National chief slams federal clean water bill at AFN assembly

By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak slammed the federal government’s proposed legislation regarding clean drinking water for First Nations in her opening remarks at the AFN annual general assembly on July 14. Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty introduced the First Nations Clean Water Act, or Bill C-37, in the House of Commons last month, alongside a $4.6-billion investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. “It’s disappointing that this new bill fails to clearly designate First Nations’ rights to clean water, because no sum of money will distract from the red flags we see in this new clean water bill,” said Nepinak at Ottawa’s Rogers Centre. According to Indigenous Services Canada, there are 38 long-term drinking water