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

Presented at:THE GLOBAL AGENDA FOR SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTCOMMITMENT TO ACTION CONFERENCEStockholm, SwedenJuly 8th - 12th, 2012

Presented by:Colin R. BonnycastleAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Manitoba

Centre for Human Rights Research

“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

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

Manitoba Canada

Northern Manitoba

Most northern reserves are surrounded by freshwater, but that doesn’t mean itis easy to find a clean class of it to drink

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.

* 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).

Water as a Sacred Gift

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).

Regulatory Gap

- 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

Boy playing with treated water stored in hishome

Modern water treatment on some reserves

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.

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

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.

The Project

Centre for Human Rights Research

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.

The Actions

1. Legal Issues cluster – focused on understanding 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 systems2. 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.

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.

Three Research Clusters

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.

Thank youContact: bonnyca@cc.umanitoba.ca