TWO BOIL WATER ORDERS SHOW MUSKOKA WHAT FIRST NATIONS HAVE LIVED WITH FOR DECADES

TARA COLLUM | Contributing columnist

At the start of last January, Bracebridge’s five-day boil water advisory was called “the most extraordinary water incident” in the history of Muskoka.

Last weekend Gravenhurst had a water incident of its own, first when the district issued first a do-not-use advisory, which was soon downgraded to a boil water advisory.

Lasting over the weekend and ending Tuesday noon, the incident is now under investigation.

While an obvious inconvenience, it can also show the importance of what we take for granted.

We are incredibly lucky to have clean drinking water flowing from our taps. We are equally advantaged to have a municipality that quickly puts the brakes on the system to ensure our safety, has a water truck on the ready, and hands out abundant free water bottles. They were also somewhat transparent.

Through calls from family, my mom first learned of the incident. And we followed the progress easily on Twitter, local news sites like MuskokaTODAY.com, and on Sunday from a letter delivered door-to-door by workers in bright orange safety vests.

While a drag to boil water for washing dishes — and using hand sanitizer instead of soap — it’s important to remember that not every community receives the same treatment.

In 2014, to save money Flint, Michigan decided to use the Flint River as the town’s water supply. The pipes and river water weren’t treated properly, which caused lead contamination that poisoned thousands. Despite complaints about the smell, taste, and colour of the water, local and state officials ignored the problem for years. The city is still in the process of replacing the water pipes, and financially compensating citizens.

Of course, we don’t have to look to our neighbours to the south alone; the lack of safe and clean water for Indigenous communities is a Canadian national shame and crisis.

The Watertoday.ca website has a list of all current boil water advisories for Ontario. The Neskantaga First Nation has been under a boil water advisory since February of 1996, the Eabametoong First Nation since August 2002, and the Sandy Lake First Nation since October 2003. These are the oldest on a list that includes 78 communities.

According to Water First, 40 per cent of First Nations communities in Ontario are subject to a boil water advisory.

The appalling conditions persist despite a 2015 promise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end all long-term water advisories by March 2021. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was heavily criticized for his promise to budget almost $2 billion dollars to tackle the water crisis.

I am grateful for the Muskoka municipalities caution in quickly investigating any potential issues to our water supply, and for their work of keeping everyone in the loop, and providing clean water during the four days the water was affected.

Every person in the province and the country deserves equal treatment and access to safe clean drinking water.

Consider supporting a clean water project at your school or for a community volunteer project at your workplace. Connect with like-minded local people and groups. Find out what your local member of provincial Parliament is doing to support water rights.

For more information on how you can help join the fight for clean water visit the Council of Canadians at Canadians.org, Water First at Waterfirst.ngo, the Muskoka Indigenous Leadership Table at engagemuskoka.ca, and water rights groups Waterkeeper.org, and Watermarkproject.ca

Michelle Bachelet, a United Nations Commissioner on World Water Day in 2019 said, “Water is a basic human right and is fundamental to human dignity. If people cannot enjoy their right to water, they cannot enjoy their right to life.”