislation were shared in deck format.

In the same spirit of co-operation that was afforded the member to share her time during this debate, would she be willing to co-operate with the government in helping–

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Barry Devolin): The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

Ms. Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, it is not an easy matter to conduct the kind of consultations that meet the standards of Supreme Court of Canada decisions, such as in Delgamuukw, Weyerhaeuser, Haida Gwaii First Nation, and challenges to consultations.

We can invite first nations to provide briefs and hold meetings, but if it has not started with a fundamental respect, and some of these meetings may have been well-intentioned and met the standard, the reality of consultations with first nations is that they are government to government. They are not merely a matter of taking briefs on board as if we are dealing with NGOs. The consultation mechanism must start with a sign-off with the Assembly of First Nations as the body that represents the chiefs and councils of first nations across Canada, and must be engaged in a respectful government to government relationship. That will bring better results.

In answer to the member’s question, yes, I am more than happy to do anything I can to help. I think we should work together.

The post First Nations Drinking Water (C) appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Motion: That the House call on the Government of Canada to address on an urgent basis the needs of those First Nations communities whose members have no access to clean, running water in their homes; that action to address this disparity begin no later than spring 2012; and that the House further recognize that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor. I want to take this moment to thank him, a member of another party, for quite magnanimously and generously making it possible for the Green Party to enter into the debate on this important opposition day motion.

We are concerned, as are all parties in the House, about the ongoing scandal of the failure of the federal government to ensure our fiduciary, legal and constitutionally required obligation to provide safe, clean drinking water to every person living within a first nations community. This is so fundamental, so constitutionally enshrined and so clearly something that we all share on all sides of the House, it is not only our legal obligation but also our moral obligation.

It is an ongoing scandal that disturbs the conscience of all Canadians when they realize that third world drinking water conditions exist right across this great and wealthy country, but in first nations communities almost exclusively.

I want to try to address the problem and propose some solutions as we discuss this issue in as non-partisan a fashion as possible

We recognize that the statistics on this issue are shameful. Only 27% of first nations enjoy drinking water that could be considered safe; 39% of drinking water supplies are judged to be of high risk; and 34% are judged to be of moderate risk. The first nations themselves have questioned these statistics collected by our Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, which says these are collected in a bit of an arbitrary fashion but are the statistics we have.

In one month alone, in May of this year, there were 223 advisories and warnings in first nations communities, a statistic discovered by Canadian Press through access to information.

We recognize that the statistics, while dreadful, continue in the face of various governments. There is no question that previous Liberal governments and this Conservative government have made announcements, provided funding, and have said they would deal with this issue. Yet it remains an ongoing scandal.

I remember how shocked I was when a friend of mine who worked in a first nations community, Burnt Church, New Brunswick, described to me how the local hospital had to have water trucked in. That is how deeply we are failing first nations communities, that even a local hospital had to rely on trucking in bottled water because safe drinking water supplies were just not available.

What are the issues here? Some of them were discussed in a brief exchange between the hon. parliamentary secretary and the member for Edmonton—Strathcona. The member for Edmonton—Strathcona does have a long history on this issue, having authored a book on first nations governance around water issues.

Clearly we have to start finding a solution with fundamental respect for the rights, jurisdiction and responsibilities of first nations themselves. In the words of Grand Chief Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations, this was where the previous government legislation, which started in the Senate, Bill S-11, was so fatally flawed. It did not start with engagement that respected the rights and jurisdiction of first nations. We have to start with that.

The government has said in the past that it would enter into consultations with first nations to develop a water governance model that would work. To date we know there have been 13 engagement sessions that took place in 2009. That does not constitute the kind of full engagement with first nations governments that is required to really understand how we develop shared jurisdiction in this area, with a water governance model that will actually work. How do we develop that? It starts with talking to first nations about a shared model.

Once we respect first nations rights and jurisdiction, we then have to look at what they are saying about the problem. Grand Chief Shawn Atleo has said that there is a large capacity gap. In other words, we could impose regulations on first nations communities, but we have not addressed important holistic issues, respecting traditional knowledge, for example, attempting to support first nations in their communities through respect and government to government negotiations in order to create first nations water governance models that would actually work and are supported by enhanced capacity.

It is not all pipes that we need. It is more than that. It has to be holistic. We need to address the requirements in first nations communities.

Yes, we do need more money. That is going to be essential to providing any framework that works. We need water treatment systems. We need to develop those systems that make sense in the context of first nations communities, often in remote areas.

We need to stop polluting first nations water. This is pretty fundamental, but if someone lives downstream from a large pulp and paper mill that is not watching its effluent, if someone is downstream from the Athabasca tar sands, downstream from areas of pollution, or in the case of first nations communities where cranes lived all around and were surrounded by greater mercury contamination from the large hydro plants, there are going to be specific water pollution problems that are not simply bacteriological. It will not simply be dealt with through dealing with contamination in a bacteriological sense.

This holistic view starts with protecting water at source, ensuring there is capacity in first nations communities and ensuring we are respecting the rights and jurisdictions of first nations communities.

I am not trying to cast blame in any way here at all across party lines. It is important that on this issue, for once, we act in a non-partisan fashion that recognizes that, in a serial sense, there has been a serial failure here that is not something we can peg on one government or another.

It is something that speaks to who we are as a nation, that we come together, that we respect the primary responsibility that this is a governance issue where we are on somebody else’s territory. In a very real sense, anywhere in Canada we are on somebody else’s territory. However, specifically in first nations communities, those rights and responsibilities of jurisdiction cannot be abridged, cannot be ignored, cannot be conveniently treated as non-issues because we have decided we are going to put a particular type of water plant in and we are going to tell people how it is going to work.

We have had enough failures, as we know, with high tech water plants across Canada in non-indigenous communities that we should not be arrogant about this. The great failure of the Halifax water treatment plant comes to mind, after billions were spent. We need to approach this issue as a shared partnership to ensure safe drinking water for every first nations community.

Going forward from that, this day of debate and discussion in the House of Commons is an excellent start. We certainly have been admonished. We have been admonished by Sheila Fraser, as Auditor General, in her final statement to us as parliamentarians, that after years of filing reports pointing out the failure to deliver clean drinking water to first nations communities, she wonders if we can ever make any progress at all.

This is our moment. Let us not lose it. We are coming together. We agree on something. Let us work together on it.

My last thought goes to the question of drinking water in Canada overall. Now that we are addressing first nations drinking water in a non-partisan fashion across all parties in the House of Commons, can we not look at the larger question of how we regulate drinking water in general?

I may not be right about this, I just want to share this. I’m thinking out loud. Is there something wrong with the overarching framework of drinking water in Canada that we do not regulate the safety of drinking water in Canada? We regulate food safety. There have been various attempts in the Senate over the years to put forward a bill that would reclassify water as food, so that we would then regulate the safety of water.

We do not regulate the safety of water. We have federal government guidelines from Health Canada and when they are not being observed, there is no enforcement mechanism. Generally, enforcement for safe drinking water in Canada has been a process that involves media stories, headlines, and trying to get attention. Unless it is a desperate situation like Walkerton, sometimes drinking water standards, even in a non-first nations context, are not getting adequate attention.

Perhaps it is time that we address the need for a safe drinking water act that will reach all Canadian taps, all Canadian faucets, all Canadian homes. In doing that we will have created a federal framework within which the rights and responsibilities, and the appropriate jurisdictions of first nations can be respected as we augment the failures by providing significant resources to providing safe drinking water everywhere in this country, but particularly in that area of exclusive federal responsibility which we share with first nations on first nations reserves across Canada.

I am thankful for having the opportunity to speak to this. I look forward to questions.

The post First Nations Drinking Water – Speech appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Motion: That the House call on the Government of Canada to address on an urgent basis the needs of those First Nations communities whose members have no access to clean, running water in their homes; that action to address this disparity begin no later than spring 2012; and that the House further recognize that the absence of this basic requirement represents a continuing affront to our sense of justice and fairness as Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member for Etobicoke North a question that has not been put forward today.

Does she think that part of the problem is that we do not regulate safe drinking water for Canadians? All of our drinking water standards are guidelines, so when the federal government fails to provide safe drinking water it is not breaking any law.

Similarly, when the Newfoundland government hid from Newfoundland and Labrador residents that trihalomethane, a cancer-causing substance, had contaminated local drinking water, it was not breaking any law.

Do we need to take a different look at the way Canada regulates drinking water overall, without taking anything away from the fact that the worst situation is in first nations communities?

Ms. Kirsty Duncan: Mr. Speaker, it is time for the government to implement a comprehensive national water strategy as well as upgrade our national drinking water standards.

As part of that national water strategy, I see the urgent need for infrastructure investment, committed federal funding for municipalities and first nations communities to upgrade public water utilities, protection and preservation of water for all forms of life and future generations as well as federal backstop legislation to keep water in its basin and effectively ban bulk water exports.

The post First Nations Drinking Water (B) appeared first on Elizabeth May.