Water as a human right: The case of Indigenous Peoples in northern Canada

1. Water as a human right: The case of Indigenous Peoples in northern Canada Presented at: THE GLOBAL AGENDA FOR SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITMENT TO ACTION CONFERENCE Stockholm, Sweden July 8th - 12th, 2012 Presented by: Colin R. BonnycastleAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Manitoba Centre for Human Rights Research

2. “The right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights.” - Declared by the United Nations General Assembly July, 2010

3. Though the lack of access to such essentials is often conceptualized as an issue of the developing world, Indigenous Peoples in northern Canada are currently also struggling with such a crisis. This is particularly so in the area in which I work – Northern Manitoba

4. Manitoba Canada

5. Northern Manitoba Most northern reserves are surrounded by freshwater, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to find a clean class of it to drink

6. The Case On-reserve residents of Manitoba First Nations often lack access to the clean water and effective sanitation essential to health. In fact, more than 1400 homes lack running water or proper waste deposal on Northern Manitoba reserves alone.

7. Water as a Sacred Gift * Water is “the most precious gift that was given to us, Indigenous peoples.- Dene Elder Francois Paulette*Rights are not property rights but rather privileges, ‘the grace’ as one elder put it that flows from our covenant with our Creator’ (D’Sousa, 2011).

8. Water as CommodityHydro Development as Example • 1960s – 1970s Manitoba Hydro, a crown corporation, began damming northern rivers in Manitoba. First Nations receive no fees for use of their lands by this agency. (Phare, 2011). • The hydro projects damaged trapping, destroyed hunting habitat and created problems for commercial and domestic fishing. This contributed to dependency, anger and a sense of injustice by those directly affected (Loney, 1987).

9. Regulatory Gap Modern water treatment on some reserves Boy playing with treated water stored in his home - Federal government is responsible for First Nations under the Indian Act. - Provincial governments are responsible for water standards in province. Local governments are responsible for water and sanitation services and funding. - Federal Bill S-11 to create regulations before infrastructure is seen by many as placing the cart before the horse

10. Indigenous Perspectiveon Responsibility - Environmental – the need to address crisis by protecting the sources of the drinking water. “To live is to live in a relationship with nature, with community and with one’s inner life (D’Sousa, 2011) - Fiduciary - Federal government to provide the financial resources and policies to ensure adequate water and sewage infrastructure on First Nation reserves.

11. The Project The focus of this advocacy project is on ways of building and maintaining public support for the actions that are necessary to improve First Nations’ water and sanitation. Centre for Human Rights Research

12. The Project Centre for Human Rights Research The Centre for Human Rights Research is researching why Canadians don’t seem to care that 1,400 Manitoban homes don’t have proper water and sanitation services. They’re looking at what actions might change that, with the ultimate goal of working with Indigenous groups to launch just such a social justice campaign.

13. The Actions During the summer of 2011, research team members travelled to First Nations in northern Manitoba to consult with leaders, water experts, and community members on water issues. The broad consensus was that participants should focus on clean running water and sanitation issues using a range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous methodologies in order to develop knowledge and build capacity to mobilize action on this issue.

14. Three Research Clusters: 1. Legal Issues cluster – focused onunderstanding the nature and strength of potential rights based claims and whether and how court challenges and other law reform strategies, perhaps in concert with other advocacy strategies, could achieve the goal of running water and sanitation systems 2. Economic/Medical cluster – focused on reliably estimate the benefits of providing adequate water and wastewater services to First Nations currently without them and (2) to complete a cost-benefit analysis of providing such services.

15. Three Research Clusters • 3. Advocacy Strategies cluster – focused on creating public support through such means as: • - Videotaped interviews to create a documentary film; • - Photovoice project using young Indigenous students to capture photos and stories of community concerns surrounding water and sanitation.

16. The Actions The collaboration will develop new approaches to confronting government and public apathy about the serious problem of insufficient clean water and sanitation in First Nations communities by: 1) Increasing First Nations' access to expert skills and knowledge held by project participants; 2) Developing evidence-based advocacy strategies that reflect First Nations' interests, perspectives, and traditional knowledge; 3) Demonstrating the increasing costs of continued inaction; and 4) Evaluating the relative strengths of various legal or rights-based clean water claims.

17. Thank youContact: bonnyca@cc.umanitoba.ca