Drinking Water Quality in Canadian First Nations Communities: Do Divergent Strategies for Addressing the Issue Contribute to the Problems? by Andrew Gajadhar A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Public Administration Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario ©2013, Andrew Gajadhar Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94294-9 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94294-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract The purpose of the thesis is to determine whether the four governance actors of First Nations drinking water (i.e., Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Environment Canada, Health Canada, and Band Councils) hold different theories for addressing First Nations drinking water quality issues, and whether such differences are manifested in First Nations approaches to resolving these issues. First, theories of change are developed to map out each governance actor’s ideal solution for addressing First Nations drinking water quality issues. Second, the drinking water management of three First Nations communities are compared with analogous (i.e., similar size, location, and source water) non-First Nations communities. The findings suggest that approaches used by the four governance actors differ significantly, which manifests in confusion at the community level for resolving water management issues. These different approaches are measured according to financial, personnel, regulatory, and role clarity indicators. Acknowledgements My deepest gratitude is reserved for my supervisor, Professor Robert Shepherd. Without his oversight this thesis would not have gotten off the ground. His guidance and direction helped me to navigate the writing of this thesis and provided me with a sense of confidence in articulating my findings on this controversial topic. Sincere thanks must be given to my four committee members, Professors Graeme Auld, Steven Montague, Gregory Poelzer, and Onita Basu. I am grateful for their participation in the thesis defence and the insightful comments they offered. I also appreciated and found great value in their challenges to the arguments of this thesis. I am indebted to each of the anonymous interview respondents who offered invaluable insight into the management of drinking water in First Nations and non-First Nations communities. These individuals offered their time, and knowledge and in some cases critique of my work that would have been otherwise unavailable. The cooperation and openness of these individuals provided some of the most significant information for informing this work. Finally, my thanks must be extended to my family and friends for their continued support and encouragement throughout the entire thesis process. First, my thanks go out to my friends from Carleton University who supported my undertaking of a thesis project and were there to hear my complaints throughout the process. My friends from Saskatoon have similarly offered me the time, space, and patience for undertaking this task. The support of Kelly Donald was instrumental for enabling me to continue through to the end of the process, as having someone to talk out ideas, challenges, and frustrations kept my focus on task and my outlook positive. My brothers, Mark and Grant Gajadhar and their families, Amanda, Casey, Terran, Hailee, and Sara, have each contributed in their own ways by also offering support in times of need. Lastly, without my parents, Alvin and Doris Gajadhar, I would not have had the means or the courage to undertake this project. I am grateful and fortunate to have been surrounded by such wonderful people. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Drinking Water Management Frameworks and Drinking Water Quality of First Nations and Non-First Nations Communities ............................................................................. 1 Argument .............................................................................................................................................2 Context .................................................................................................................................................4 Drinking water in Canada .............................................................................................................. 4 Drinking Water Quality in First Nations Communities .............................................................. 8 Literature to Date .............................................................................................................................. 14 Drinking water management in First Nations communities ..................................................... 14 Evaluations of drinking water quality of non-First Nations communities ...............................18 Evaluations of drinking water quality of First Nations communities ......................................21 Government conducted evaluations of drinking water quality .................................................22 An evaluation gap ......................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter by Chapter Summary......................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2: Methodology for Addressing the Research Gaps ............................................................28 Problem Definition ............................................................................................................................29 Theories of Change ...........................................................................................................................31 Comparing First Nations Communities with Analogous Non-First Nations Communities ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Case selection ................................................................................................................................35 Indicators and measures ............................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 3: First Nations Governance Actors’ Diverse Theories for Remedying Drinking Water Quality Issues .............................................................................................................................40 Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada ...............................................................40 Problem definition ........................................................................................................................ 42 Theory of change .......................................................................................................................... 44 Change model ................................................................................................................................46 Environment Canada ........................................................................................................................ 56 Problem definition ........................................................................................................................ 57 Theory of change .......................................................................................................................... 57 Change model ................................................................................................................................59 Health Canada................................................................................................................................... 67 Problem