Ottawa revives First Nations water legislation with new rights language, raising new questions

By Jacqueline St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Manitoulin Expositor LAKE HURON—For generations, the struggle for clean drinking water in First Nations has never been simply about pipes, pumps or treatment plants. It has been about jurisdiction, responsibility and whether one of life’s most fundamental necessities will finally be recognized not as a promise, but as a right. That conversation returned to Parliament Tuesday as the federal government reintroduced long-awaited legislation aimed at replacing the former Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, reviving a bill th…