The Media Portrayal of First Nations Drinking Water Advisories Under the Modern Trudeau Era

THE MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF FIRST NATIONS DRINKING WATER ADVISORIES UNDER THE MODERN TRUDEAU ERA

VIJANTI VALDA RAMLOGAN

B.Sc., University of Toronto, 1997

A MRP SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

NIPISSING UNIVERSITY

Abstract

During the run-up to the federal election in 2015, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau vowed to eliminate drinking water advisories in First Nations across Canada by 2021. A year later, with the Liberals holding a majority of seats in Parliament, the commitment was amended to eliminate all long-term boil water advisories on First Nations by 2021. In 2018, the federal Liberals expanded that commitment to include all public water systems on reserves such as schools and other community buildings. Canadian media outlets are following the progress by the Liberal government on these promises. A review of the content of these media reports provides an opportunity to explore the question: How are First Nations drinking water issues portrayed in the media and perceived by various actors? Data collection included reviewing the content of media stories starting in October 2015 until December 2018, beginning at the time the Liberal government was elected in the fall of 2015. These data are compared with an analysis of newspaper articles during the previous federal governments from 2000-2015. There are mixed opinions regarding whether there is a new path for ensuring safe water in First Nations communities. The splitting of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada into two separate departments – Indigenous Services Canada, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada – is perceived by some to fall short of a new nation-to-nation relationship. Whereas others thought that dealing with one department on water issues would help First Nations get their water needs resolved. I characterized the opinions on the issues as being framed around three themes: water insecurity, capacity, and inequality, similar to previous research that examined media discourse analysis. However, this research suggests that there seems to be more of a negative portrayal of safe drinking water on reserves.

Keywords

First Nation, drinking water systems, drinking water advisory, drinking water risk, media discourse, environmental racism,

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Dan Walters for his guidance and the MES program faculty for the interdisciplinary teachings. Dr. Carly Dokis as second reader. My children’s support Alwyn Murphy and Hayden Murphy was gracious and understanding. My mother and brother’s support were unwavering. Gemma Victor recruited me and kept me going. My friends kept me in check Miao Chen, Claudia Lavoie, Angela Maroosis. Cheryl Miller kept me company, balanced and motivated. Thanks to the Harris Learning Library staff for the friendly help and welcoming atmosphere.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ...... ii

Acknowledgments ...... iii

Table of Contents ...... iv

List of Tables ...... vi

List of Figures ...... vii

Chapter 1 ...... 1

1 Introduction ...... 1

1.1 Research Objectives...... 3

Chapter 2 ...... 4

2 Introduction ...... 4

2.1 The Duty to Act Honourably ...... 4

2.2 First Nations Water Governance ...... 5

2.3 Recent Federal Efforts to Improve Water Systems ...... 9

2.4 Previous First Nations Drinking Water Research ...... 10

Chapter 3 ...... 14

3 Methods of Data Collection ...... 14

3.1 Media Search Terms ...... 15

3.2 Research Framework ...... 17

Chapter 4 ...... 21

4 Introduction ...... 21

4.1 Media portrayal of First Nations water Risk ...... 21

4.2 Scale and Scope of Media Reporting ...... 22

4.3 Voices ...... 23

4.3.1 Indigenous voices ...... 24

4.3.2 Government voices ...... 26

4.1.4 Non-Indigenous voices ...... 30

4.1.5 Valence ...... 32

4.1.6 Themes ...... 39

Chapter 5 ...... 43

5 Change followed in the media ...... 43

5.1 Conclusion ...... 44

References...... 49

Appendix...... 56

Appendix 1: List of media articles used for the discourse analysis ...... 56

List of Tables

Table 2-1 First Nations water system risk rankings ...... 8

Table 3-1 Media sources used to assess the discourse of First Nations water issues ...... 16

Table 5-1 Comparison between findings of (Lam et al, 2017) and (Ramlogan, 2019) ...... 45

List of Figures

Figure 3-1 Media sources with stories on First Nations drinking water security between 2015 – 2018 ...... 17

Figure 4-1 Number of episodic and thematic articles per year ...... 23

Figure 4-2 Valence and number of news articles on drinking water security in First Nations between 2015- 2018 ...... 33

Figure 4-3 Valence of video news articles on drinking water issues in First Nations between 2015-2018 ...... 34

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Chapter 1 1 Introduction It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations Peoples. One that understands that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience but rather a sacred obligation. One that is based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.

Prime Minister Trudeau, December 2015, Speech to the Assembly of First Nations (Smith, Toronto Star, 2015)

Much of what Canadians know about First Nations drinking water and wastewater issues they learn through the media. In 2005, the evacuation of Kashechewan, a Cree First Nation community on the Albany River in northern Ontario, brought to light the consequences of drinking polluted water. Initially, high levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the drinking water were causing diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. However, increasing the concentration of chlorine to kill the E. coli led to additional health issues, such as scabies and impetigo. Most of the episodic drinking water stories between 2000-2015 were about Kashechewan’s water problems (Lam et al., 2017).

The Conservative federal government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper often reported that it had invested $3 billion to improve drinking water safety in First Nations through policies, assessments and expert panels; however, there was little quantifiable progress reported during that time period (AADNC, 2015; Morrison et al., 2015b). The paradox is that Canada has 6.5% of the world’s annual renewable water supply, with 60% flowing towards northern regions of Canada (Sprague, 2007). Yet some First Nations do not have access to clean drinking water (White et al., 2012). The number of high-risk drinking water systems and drinking water advisories (DWAs) is often reported in the media and government press releases. In this research, the term ‘media’ is defined in its broadest context, as the main means of mass communication collectively. The media can influence how the public perceives the nature of the problem or even distort how issues are portrayed. There are many competing narratives about why drinking water issues persist in some First

Nations communities, such as remoteness of communities, servicing a small population, inadequate funding, and financial mismanagement. In some ways, the media help hold the government accountable for the promises they make to resolve the water security issues in First Nations across Canada.

During the run-up to the federal election in 2015, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau vowed to eliminate the need for boil water advisories in First Nations across Canada by 2021 (The Canadian Press, 2015). After the federal Liberal victory, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that it was time for a new nation-to-nation relationship between the Crown and Indigenous nations in Canada. He spoke about wanting to work as partners to make progress on many fronts such as health, education and housing. It seemed like there would be a new way forward to address some of the long-standing injustices facing First Nations communities. In 2016, the majority Liberal government amended the commitment to eliminate all long-term drinking water advisories on First Nation reserves by 2021. Long-term drinking water advisories are defined as those that are in place for one year or longer. The federal government expanded the commitment to include public areas, such as community centres, churches, among others. This decision added 250 more public systems not previously covered, bringing the total to 1,047 water systems (Aiello, 2018; Forrest, 2018).1 This increased the number of long-term advisories by 24, plus the existing 67 brought the total to 91 (Aiello, 2018). In 2017, the Parliamentary Budget Office stated that there were 807 drinking water systems serving 560 First Nations across Canada (Ammar, 2017).

The number of First Nation drinking water advisories is regularly reported in the media (e.g. broadcast, print, internet). By reviewing the content of the media stories, we can learn about how different groups frame the nature of the problem. The focus of this major research paper is to collect and analyze the content of media stories relating to First Nations drinking water issues between the October 19, 2015 federal

1 The federal government is obligated to provide potable water to government employees due to the Canada Labour Code in federal buildings on reserve such as portable/temporary buildings while the First Nation community lacks safe drinking water (Boyd, 2011)

election to December 31, 2018. Analyzing the content of these media reports provides an opportunity to explore how First Nations drinking water issues are portrayed in the media, as well as how different groups perceive the issues. This research uses qualitative and quantitative data to characterize the themes and perceptions.

1.1 Research Objectives

The specific objectives are fourfold. First, I reviewed the existing literature on First Nation drinking water issues to create a context for this research. Second, I developed a framework to categorize perspectives and identify themes, voices and actions in the media content. Third, I collected media stories from October 2015 to December 2018 related to First Nations water systems and governance. Fourth, I analyzed how First Nations’ drinking water issues are characterized in the media.

The remainder of this major research paper is organized into four chapters. Chapter 2 reviews literature to establish the context for this research. The three main themes are Indigenous-Crown relations, governance of water systems in First Nations communities, and a summary of key events and actions taken by the federal government since October 2015. Chapter 3 describes the methods for searching for media stories (i.e. search terms). Chapter 4 discusses the findings of the content analysis using qualitative and quantitative data from the media stories. Chapter 5 contains the discussion and conclusions.

Chapter 2 2 Introduction

This chapter establishes the context for this research by reviewing three main themes: (1) First Nations – Crown relations and the federal government’s duty to act honourably; (2) drinking water governance in First Nations; and (3) media discourse surrounding First Nations water issues.

2.1 The Duty to Act Honourably

In 1763, King George III issued a Royal Proclamation in order for British territories in North America to have guidance in dealing with administration of newly colonized territories. The Royal Proclamation marked the way for treaty making between Britain and First Nations (Asch, 2014; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2013). It specified that only the Crown was able to acquire land from Indigenous peoples in North America. In 1764, there was a large gathering at Fort Niagara with First Nations leaders and the British Crown. The meeting at Fort Niagara lasted for days, as the British made promises to First Nations leaders about the sharing of the land (Asch, 2014).

According to Borrows (2002), promises made to First Nations leaders at the Treaty of Niagara were not upheld. The partnership between First Nations and the British Crown deteriorated shortly after relations were negotiated, as the agreement to share the land was broken. For example, there was an attempt to “civilize” Indians by having them hunt and fish less (Blair, 2008). In 1892, Ontario’s Game Act superseded the hunting rights that Ojibwe people had negotiated under the Robinson Treaties (1850s) and only recently have First Nation harvesting rights been reconsidered in Ontario courts (Long, 2010). Further evidence of the Crown neglecting the best interests of First Nations is in the enactment of the Indian Act (1876) (Asch, 2014), which was imposed on First Nations without any consultation (Long, 2010). The Indian Act defines the rules of governance on First Nations, including elections, membership, and other civic responsibilities. It also controlled

who could be considered “Indian.” Prior to the amendment of the Indian Act in 1985, if a First Nation person obtained a degree from university, he/she/they would lose their Indian status. Likewise, if a status Indian woman married a non-status man, she would lose her status. In 1884, section 3 of the Indian Act was changed to ban traditional dances and ceremonies denying First Nation peoples their culture (Leslie, 2002).

Treaties established a nation-to-nation relationship between First Nations and the Crown. However, once the Indian Act (1876) s. 18(1) was established, the Crown assumed unilateral discretionary power over “Indians and lands reserved for Indians.” The fiduciary duty established as a result of the Indian Act requires the Crown to act honourably on behalf of First Nations for their best interest. This was articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1984 in Guerin v. The Queen:

Through the confirmation in s. 18(1) of the Indian Act of the Crown's historic responsibility to protect the interests of the Indians in transactions with third parties, Parliament has conferred upon the Crown a discretion to decide for itself where the Indians' best interests lie. Where by statute, by agreement or perhaps by unilateral undertaking, one party has an obligation to act for the benefit of another, and that obligation carries with it a discretionary power, the party thus empowered becomes a fiduciary. Equity will then supervise the relationship by holding him to the fiduciary's strict standard of conduct.

Guerin v. The Queen, [1984] 2 S.C.R. 335

Ensuring First Nations have access to safe water should certainly be something considered essential in order to uphold the Crown’s duty to act honourably.

2.2 First Nations Water Governance

In 1977, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau sent a memorandum to cabinet about creating a new federal policy to provide First Nations with physical infrastructure to meet health and safety standards that were equal with those of neighbouring non- First Nation communities (Klasing, 2016; Galloway, 2015). Yet it seems as though since the policy was announced, problems meeting this standard have persisted in

some First Nations communities. There is a history of unsafe drinking water in some First Nations despite the fiduciary duty of the government to provide clean drinking water (Brown, 2013; Walters, et al.., 2012; Morrison et al., 2015a). It is frequently reported that First Nations have access to unsafe drinking water or maintain high risk water systems (Human Rights Watch, 2016; McClearn, 2017b). In 2013, the federal government enacted the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act (SDWFNA); however, there was no funding or guidance on implementing the new rules. The changes largely included creating opportunities for partnerships (or downloading responsibility) with provinces and territories. Under the Constitution Act, provinces and territories have responsibility for managing most groundwater and inland waters, such as protecting drinking water and recreational sources of water. Because the Indian Act stipulates that Indians and lands reserved for Indians are the responsibility of the federal government, First Nations and other federal lands fall under the federal jurisdiction, through a mix of agencies.

According to the federal government, the governance of water systems in First Nations is a shared responsibility. In general, First Nations, through Chief and Council are responsible for the day-to-day management, maintenance, testing, and reporting on water systems. In 2018, the federal Liberal government split Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada into two new departments: 1) Indigenous Services Canada; and 2) Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. This change was made to “better meet the needs of the people they serve, to accelerate self-determination and the closing of socio-economic gaps and to advance reconciliation” (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, 2018). The way this will be accomplished is three fold: 1) through accelerating the renewal of the relationship between Canada and First Nations through creating a framework to recognize and implement Indigenous rights, implement Truth and Reconciliation recommendations and resolve disputes with Indigenous peoples in Canada;

2) modernizing institutional structures and governance to support self- determination as colonial structures have predisposed Indigenous people to poorer socio-economic conditions; and

3) Unlocking potential in the north for work. (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, 2018)

Indigenous Services Canada took over most responsibilities for overseeing First Nations water systems, such as planning, constructing procurement, and training programs (AAND, 2019; Filice, 2018).

In British Columbia, the First Nations Health Authority has taken on the responsibility for providing public health advice and guidance to BC First Nations communities including drinking water quality monitoring. This was an outcome of the 2013 British Columbia Tripartite Framework Agreement on First Nations Health Governance (INAC, 2019). In some provinces, there are agreements with municipal service providers to supply drinking water or treat wastewater to some First Nation communities. In some instances, third parties are hired to manage water systems. For some communities, trucked water supply or bottled water seem to be the norm.

There are specific terms adopted by the federal government for communicating water risks to First Nations. Drinking water advisories are issued if drinking water test results are above a defined threshold. For instance, if E. coli were identified in a water sample, a drinking water advisory would be issued for those on the community water system. The advisory would be in place until water samples show no E. coli detectable per 100 ml sample. There are three types of drinking water advisories: boil water advisory, do not consume advisory or do not use advisory. If the drinking water can be rendered safe after boiling, a boil water advisory would be issued. However, in other circumstances, boiling the water does not remove the pollutant. For example, boiling water with cyanobacteria will cause the toxins to be released into the water. The do not consume advisory stays in place until testing shows the risk is gone. The do not use advisory relates to a potential chemical spill and irritation to skin, eyes or nose.

The federal government has intermittently called for assessments of water systems in First Nations communities. These assessments result in a risk ranking for individual

water systems. The assessment is completed over a three-day site visit by a consultant. The assessment involves looking at the condition and operation of equipment, operator training, source water, document reviews, interviews, and other sources (Walters et al., 2012). There are five components in the assessment: Water source (10%), Design (30%), Operation (30%), Operators (20%) and Reporting (10%). Each of the categories are weighted according to the percentages listed in brackets. A low risk system scores between 1-4, medium risk 5-7, and high risk 8- 10. The qualitative descriptors are listed in Table 2.2.

Table 2-1 First Nations water system risk rankings

System Risk Score Description INAC Recommendations level

Low 1-3 minor deficiencies The system or management would correct the minor problem and continue to provide safe drinking or wastewater services

Medium 4-7 Minor deficiencies The problem could be resolved observed in several however the deficiencies could also components or major hinder a proper response. Issues need deficiencies observed in to be addressed. one or two components

High 8-10 major deficiencies Regions jointly with First Nations are observed in most of the to undertake immediate corrective components and may action when there is a high-risk lead to health and safety evaluation as there is a high or environmental probability that any problem could concerns. result in unsafe water or wastewater.

Source: (adapted from Walters et al., 2012)

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced eliminating long-term water advisories on First Nations reserves, he is referring to the issuance of a drinking water advisory (boil or do not consume) that have been in place for over a year.

2.3 Recent Federal Efforts to Improve Water Systems

In 2005, a Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development assessed whether INAC and Health Canada helped make drinking water safer in Indigenous communities in Canada. This report found that in 2001 INAC determined one-third of First Nation communities with drinking water systems were at significant risk with respect to the quality or safety of the drinking water (Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2005).

In 2007, a Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples put out a report called Safe Drinking Water for First Nations. The main finding from the expert panel was that regulation alone would not bring about safe drinking water for First Nations. The committee determined that added capacity and resources are needed. The Expert panel made two recommendations. The first recommendation was to have a professional audit of water system facilities and an independent needs assessment for each water system in First Nations. These audits were to address human resources and physical assets and were to be undertaken with First Nation representation. The Parliamentary Budget Office Report estimated that $1.8 billion was needed to meet the minimum capital investment for drinking water on reserves (Ammar, 2017). The second recommendation of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples was to have INAC hold comprehensive consultations with First Nations communities and organizations regarding any legislation that was being considered.

The federal government has undertaken a number of initiatives to remedy water insecurity in First Nation communities. In May 2003, the First Nations Water Management Strategy (FNWMS) started as a five-year plan to assess the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure on reserve (Morrison et al., 2015b; Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada, 2007). Between 2003 and 2013 other initiatives to improve drinking water on reserve were implemented such as the Plan

of Action for First Nations Drinking Water and the First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan (Morrison et al., 2015a).

In 2013, the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act was passed to fill in a regulatory gap. The SDWFNA focuses on liability issues falling on First Nations and the powers the Minister holds regarding drinking water. Consultation around the SDWFNA was not sufficient according to many Indigenous organizations and in 2015 the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) requested that the act be repealed (Bellegarde, 2017). The AFN wants to engage with the federal government to co- develop of a framework for safe drinking water and discuss opportunities for revenue sharing to build First Nations capacity for self-determination (Assembly of First Nations, 2018a).

Since 2015, the federal government has been posting updates on the status of the number of remaining long-term drinking water advisories. At the time of writing, the number of long-term drinking water advisories that were lifted since November 2015 is 85 and the remaining long term DWA on reserve is 58. However, in January of 2015 there were 105 long-term DWA. Using simple math, 105 minus 85 would mean there were 20 long-term DWA are remaining; however, 58 DWA are being reported as remaining. This means that there are 30 new DWA’s since 2015.

The 2018 budget stated that the federal government would allocate $172.6 million CDN over three years for clean and safe drinking water for Indigenous communities. This is a fraction of the $1.8 billion dollars that the Parliamentary Budget Office reported was necessary to maintain drinking water infrastructure (AADNC, 2018).

2.4 Previous First Nations Drinking Water Research

Several studies explore the causes and consequences of uneven access to safe drinking water for First Nations communities in Canada (Walters et al., 2012; White et al., 2012; Lam et al., 2016; Morrison et al.,2015a; Galway, 2016; Boyd, 2011, Harvey et al, 2015; Brown, 2013). Patrick (2011) draws comparisons to other responses to water tragedies in Canada. He explains that a combination of media

attention, public inquiry and new legislation were developed shortly after the tragedies in towns of Walkerton, Ontario and North Battleford, Saskatchewan. However, there has not been the same level of government response to First Nation water challenges. Mascarenhas (2012) calls this white privilege and asks why white people are not comparably burdened with pollution. Mascarenhas also explains how neoliberal governance contributes to this institutional racism. According to Mascarenhas (2012), neoliberal reforms emphasize technical and administrative changes while restructuring social hierarchies, rather than calling for reforms to racialized, economic, and political relations. That is, under neoliberal policies, issues surrounding the provision of clean drinking water are seen as technical or managerial problems, not ones that stem from ongoing colonial structures of domination (p. 10). This conflicts with efforts by First Nations who are seeking self-determination with respect to the affairs of their communities.

The Crown has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that First Nations have equal service standards compared to non-reserve communities of equal size and circumstances. This does not seem to be happening in terms of drinking water or wastewater systems. The Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act (SDWFNA) (2016) shifts the legal responsibility and liability onto First Nation Band Councils to provide safe drinking water in First Nation communities. However, some First Nations communities do not have adequate resources to meet the legal requirements of the SDWFNA. The Assembly of First Nations states that $2.433 billion is needed to meet existing Indigenous Services Canada Safety Protocols for water and wastewater infrastructure (Assembly of First Nations, 2018b). The funding for water and wastewater systems is directed to the Band from the government through a funding formula. This funding formula is based on many variables, such as population, geographic remoteness, and costs of operating and maintaining assets.

Despite the claims of significant financial investment in drinking and wastewater issues on First Nations, more financial resources are required. The AFN’s Chief, Perry Bellegarde, has recommended using resource revenue sharing to help improve the conditions of First Nation communities. It may be a way for First Nations to be

able to spend what is necessary for healthy drinking and wastewater systems among other needs, ultimately reinstating independence from the Crown. In Ontario, municipalities are required to charge full-cost pricing for water and wastewater services, whereas First Nations do not operate under the same system. Chief and Council can charge businesses for water and other services. However, for many First Nations it is not sufficient to achieve the equivalent of full-cost pricing.

Why is there an inequality regarding safe drinking and wastewater? Patrick (2011) suggests geographic location and number of community members is related to the inequity of access to safe drinking water. The locations of reserves were not always places chosen by Indigenous peoples. For example, Kashechewan, has been forcibly relocated many times, once due to the flooding from the James Bay Hydroelectric Project (Murdocca, 2010). However, the problem is more complex than location and economies of scale. Many historical factors have contributed to this situation such as colonization, colonialism, racism and discrimination. Indigenous people have not been given access to resources to maximize socio-economic status (Murdocca, 2010; Mascarenhas, 2012). Scholars and activists working in environmental justice have pointed out a substantial link between environmental problems and socio-political relations (Murdocca, 2010; Bullard, 1993; Pulido, 2000). Macharenhas (2012) has argued that in Canada unequal access to safe drinking water by First Nations communities is an example of environmental racism. In his words, “environmental injustices inflicted on particular social groups are seen as temporary environmental technical errors or mistakes, and not as the result of social hierarchies or racial formations embedded in society writ large” (p. 10; also see Donovan, 2016). Unequal access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities is a systemic problem, not necessarily a technological problem.

The government treats water and wastewater issues as a technological problem. In Canada, we are in a position to supply the best technology to treat water or wastewater (White et al., 2012). De Loë and Kreutzwiser (2005) report that access to poor drinking water appears to stem from institutional and organizational issues, limited financial resources, failing to apply standard protocols, staff training, and

insufficient political will. Renn (2009) calls for an inclusive risk governance model where all the actors involved can add their knowledge and values by being included in the decision-making process. This will contribute to making fair, equitable and morally acceptable decisions about risk. The actors who should be involved in understanding and addressing water inequity in First Nations communities include Indigenous peoples, governments, industry, scientists and civil society organizations. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) defines risk as the chance of harmful effects to human health or to ecological systems (USEPA, 2019). The USEPA includes input from stakeholders in its risk assessment evaluations and appears to use a form of inclusive risk governance (Fowle and Dearfield, 2000). This type of risk governance model could provide guidance to the federal government in their effort to seek a new relationship with First Nations. This would be a departure from the previous federal Conservative government’s efforts.

Chapter 3 3 Methods of Data Collection

Using media stories from October 1, 2015 through December 31, 2018 my major research paper explores one central question: How are First Nations drinking water issues portrayed in the media and perceived by various actors?

The aim of this chapter is to describe: (1) the methods used to search for media stories; (2) the themes and framework developed to organize the discourse analysis; (3) my use of discourse analysis as the primary method to find meaning in media stories about First Nations drinking water issues in Canada. Discourse analysis considers how language enacts social perspectives and positionalities (Gee, 2005). Media stories often portray a person or organization who defines the issue from their perspective (Hansen, 2011). Media has the ability to influence public perceptions about contentious issues (McCombs and Shaw, 1972). Now, with the accessibility of online material from a variety of sources, different perspectives are reaching a much larger audience (Nowak-Tetar, 2016). By analyzing the content of media stories I can interpret how different groups frame or define drinking water challenges in some First Nations.

In this chapter I describe my methods of searching for media stories between the period of October 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018. I use media stories to collect quotes from persons commenting on First Nations drinking water issues. I also categorize the stories using several themes (e.g. Lam et al., 2016).

Lam et al. (2016) conducted a review of media stories during the previous federal Conservative government. Lam et al. (2016) reviewed media stories related to First Nations water issues between 2001 and 2015. Lam et al. (2016) use discourse analysis to organize the content of the media stories into several themes, including climate change, source water protection, Indigenous government, blame, drinking water policy, regulatory framework, drinking water infrastructure and government responses. Lam et al. (2016) limit the scope of their searched to newspaper articles

published from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2015. They use ProQuest online search engine. News stories explicitly referencing Canadian Indigenous communities and drinking water were gathered. The four newspapers that were searched were Windspeaker, an Indigenous newspaper in Canada, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and National Post. Lam et al. (2016) found that most articles focused on drinking water governance challenges and Indigenous voices focused on drinking water challenges. Most of the quotes focused on themes of conflict and cooperation between actors. There was relatively limited coverage of the Kashechewan crisis, mentioned earlier, compared to the Walkerton tragedy. I use some of these same themes to examine the content of media stories during the federal Liberal government reign. It also allows me to compare and contrast the media discourse during the Harper and Trudeau leadership.

3.1 Media Search Terms

I used Google as the primary search engine to find media content available from the period of October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018. My search of online stories took place from May 2018 to June 2019. I only sought media stories focusing on Canadian content. Some of the initial search terms included:  First Nation water*  First Nation water issues  First Nation Canada water crisis  water issues Canada  indigenous water  reserve water issues Canada  Indigenous water Canada

These initial search terms led to some more specific inquiries of episodic events. Online search terms will bring up suggestions for other related search terms, which are generated by previous searches (Nowak-Tetar, 2016). Ultimately, online content is influenced by searches. I used online videos, articles, interviews, editorials and media releases. Some content was found on online television news sources and

others from online newspapers or industry media. The breakdown of sources can be found in table below:

Table 3-1 Media sources used to assess the discourse of First Nations water issues Aboriginal People’s Television Network Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) CISION news wire Canadian Television (CTV) Globe and Mail Government of Canada Human Rights Watch Indigenous Business and Finance Kenora Daily Miner & News Maclean's National Post the Conversation THIS Toronto Star TV Ontario (TVO) Vice News Water Canada Windspeaker

My online search netted 73 stories from various media sources between October 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018. October 1, 2015 is the starting point as this coincides with the promises made before and during the Liberal government’s leadership. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected on October 19, 2015. Appendix A lists the articles that formed the basis for this analysis. I used a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to list the details of the articles such as search terms, date of publication, title, author, url, main focus, total number of quotes, and source of quotes. Other sheets held more information such as valence, whether the article was episodic or thematic in nature, issues found in quotations, issues found in main text or video of the article. As for subject of the article and content, the most frequently cited were source water protection, Indigenous government, blame, drinking water policy,

regulatory framework, drinking water infrastructure and government responses. These issues were combined into three themes of drinking water insecurity, inequality, and capacity. In addition to the themes presented in Lam et al., (2016), I added new areas of inquiry such as looking into the content of the articles. I also added wait times, frustration, feasibility of fulfilling the commitment to eliminating all long-term BWAs by 2021, and inequity.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Indigenous Government Other

Figure 3-1 Media sources with stories on First Nations drinking water security between 2015 – 2018

3.2 Research Framework

As part of the discourse analysis I organized the data (i.e. media stories) into several themes that characterize the content of the story. The media discourse was broken down by the key issue, the valence, media source, and finally quotations from Indigenous people and government, among other interests (see above figure 3.1).

The key issue was usually noted in the title of the article, but this was further analyzed in combination a review of the content of the media story. For example, APTN released “Chiefs say Ottawa’s criteria on drinking water leaving some nations out” on January 29, 2018 written by Annette Francis. The new criteria about First Nation communities requiring one year long drinking water advisories, left out all of the communities represented by the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians where partially treated sewage flows from neighbouring London, Ontario. However, not all titles identified the subject of the media story. For instance, “#MMIWG Commissioner Marion Buller talks about the national inquiry tonight on N2N” on TVO was misleading as the second panel of guests tackled water issues for First Nations on the APTN show “Nation to Nation” hosted by Jorge Barrera. The panel, Liberal Don Rusnak, Conservative Cathy McLeod and NDP MP Charlie Angus spoke about what has been slow improvements dealing with drinking water in First Nations communities. Situations where water treatment plants that were made cheaply and did not work after construction were mentioned, as was the need to do things differently. Some of the panel questioned how the Liberals planned to provide clean drinking water to First Nations communities in 5 years.

The valence can influence how people respond to or are persuaded by the story (Hamdy and Brinberg, 2016). I categorize the story valence as a positive, negative or neutral (or balanced) reporting of the issue. A negative valence can be due to blaming an actor in the narrative and not providing a potential solution to the problem or an action towards a resolution. The following example shows the issue of lower pay for water operators on reserve. This article illustrated that this is a common problem and that retaining operators is difficult.

“I’m not asking for a whole lot, just a little bit more. The water is so important on First Nations that we should be paid a little bit better to keep the certified operators.” Courtney Taypotat, Nekaneet’s main water operator (Beaumont, Vice News, 2018)

A positive valence is due to solutions being suggested or out of the box thinking or more research undertaken. Water First is an organization providing water training to

First Nations communities and there is the acknowledgment that women have traditionally been involved as water caretakers and in the current water milieu there is a need to bring their traditional knowledge back to the table. "Focus on trying to get women in, succession planning" Kendra Driscoll, Water First (Driscoll, CBC, 2018)

A neutral valence is a mix of both positive and negative components and is balanced between the previous valences. For example, an article in Vice News reads “The Indigenous Water Crisis Can Be Fixed,” and was classified as a neutral article (Beaumont, Vice News, 2017). The article gave three examples of different solutions to unsafe drinking water that were positive in nature. One was a rainwater collection project in Black Tickle, an Inuit-Metis community in Labrador. Another was drilling for alternate sources of drinking water in Potlotek, Nova Scotia. The third was the Safe Water Project training and hiring First Nations youth to operate water treatment plants, which ended up solving three water advisories in the first year. The other content in the article described the challenges First Nations have due to funding arrangements where up to 100% of the project is funded by Indigenous Services when the design is approved, otherwise the community must come up with the other portion of the cost. The only quotation provided in this article that contradicted the optimism of the solutions was an example of one of the issues on the ground. “Once we fixed one thing, something else would go.” Corey Lynch, water operator, Rocky Bay First Nation in Northern Ontario (Beaumont, Vice News, 2017)

Articles were categorized as episodic or thematic in nature. If an article was written due to an announcement of funding or a protest or media event it was episodic. If there was a continuous water scarcity issue, the article was considered thematic.

I did not use any software to identify themes in the chosen articles. I categorized the content of the articles and selected quotes that represented particular views, opinions or positions on drinking water issues. I have found three main themes in the media articles: capacity, inequality and water insecurity. These themes will be illustrated

through quotes from the various actors including government, politicians, and Indigenous voices, among others.

Chapter 4 4 Introduction

This chapter uses the framework outlined in Chapter 3 to discuss the results of the discourse analysis of media stories related to First Nations’ drinking water issues. First, I identify how the media portrays First Nations’ drinking water risk and the underlying causal factors. Second, I compare the media portrayal of the of First Nations water issues during the Trudeau government leadership relative to the Conservative Harper government as outlined by Lam et al. (2016). This analysis involves comparing the theme and subject of the media story. Third, I use quotes from media stories to characterize the voices of the actors to learn how various groups perceive the nature of First Nations drinking water risks. In addition, I categorize stories by the valence or tone and other themes (i.e. capacity, insecurity, and inequality) contained within the media pieces.

4.1 Media portrayal of First Nations water Risk

The focus of the article content was usually found in the title of the article or it was the main subject of the article. An example of the title coinciding with the focus of the article is “What if Ottawa spends $2B on water for First Nations and it still isn’t safe for everyone to drink?” by Alex Ballingall on October 3rd 2018 in the Toronto Star. The article was about the Parliamentary Budget Office report that states that an additional $1.8 billion is needed to maintain and fix existing drinking water infrastructure for safe water on reserves. This was in addition to the $2 billion being used to produce safe drinking water by 2021 to all First Nations on long-term DWAs. The problem was long-term underfunding of water systems in First Nations reserves. The example given was of Kitigan Zibi First Nation. Although there is a new water treatment plant in the community, about half of 592 houses do not have access to safe drinking water due to uranium contamination in independent wells. The themes that this focus came under were financial support and inequality. The federal government only maintains collective water systems, not individual wells.

Some media stories had more than one theme, so the cumulative score does not equal 100%. The six main themes and the percentage of articles that reference them were: 34% environmental; 69% financial, 35% health outcomes; 24% inequality; and 73% infrastructure related. All of the articles that I considered included the subject of drinking water security challenges in order to qualify as being part of the data.

4.2 Scale and Scope of Media Reporting

The focus of each media story ranged in scale (national, provincial, local) and scope (e.g. federal funding announcement to new water treatment plant). Episodic reporting includes stories that focus on a single event or individual community drinking water issue. An example of episodic or event based or location specific reporting is “City of Kenora signs letter of intent to provide clean water to Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation” by Ryan Stelter published on September 12, 2018 in the Kenora Daily Miner. This article was about Wauzhushk Onigum (Rat Portage First Nation) getting clean drinking water and wastewater services after waiting for 20 years. The cost was nearly $7 million for the extension of the water and sewage line, which was funded by the federal government. The federal government, The City of Kenora and Wauzhushk Onigum will enter into a service agreement, which will benefit Kenora taxpayers and Wauzhushk Onigum community members. This story is episodic due to a one-time funding announcement for a particular First Nation.

An example of a thematic news article is “The trouble behind Canada’s failed First Nations water plants” by Matthew McClearn published on February 24, 2017 in the Globe and Mail. Three First Nation case studies were described, including comments by many First Nations representatives and the federal government (e.g. INAC). The message was that many water treatment systems are underfunded and in need of repairs. For example, it describes how Gull Lake spent $10 million on a wastewater treatment plant that was never used. The scope of the case studies features national issues. Twenty five percent of articles from 2015-2018 were thematic. Lam et al.’s (2016) review of newspaper articles between 2005 and 2015 reported that fifty two

percent were thematic. In the media reports from 2015 to 2018 there was quite a range in the scope of topics covered. From the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to eliminate drinking water advisories on reserve in five years to the removal of a community from a BWA list.

The increase in episodic reporting in 2015-2018 could be due to the Canadian public being more aware of the issue of unsafe drinking water in First Nations. There might be more interest among the public to know about actions that are taken to address this long-standing situation.

0 2015 2016 2017 2018

episodic thematic

Figure 4-1 Number of episodic and thematic articles per year

4.3 Voices

The quotes contained in the media content that I analyzed were categorized according to who was speaking to learn how different groups of people perceive the problem of unsafe drinking water on reserve. The categories include: Indigenous people, non-Indigenous people, and government voices. Indigenous voices were included in a majority of the media stories. In total, 54% of all quotes were from

Indigenous people, 24% of people interviewed were non-Indigenous, and 22% were government officials.

4.3.1 Indigenous voices

There is a clear sense of the frustration in Indigenous voices. For instance, members of Potlotek First Nation when speaking about elevated levels of iron and manganese expressed their frustration in an article in the National Post (The Canadian Press, The National Post, 2017):

“In spite of promises for action, here we are a decade later and no action. What must happen to address this water crisis here in our community?” Chief Wilbert Marshall, Potlotek First Nation

“Prime Minister Trudeau committed to address this situation and still, we see no action in communities,” she said in a statement. “I thought we were working to solve this problem but the reality is, nothing is happening.”

Chief Candice Paul of St. Mary’s First Nation in New Brunswick

First Nation communities want to ensure that clean, safe drinking water is available, so they put political pressure on the federal government by sharing their experiences of working with government leaders to resolve drinking water issues. In the case of Neskantaga First Nation, the problem is getting worse. Neskantaga First Nation is located northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario and had a boil water advisory since 1995. The Chief of the community, Chief Moonias, is calling for a return to bottled water instead of continuing to use the reverse osmosis system that was intended to be a temporary measure but has been used for nine years. Access to bottled water would increase access to clean water, especially for those people who are not connected to the community water supply. In February 2019, the community told the government hired contractors building the water treatment plant to cease all operations. This was because the contractors had not completed the toilet facilities for staff, there were disconnected power supplies with exposed wires, and the furnace that was installed was not in working order (Fiddler, APTN, 2019).

"We are calling on the government to be aware of this. We need action. We need resolution as to how [and] why this is continuing today in our community." Chief Wayne Moonias Neskantaga First Nation (The Canadian Press, CBC, 2015)

“We are entering into the 25th year of this boil water advisory and this has been a longstanding issue that the community has suffered…May 30, 2018 was the date that the people of Neskantaga expected to have clean drinking water. And as of today, we are about eight and a half months behind schedule.” Chief Wayne Moonias Neskantaga First Nation (Fiddler, National Post 2019)

Many Indigenous people observe that resolving the problem of unsafe drinking water is taking too long and the methods used to address these issues are inefficient. In many cases, as in Neskantaga First Nation’s media pieces, the blame is directed towards government and the contractors for not completing the work or for doing substandard work, such as having a furnace not wired or plumbing not connected to washrooms (Fiddler, National Post, 2019).

The following quotes from Indigenous people express similar frustrations:

“All of our communities didn’t fit the criteria, they didn’t fit the one-year boil water advisories. Nor did they make an advancement in the rankings mandate to be able to move towards having constructions, so the problem that we face is both the ranking system and the process. We have a lot of promises. We have under performance and a lot of variation in the process right now that we are not really clear about how it happens and how it is going to happen." Deputy Chief Gord Peters of Association of Allied Iroquois and Allied Indians (Francis, APTN, 2018)

“Almost half [of the homes] are polluted and experience chronic water shortages. We have 102 shore wells along the Bay of Quinte, they suffer from blue green algae in the late fall and summer as a result the medical officer of health issues do not use orders.”

Chief Donald Maracle, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

(Francis, APTN, 2018)

"We've had the water tower freeze, we've had pumps break out or wear out because they're undersized, he said. We've had weeks without water, we've had to truck in water ... We have a problem with water.”

Lindsay Marshall, Potlotek First Nation band manager (McPhee, CBC, 2015)

"As a mother, I get really scared sometimes. As long as I can remember, we've been under a boil-water advisory. Sometimes I get frustrated. And sometimes I wonder how long do we have to live like this." Ms.Gloria Atlookan (Galloway, The Globe and Mail, 2015)

“We live in a third world country in one of the richest countries in the world. It’s basically neglect — wilful neglect”

Grand Chief Doug Kelly, chair of the First Nations Health Council (Forrest, StarMetro Vancouver 2018)

“When you look at Indigenous policy, it’s always been a situation where we’re not a priority.

Xeni Gwet’in Chief Jimmy Lulua (Forrest, National Post, 2018)

The sentiments expressed in these quotes point to several sources of frustration, and ultimately convey a feeling that the government does not care about conditions in First Nations communities. These stories provide insight about conditions in First Nations communities.

4.3.2 Government voices

In contrast, government representatives quoted in the articles tend to focus on institution, performance indicators and capacity issues. By the voices of government, I am referring to the political representatives from the opposition parties and the political party in power. Generally opposition party members from all political divisions are critical of the political party in power. There does not seem to be any evidence of cooperation among political parties to seek solutions with First Nations to resolve ongoing drinking water challenges.

The elected officials from the Liberal government frequently reiterated their commitment to ending all long term BWA in Indigenous Canada by 2021. As Minister of (then) Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Carolyn Bennett, said in a CBC article in 2015:

"If we can get 25,000 Syrians here to Canada because of political will and everybody putting their shoulder to the wheel, I think we can get this done too." Carolyn Bennett (Porter, CBC, 2015) “As we share regular updates on long-term drinking water advisories, some months will show more progress than others. However, the work underway to improving water systems that allows for long-term advisories to be lifted continues at full speed, with 463 water and wastewater projects completed or underway in 587 communities. Since November 2015, 67 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted, and we anticipate close to 20 more by the end of 2018. We remain steadfast and on track in our commitment to ensuring all long-term advisories on water systems on reserve will be lifted by March of 2021, and Canadians can follow progress at www.canada.ca/water-on-reserve.” The Honourable Jane Philpott, M.D., P.C., M.P. Minister of Indigenous Services (Government of Canada, 2018)

Some of the concerns that Indigenous people talk about, such as water being a basic human right, are also mentioned by representatives of government. The two main spokespeople for the government were the Prime Minister and Jane Philpott, Indigenous Services Minister. Government messages emphasized that resources that would be needed to accomplish the Trudeau promise would be provided.

“We must get this done. We are firm on the commitment that the prime minister has made, and we will get the work done.” Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott (Forrest, National Post, 2018)

“We will make sure that we have the resources to do so and we have a very specific plan in place to get there…For years, this has been severely underfunded.” Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott (Forrest, National Post, 2017)

Inequality was also highlighted, in that other Canadians have access to safe drinking water and Indigenous people frequently do not. The federal government made announcements of funding (Infrastructure Canada, NationTalk, 2018), kept track of and made public the amount of funding already spent (Indigenous Services Canada, NationTalk, 2018), notified the public of the construction of drinking water infrastructure (Government of Canada, NationTalk, 2018) as well as the removal of a BWA from the list of affected First Nation communities (Indigenous Services Canada, NationTalk, 2018). Media announcements from the federal government are also released when a new long term BWA has been issued (Indigenous Services Canada, NationTalk, 2018).

"We’re looking at how we can provide more training and also retain these people in communities…Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental basic need. Water is essential to survival, and it has to be clean water so that people can stay healthy…Every one (advisory) is going to get lifted. Some of them… will be lifted in the next year, and others will take a couple more years yet."

Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott (Aiello, CTV, 2017)

“Our commitment is firm and Canadians need to understand that we are absolutely steadfast in our commitment to make sure that all long-term boil- water advisories in public systems on reserve will be lifted by March of 2021.”

Jane Philpott Indigenous Services Minister (The Canadian Press, National Post, 2017)

“I’m determined not to fail…And if I get a chance to keep doing this it will be my privilege to push it along.”

Jane Philpott, Minister for Indigenous Services (VICE NEWS, 2018)

The federal Liberal government spoke about working with communities and providing adequate resources to ensure that the promise of clean water for Indigenous communities is kept. “We will make sure that we have the resources to do so and we have a very specific plan in place to get there,” she said. “For years, this has been severely underfunded,”

Jane Philpott, Indigenous services minister (Forrest, National Post, 2017)

These are some of the challenges that a country of our size faces. What is different now under our government is that First Nations communities have a partner in the federal government who is heavily, respectfully engaged with them in addressing the challenges that are being faced.”

Jane Philpott, Indigenous services minister (Beaumont, VICE NEWS, 2018)

Statements by Prime Minister Trudeau and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett reiterate three central messages: they share their commitment to make reconciliation with Indigenous peoples a high priority, they also use media releases or interviews to reassure the public that they are working on eliminating drinking water advisories on reserves, and they reaffirm the federal government’s commitment to reaching its’ target by 2021. This can be seen by the monthly updates for the number of boil water advisories that have been eliminated. The Liberal Justin Trudeau government reiterates that these reductions in the number of long-term drinking water advisories is evidence that the government is establishing a new path and better relations with First Nations. In many ways the media releases by the Liberal government are similar in form, with the exception of the reductions in long-term drinking water advisories, as the Conservatives were under the leadership of Stephen Harper.

"This has gone on for far too long. You have 14 people living in one house and you are handing them a bar of soap and telling them to wash their hands, but there is no running water. This is an even bigger problem than just boiling the water. It is about how we sit down with the First Nations leadership and chiefs and council and develop a plan in a Kelowna-like process."

Carolyn Bennett, the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister

(Galloway, The Globe and Mail, 2015)

Politicians may point out, as did White et al. (2012), the paradox that although the government has spent a considerable amount of money on drinking water facilities in First Nations’ communities, many boil water advisories and alerts remain.

Opposition party members are critical of how the Liberal government is handling the water crisis facing some First Nations. The ruling government goes on record for creating positive change despite the intricacies of the problem. Opposition party politicians are critical of the government in power and the shortfalls that are perceived: “We need a standard that’s across the country, that says every person in this country is going to have clean water.”

Charlie Angus, New Democrat MP from Timmins-James Bay (Ballingall, The Toronto Star, 2018)

“I can’t stress enough what happens in communities where the government builds a plant, cuts the ribbon, walks away, and then as things start to have problems, they blame the community and say, it’s up to you to fix it. There’s not a municipality in this country that doesn’t have a proper operational maintenance budget,”

Charlie Angus, New Democrat MP from Timmins-James Bay (Water Canada, 2017)

"There's a sense of, you make two steps forward, one step back,"

Conservative Indigenous affairs critic Cathy McLeod (Aiello, CTV, 2018)

4.1.4 Non-Indigenous voices

Other voices found in the media are frequently professors and researchers at universities and other experts in the field of drinking water security. “When you have this sort of complex tri departmental structure for managing and governing water you are going to run into issues of communication,

overlap of roles and responsibility, and just ambiguity of what roles of what each other's roles are."

Dr. Lalita Bharadwaj (Joanne Levasseur and Jacques Marcoux, CBC, 2015)

“There needs to be an understanding that we have 600 First Nations [communities] and they are not homogenous, and one top-down approach will not address the issue. There need to be more individual consultations with each community. The population is different, the geographical location is varied, [as is] the leadership, the number of people [needed] to facilitate human resources toward the management of water. I could go on.” Dr. Lalita Bharadwaj (Gulli, Macleans, 2015)

One person expressed skepticism in response to Justin Trudeau’s promise to eliminate long-term boil advisories in First Nations communities.

“Exactly how he’s going to try do that, I don’t know.”

Edward McBean, engineering professor, University of Guelph (Casey, National Post, 2018)

"The right to clean water has been identified as an essential and basic human right. In a country as wealthy as Canada, home to 20 per cent of the world's fresh water, we can and we must fulfil the promise to ensure everyone has clean water no matter where they live."

Alaya Boisvert, public engagement manager David Suzuki Foundation Reconciling Promises and Reality: Clean Drinking Water for First Nations report (Barrera, CBC, 2018)

In the articles reviewed, non-Indigenous scientists or water operators tended to talk about technological solutions to unequal access to clean drinking water on reserves. As well, these voices sometimes call for more research or more funding to reach the goal of eliminating boil water advisories on reserve whether it be technologically driven or social science research. For example, Edward McBean, a professor in engineering at the University of Guelph and his former student Kerry Black, analyzed boil-water advisories and determined that most (78%) were precautionary

measures. They recommended real-time monitoring to reduce boil water alerts on First Nations by more than 36% (Casey, The National Post, 2018).

Non-governmental organizations’ tended to raise the profile of this issue, called the government to account, requested more transparency, and identified what they think the underlying problem is and suggested solutions. Sometimes, their agenda is to garner funding to write more reports or to suggest how money could be better spent. Murdocca (2010) explains how “helping” First Nations deal with water crises are also a colonial remnant, where a charitable helping hand for those that cannot do for themselves is frequently part of interventions with racialized people, and are characteristic of colonial and neocolonial representations of Indigenous peoples as unable to manage their own affairs. \

4.1.5 Valence

Nearly 77% of newspaper articles from 2015-2018 were negative in valence as opposed to the newspapers from 2000-2015, which were primarily neutral (58%) in their reporting (Lam et al., 2017). Almost 15% percent of the articles I assessed were neutral in valence, and 8% percent were positive in valence. About 52% of total media articles I included in my research from 2015-2018 were negative regarding drinking water issues facing First Nations in Canada; 25% of the articles were positive and 22% were neutral in valence.

media media count 4

0 2015 2016 2017 2018 Valence

negative neutral positive

Figure 4-2 Valence and number of news articles on drinking water security in First Nations between 2015- 2018

There were no positive valence articles in the three months covered in 2015. In 2016, there were no neutral articles. Generally, articles that focus on asserting blame are considered negative. Usually, the frustration of the Indigenous community is due to very long wait times for addressing water problems, sometimes even several decades. A long-term drinking water issue can be due to seasonal factors that contribute to poor source water. Potlotek First Nation on Chapel Island, N.S. has high manganese and iron for a month each year in the fall during lake turnover. The First Nation had been working with the government for ten years on this issue (The Canadian Press, 2017).

Indigenous communities are feeling that their human rights are being ignored.

"For more than 20 years we haven't been able to drink water from our taps or bathe without getting rashes," Moonias said in a news release. "Water is a basic human right, and it should not have taken this long to provide the people of Neskantaga with access to safe drinking water," he added. "Our members drove this process…We are one step closer to ending the water advisory, but there is much more work to be done," Moonias said. "We hope that work gets underway immediately."

Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias, (Porter, CBC, 2017)

“The right to clean water has been identified and an essential and basic human right. In a country as wealthy as Canada home to 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water, we can and we must fulfil the promise to ensure everyone has clean water no matter where they live.”

Alay Boisvert, public engagement manager David Suzuki Foundation (Stelter, CBC, 2018)

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Combined APTN CBC CTV TVO

negative positive neutral

Figure 4-3 Valence of video news articles on drinking water issues in First Nations between 2015-2018

Some examples of positive valence stories included the Federal government’s reaffirmations of the commitment to ending long-term boil water advisories. There were also announcements of additional funding, training programs, restructuring federal departments, and updates on the number of BWAs. Other examples of positive stories are about building water treatment plants (Porter, 2015) or upgrades to water treatment plant systems (Stewart, 2018; Burnouf, 2017; Stewart, 2017; Leitch, 2017). Support for a self-directed training program involving Indigenous youth and incorporating traditional knowledge is evidence of a positive valence.

There were also efforts by Indigenous owned companies to provide support. A coffee company has raised $70,000 for 700 water purifiers for Curve Lake First

Nation members. This type of social enterprise is a different approach to funding; however, it does solely rely on technology as the ultimate solution. "[Water] is a fundamental right. People should not go without water. This is 2018," said Birch Bark Coffee Company Owner, Marsolais-Nahwegahbow (CBC, 2018).

There were stories about how First Nations were relieved after technological issues were resolved. When Enoch Cree Nation’s Stony Plain reserve was slated to host the World Indigenous Games, the Liberal government committed to resolving jurisdictional issues with the City of Edmonton to ensure the community had potable water. “You know we didn’t have a government that was committed at the time,” said Chief Billy Morin when asked about why it took the eight years to have the pipe extended from the neighbouring Edmonton suburb. “The Liberals have stepped up. I gotta give them credit. They came to us and they made clean water a priority for this area” (Leitch, Edmonton Journal, 2017).

"Today is a big day to make changes to our lifestyle and we are very excited to finally be able to drink water right from the tap. The community is looking forward to not having to purchase water or boil the water, and after almost 14 years of the BWA, it will be a positive adjustment and a change to our lifestyle. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for their patience, and the support of elders and leadership throughout this project."

Chief Lorraine Crane, Slate Falls Nation (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, (CISION news wire, 2018)

Millar and Rae (2018) argue that if only infrastructure funding is provided, without the operation and maintenance budget, it is not a sustainable solution.

There were also charitable supports for addressing water inequality on reserves. Water First, a charity helping First Nations communities with water challenges through education, training and collaboration, had a pilot project and provided 15 months of training for 10 Indigenous youth from seven First Nations. The program helps Indigenous youth prepare for Ontario certification exams for water quality analyst and operator and training. This training included water monitoring

workshops and traditional knowledge and mapping. After the internships, the training has led to jobs in their communities. Furthermore, re-involving women who have traditionally been seen as sacred water keepers in the process is another example of positive valence. Water First was identifying gaps and is attempting to address them and there was a focus to include more women. Out of 10 participants, four were female. Amy Waboose currently has employment with Whitefish First Nation water treatment plant on Birch Island, Ontario as a result of this training (Water First, 2019). This project is expanding from 7 First Nations to 75 First Nations.

"There is an underrepresentation of Indigenous students especially women in the STEM fields and that includes water treatment. In the water treatment plants, it’s mostly men working there too.”

Kendra Driscoll, Water First (Driscoll, CBC, 2018)

A neutral valence balances out blaming and providing possible solutions to the drinking water quality and quantity issues in First Nations communities in Canada. Some First Nation communities have been waiting a very long time for funding from the federal government and have to take action themselves in the meantime. “We’ve started the work, started it about 4 days ago. We have to. We don’t have the resources but we’re doing it. We have to rob Peter to pay Paul to do it. It’s a health and safety issue,” said Chief Richard Kappo from Sturgeon Lake First Nation. Chief Kappo thinks that water should be the number one priority for all levels of government (Morin, 2016).

In Labrador, Black Tickle, an Inuit-Metis island community is collecting rainwater as a way to bypass the water treatment plant. When the water treatment plant was not working, community members collected water from ponds and ditches. When the water treatment plant is working people need to drive a mile away on ATV or snowmobile to pick up the water and deliver it, which is physically difficult (Squibb, 2016; Beaumont, 2017).

Describing the reality of the many moving parts involved in obtaining clean drinking water is also part of a neutral valence:

"I don't think we should be giving people the impression that everything will be solved and there will be no further investment to make and no more work to do when all these water advisories are lifted." Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott (Barrera, CBC, 2018)

Another way for a First Nation to take action is by assessing the situation, participating in community led research and acting upon that information.

“In the past, most scientists/researchers that came to our community would do so with very little explanation and input from the community. Often times [they] would come in with their own agendas, and community members couldn’t always see the relevance of their research.” Charlie Flowers, Inuit research (Harper and Wright, 2017).

In Rigolet, Newfoundland, Inuit scholars studied the underlying causes of contamination and found that water containers and dipping utensils were part of the problem (Harper and Wright, 2017). Since water is delivered by truck and there are many handling steps involved, paying attention to avenues of bacterial and viral contamination was found to be a key aspect of the poor drinking water quality. Working with the community, stickers were placed on the containers to remind people to clean the containers regularly.

Neutral valence is also given for general research, the identification of needed research as well as needs for funding and policy.

“We need to start linking health impacts-effects at all levels of the multi- barrier approach (MBA) to safe drinking water. This includes a refined definition of health from an indigenous perspective and what water quality, quantity mean to the people in the community in relation to health and well-being.” Dr. Lalita Bharadwaj (Water Canada, 2017)

Negative valance is frequently due to frustration.

"If Mr. Trudeau is listening right now, I know you got a new government and everything, but you still got the same bureaucrats running the show,

same as Harper, you got to flush them all out, the only way to change this, make the changes there. We're fed up. We are putting up with the same bullshit over and over again and that's gotta change" Chief Wilbur Marshall, Potlotek (Roache, APTN, 2016)

Potlotek First Nation in Nova Scotia had been waiting a decade before their new water treatment plant started construction. Iron and manganese were found in the water supply and although it was reported that there were no health impacts due to these minerals in the water, the current Liberal government has taken action on removing these minerals from the water supply (Indigenous Services Canada, 2018; Brundale, 2017). There were seasonal boil water alerts occurring in the fall with the turnover in the lake, the same lake where the current water system has its intake (Canadian Press, 2017).

“You see black water coming out of the tap and it doesn’t smell nice,” John Paul, executive director of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, said in an interview Thursday. “It lasts for about a month every year. It’s horrible” (Canadian Press, 2017).

The source water protection component of the water equation doesn’t seem to be part of the solution.

The frustrations with the delays on action are understandable. John Paul executive director of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs said: “They were very angry a year ago and now they’re just beside themselves,” he said. “They’re getting tired of promises and no action. Prime Minister Trudeau committed to address this situation and still, we see no action in communities,” she said in a statement. “I thought we were working to solve this problem but the reality is, nothing is happening.” (Canadian Press, National Post, 2017)

Some First Nations have assigned blame to shoddy work and poor planning by contractors, the government and engineers. The water treatment plant in Gull Bay, Ontario did not meet provincial drinking water standards and was never used. "And I said: How the hell was this thing built? … There's no way we're going to turn this plant on. There were officials within Indian Affairs [INAC] who were basically incompetent and allowed this thing to happen."

Chief Wilfred King Gull Bay First Nation

(Mclearn, Globe and Mail, 2017)

One article respondent related that he had seen, in the late 1980s, water treatment plants on reserve made with pressure filters that did not filter out microscopic parasites such as giardia and cryptosporidium: "If that same type of treatment plant was running in a municipality, there would have been an order from the province to get it fixed within a certain amount of time or there would be fines invoked," Mr. Baker (McClearn, Globe and Mail, 2017)

There could be more negative valence since 2015 as change was promised and people who experience an inefficient process and are undergoing uncomfortable situations want to give feedback regarding the changes that they need.

4.1.6 Themes

The three main themes that recur throughout the media stories from 2015-2018 are water insecurity, inequality and capacity. These three themes are linked. First Nation communities experience the lack of clean drinking water as an inequity in Canadian society (Galway, 2016; Bradford et al., 2016) and it seems to be perpetuated through a lack of capacity. The capacity can be political, financial, technological, social and legal. The lack of capacity is found at different levels, such as political will from the federal government or not enough resources provided to Indigenous communities.

4.1.6.1 Capacity

The lack of resources for maintenance of drinking water infrastructure can be seen through criticism from the New Democratic Party (NDP): “The prime minister made a very clear commitment during the election. But he simply didn’t follow through with the kind of investments that are needed to make that happen. If you build a plant and you do not give the communities the support to maintain them, they break. The department doesn’t factor in those costs. This is why we’re seeing, year after year, the crisis continues…It’s the unwillingness to put the resources in place to do what is necessary. Is (Trudeau) going to follow up with the promise? Yes or no? It is doable, it can be done, but it needs government to commit to working with communities. It’s about political will.”

NDP MP and Indigenous and northern affairs critic Charlie Angus (Forrest, 2017)

Strong leadership, political will and increased capacity was illustrated in Ontario after the Walkerton crisis, when seven people died, and more than two thousand people were sick due to an E.coli outbreak (CBC, 2010). Regulations were changed as a result. Fines for non-compliance were threatened. As well, largely the province funded source protection plans. Indigenous leadership acknowledge this, and push the federal government for what is possible and what the realities are today. “If you look at the Walkerton crisis in early 2000, it was within a year that 144 municipalities were actually addressed and mitigated so that they wouldn’t have boil-water advisory issues. There is no question that the Liberal government can do this.” Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day (McClearn, 2016)

4.1.6.2 Water insecurity

Water insecurity is caused when there is a lack of sufficient amount of water for a population or a lack of clean drinking water. The following quotations illustrate the widespread water insecurity issues in First Nations communities by a variety of different voices and for different reasons such as seasonality, climate change, source water availability, and nearby water polluters.

"They import water from off the nation. Currently, the ground water in that situation is not able to sustain our people with the amount of growth we are having."

Chief Billy Morin, Enoch First Nation

“If we don’t have enough rain or snow, we’re not going to have enough water. And historically, over the last 10 years, we haven’t had a lot.” Carol Wildcat, Ermineskin Cree Nation Consultation Coordinator (McClearn, Globe and Mail, 2016)

“We’re actually down river from the third worst polluter of water, a municipal polluter, which is London, Ontario. Whenever they have a storm water surge, partially treated sewage flows directly into the Thames River and we’re directly downstream from that,” he said. Our current treatment

system can’t really deal with that situation. We’ve already had a lot of boil water advisories in the past.”

Grand Chief Joel Abram from Oneida Nation of the Thames (Francis, APTN, 2018)

4.1.6.3 Inequality

“The good news is that Canadians get it. They see the inequities. They’re fed up with the excuses. And that impatience gives us a rare and precious opportunity to act,”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Campion-Smith, The Toronto Star, 2017)

Indigenous political leaders, community members and politicians reiterate the long- standing inequitable situation of a lack of potable water in First Nations across Canada. Sometimes, the difference of availability of clean water is stark when compared to neighbouring municipalities. “In this day and age, it is just [horrible] that my community as well as other First Nation communities can’t have the luxury of other Canadians and get to go open up their water tap and have a drink” Wauzhushk Onigum Chief Chris Skead (Stelter, Kenora Daily Miner & News, 2018)

"If this were Carlyle, this would be unacceptable, something would have been done immediately, I have thought about moving, because it is difficult living with water like that." Molly Lonechild, White Bear, SK (Pimental, APTN, 2016)

“In light of the Federal government’s plan to ensure clean drinking water for First Nations … we are living in third world conditions and it is just not acceptable.” Northwest Angle #33 First Nation Chief Darlene Comegan (Morin, APTN, 2016)

These water insecurity issues can be due to historical injustices to Indigenous peoples such as land dispossession or from extractive industries located on or near First Nation traditional territories.

The comparison between municipalities’ water capacity and on reserves extends even to the salaries received by water operators.

“The chief said he was working on getting me a raise, but saying it and doing it are different things… When you work on reserve it’s not taxed, but when you tally everything up it should be similar versus municipalities.” Corey Lynch, water operator in Rocky Bay (Beaumont, Vice News, 2018)

“We live in a vast country where people often live in very remote settings, literally across the country. Will we see a day when every single home is connected to a municipal or publicly governed water system? I’m not sure that that’s necessarily realistic, but as I said, there are other ways to address those remoteness issues.” Indigenous services minister Jane Philpott (Beaumont,2018)

There are many and varied voices speaking about the inequality experienced by Indigenous people in Canada regarding unsafe water which seems to confirm Mascarenhas’s (2012, p. 10) point that a lack of access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities is not simply a one-time technical error or temporary accident, but that it is systemic and reflect wider structures of colonialism and racism within Canadian society.

Chapter 5 5 Change followed in the media

Justin Trudeau has changed the way Indigenous-Crown relations are spoken about and this is seen through respectful language in the media. He has also changed the structure of what was formally called Indian and Northern Affairs to become two departments called Indigenous Services Canada and Indigenous and Northern Affairs and Development Canada, which has been reported in the media. There are fewer drinking water advisories than in 2015 in First Nations communities; however some others have been added and it remains to be seen whether the goal of eliminating them all by 2021 will happen. On this account, the media stories suggest that this is not likely according to content and interviewees. Changes in attitude, such as acknowledging water as being a basic human right, is novel for this and other governments. Jane Philpott, goes on record to agree that some of the long-term challenges of training operators of water treatment plants need to be addressed, as well as geographical constraints of fly in communities – remoteness, seasonal challenges, the small population, and that communities are spread out. Acknowledging the complexity of the situation is a change in the way the government characterizes the nature of the problem, but it can be an excuse for not providing clean drinking water.

A one-size-fits all approach taken by the federal government to First Nation drinking systems policy does not seem to be working in Canada. Many media articles point out that funding structures and opportunities for training in First Nation communities, colonial history, discrimination, lack of political will, murky roles and responsibilities of various governmental agencies, and governance problems contribute to the failure to deliver safe clean drinking water in many First Nations in Canada. This research will contribute to understanding how the media portrays drinking water issues in First Nation communities

5.1 Conclusion

Increasingly, environmental issues have been portrayed in the media as the complex situations that they are, and tend to include the surrounding health, social and political history and back-stories. The media has frequently published special reports on the issue of drinking water in First Nations communities and has portrayed the issue as largely negative from 2015-2018 while including the underlying colonial and racist policies of the past and present.

The source of quotations or actor was documented in the media reviewed for this study. There is more than double the number of quotations from elected Indigenous leaders than band members which are consistent with what Lam et al., (2016) found previously. This means that there may be some perspectives missing as elected officials cannot speak for everyone in the community. This is a limitation of using media sources to understand how groups perceive an issue.

There were some notable similarities and differences between the Lam et al. (2017) and current period found in Table 5.1, below. My study incorporated a wider range of media sources (e.g. newspaper, video, reports) that might explain some of the differences. In both cases, Indigenous elected officials were quoted most frequently in media stories. Lam et al. (2017) reported the main themes were drinking water security and inequality; I found infrastructure was commonly cited with respect to the drinking water issues. I found that only 36% of the stories were thematic in nature; whereas as near 64% were episodic. This is likely the result of government media being picked up by some news outlets for reporting. For instance, if the government announced the completion of a new water treatment plant, some news outlets would report these stories. In many instances, the media outlet reported verbatim the federal media release. I also found the newspaper articles to be more negative relative to the period reviewed by Lam et al. (2017). Perhaps this is a result of media outlets attempting to hold the Liberal government to their promise to eliminate all long-term drinking water advisories or developing a relationship with First Nation.

Table 5-1 Comparison between findings of (Lam et al, 2017) and (Ramlogan, 2019) Jan. 1, 2000 – Dec. 31, 2015 Oc. 19, 2015-Dec. 31, 2018 (Lam et al, 2017) (Ramlogan, 2019) 4 newspapers Online content including newspapers

257 articles analysed 73 articles analyzed Indigenous elected officials quoted Indigenous elected official quoted most most often often Main issues: drinking water security Main issues: drinking water security and and drinking water inequality drinking water infrastructure 52% media stories are thematic 36% media stories are thematic Most newspaper articles were neutral 77% of newspaper articles were negative (58%) in valence in valence 52% of all media sources were negative in valence

The valence of newspaper articles from 2015-2018 were much more negative (72%) when compared to newspapers from 2000-2015 which were primarily neutral (58%) in their reporting (Lam et al., 2017). This means that the media is not letting the federal government off the hook regarding clean drinking water for First Nations communities. This may be due to an increased attention on the federal government since announcing their commitment to eliminate all long-term boil water advisories. Some articles are also reporting older drinking water issues in First Nations from the previous government which seems like delayed reporting (McClearn, 2017). There is also an election upcoming in 2019, which acts as a countdown for this promise.

The two key issues from 2000-2015 were drinking water security and inequality (Lam et al., 2017). The two main key issues from 2015-2018 were drinking water security (29%) and drinking water infrastructure (24%). Focus on social inequality

for Indigenous peoples was found at (17%). The discourse seems to have widened in the media since 2016.

In 2017, INAC produced a Departmental Plan that outlined how the services and programs would become more streamlined, by splitting INAC into two different departments, Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC, 2017). From the articles in the media, these changes do not seem to be felt by Indigenous communities. It may also not be enough time for the media to report on substantive change, or for that change to be realized since the inception of the Indigenous Services Department in 2018. According to Lam et al. (2016) the solutions employed up to this point have adopted a technocratic approach to clean drinking water and it is a long bureaucratic process. Murdocca (2010) explains how this is a political consequence of the issues being out of sight and out of mind. Geographically remote First Nations are out of sight and mind of politicians who seem to weigh the importance of crises on reserves as less urgent. The media stories from 2015-2018 bear this out further.

Hansen (2011) explains that as there are fewer resources for the media, media tend to rely on media releases to inform content. The federal government has many media releases that show up as media articles. This is a power imbalance for source of information and framing the issue. First Nations do not have the finances available or human resources to have in house communications or public relations expertise to counter the government narrative.

Indigenous elected officials reiterate the problems or stalemates that exist regarding the lack of safe drinking water and that there is not enough being done. Frustration, inequality, blame and trust issues were found in their statements. The current framework for the provision of safe drinking water on reserves has been strongly criticized for creating ambiguity with regard to roles and responsibilities, including who has ultimate responsibility for assuring water quality and this may contribute to having blame be assigned to many actors.

First Nations people speak about their anger at the situation or announce what actions First Nations are taking to make a difference now. One way to take action was to create social enterprises. For example, an Indigenous owned coffee shop put aside a portion of proceeds to donate to water filters for an Indigenous community (Marsolais-Nahwegahbow, 2018).

Non-Indigenous opposition politicians tend to criticize the sitting government and request more resources or an out of the box approach, since the one-size-fit-all approach has not fixed the issue to date. Inefficiencies or problems with the drinking water infrastructure were also a point of discussion.

Other voices reported on research that was accomplished, or needed. Training opportunities for upcoming water operators was also a focus of discussion. The journalists that covered the topic of drinking water insecurity in First Nation communities tended to return to the subject time and again. Although, Mazur (1998) states that media are fickle, he believes that relationships are built between journalists and key spokespeople trying to change perceptions of their issue. Hansen (1993) states that an environmental issue is not covered more frequently due to whether it has a severe impact on people, but rather it can be “squeezed out of media” by the gatekeepers to other issues.

Many of these quote sources spoke about the chronic underfunding of drinking water systems in First Nations communities. Thus far the reviews are mixed as to whether or not the federal Liberals will be able to meet their promise to eliminate long-term boil water advisories. The October 2019 election ended with a Liberal minority government. This means that cooperation between parties is needed to pass budgets or new legislation.

Barrera (2018) illustrates that in 2003 a promise of funding was made to Grassy Narrows First Nation and a week later the minister in charge was changed as a new government was sworn in resulting in the project not moving forward. As an election approaches October 2019, many people are worried about the follow through on similar promises.

“That is what we worry about with the current government. They are making promises but we want them to follow through.”

Gary Kaminawatamin, Bearskin Lake Councilor

(Barrera, CBC, 2018)

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Appendix Appendix 1: List of media articles used for the discourse analysis

date (yyyy-mm- Author dd) Title Source

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news- N.S. First Nation grappling pmn/canada-news-pmn/n-s-first- with 'water crisis' calls for Brundale, 2017-09- nation-grappling-with-water-crisis- federal action Brett 14 calls-for-federal-action

Ottawa's promise to fix First http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous Barrera, 2018-02- Nations water crisis still /david-suzuki-foundation-first-

Jorge 08 falling short: report nations-water-report-1.4525456

First Nations on back-end of http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous Barrera, 2018-01- water list hope Liberal /first-nations-drinking-water-5-

Jorge 23 promises don't run dry year-plan-promises-1.4500565

What’s the true cost of clean https://this.org/2018/04/04/whats- 2018-04- drinking water for Canada’s the-true-cost-of-clean-drinking-

Ali,Anwar 04 First Nations water-for-canadas-first-nations/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ The trouble behind Canada’s news/national/the-trouble-behind- failed First Nations water McClearn, 2017-02- canadas-failed-first-nations-water- plants Matthew 24 plants/article34131686/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/ca Can PM Trudeau Keep n-pm-trudeau-keep-drinkable- Drinkable Water Promise to Aiello, 2017-12- water-promise-to-first-nations- First Nations? Rachelle 28 1.3736954

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Why is Canada Denying its opinion/why-is-canada-denying-its- Klasing, 2016-08- Indigenous People Clean indigenous-peoples-clean-

Amanda 30 Water? water/article31599791/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ McClearn, 2016-08- water Systems at Risk news/national/indigenous-

Matthew 29 water/article31589755/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Empty glasses, empty opinion/editorials/empty-glasses- 2016-08- promises to Canada's First empty-promises-to-canadas-first- editorial 26 Nations nations/article31599748/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Ottawa has human-rights news/national/ottawa-has-human- obligation to provide safe rights-obligation-to-provide-safe- McClearn, 2016-06- water on reserves: report water-on-reserves-

Matthew 07 report/article30323837/

https://www.macleans.ca/news/can Want common ground on ada/want-common-ground-on-first- First Nations issues? Start by Angus 2018-06- nations-issues-start-by-fixing-the- fixing the water supply Reid 07 water-supply/

Chiefs say Ottawa’s criteria http://aptnnews.ca/2018/01/29/chie Francis, 2018-01- on drinking water leaving fs-say-ottawas-criteria-on-drinking-

Annette 29 some nations out water-leaving-some-nations-out/

http://aptnnews.ca/2016/02/18/onta Ontario First Nation declares rio-first-nation-declares-state-of- state of emergency after emergency-after-radioactive- radioactive particles found in Morin, 2016-02- particles-found-in-local-water- local water source Brandi 18 source/

Brown tap water has members http://aptnnews.ca/2016/10/03/bro of Potlotek boiling over – but wn-tap-water-has-members-of- Roache, 2016-10- really, would you use this potlotek-boiling-over-but-really-

Trina 03 water? would-you-use-this-water/

What the federal government http://aptnnews.ca/2016/10/05/what Pimental, 2016-10- is doing about dirty water in -the-federal-government-is-doing-

Tamara 05 White Bear about-dirty-water-in-white-bear/

Ridgen, 2016-10- http://aptnnews.ca/2016/10/07/aptn Then The Mercury Hit Melissa 07 -investigates-then-the-mercury-hit/

#MMIWG Commissioner http://aptnnews.ca/2016/10/07/mmi Marion Buller talks about the wg-commissioner-marion-buller- Barrera, 2016-10- national inquiry tonight on talks-about-the-national-inquiry-

Jorge 07 N2N tonight-on-n2n/

What if Ottawa spends $2B on water for First Nations and https://www.thestar.com/news/cana Ballingall, 2018-08- it still isn’t safe for everyone da/2018/08/03/what-if-ottawa- Alex 03 to drink? spends-2b-on-water-for-first-

nations-and-it-still-isnt-safe-for-

everyone-to-drink.html

https://www.thestar.com/news/worl Canada struggles to improve Campion- d/2017/09/21/trudeau-to-use-un- conditions for Indigenous Smith, 2017-09- speech-to-address-struggles-of- people, Trudeau tells the UN Bruce 21 canadas-indigenous-peoples.html

Muzyka, Only Alberta First Nation left Kyle and under long-term boil water https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ed Roberta 2018-08- advisory to break ground on monton/kehewin-cree-nation- Bell 26 treatment plant water-treatment-plant-1.4797536

Setbacks hit water treatment https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenou Barrera, 2018-11- projects for Ontario First s/first-nations-water-treatment- Jorge 17 Nations setbacks-1.4909763

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news- Cost of bringing First Nations pmn/canada-news-pmn/cost-of- The water systems up to snuff bringing-first-nations-water- Canadian 2017-12- could total $3.2B: PBO systems-up-to-snuff-could-total-3-

Press 07 2b-pbo

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