The Conservative critic for Indigenous Services said a new federal website tracking the progress on water infrastructure projects on First Nations under long-term drinking water advisories is little comfort for people awaiting clean drinking water.
On Wednesday, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller unveiled the website which provides an update on the progress on completing long-term advisories.
“One of the things I probably say is a website is not a strategy,” said Gary Vidal MP for Northern Saskatchewan.
“The announcement is just another acknowledgement that the government’s lack of a plan is the reason for this broken promise that they acknowledged that a few months back. They just don’t seem to have a plan to solve this issue, other than to put up a fancy website.”
The Ministry will not set a timeline on when it will lift the remaining 58 advisories, eight of which are in Saskatchewan.
Prime Minister Trudeau made a promise in 2015 that by this month, all advisories on First Nations would be lifted.
Yet Miller announced in December that the government would not meet its commitment. Ministry officials cited the pandemic, contracting and supply chain issues as the reasons for not meeting its promise.
“Election campaign success is measured by outcomes by results by solving people’s issues,” explained Vidal.
Saskatchewan’s eight long-term drinking water advisories are in different stages of completion. Some are in design and construction, while others are complete, or waiting for operator training or water sampling results.
“The new website demonstrates the progress communities have made since 2015. The investments provided outline the work that still needs to be done to achieve clean drinking water,” said Minister Marc Miller.
“It breaks down all remaining work community by community and will be continuously updated to reflect the most current information. I believe Canadians need to see what I’m seeing. The information here goes beyond long term tracking drinking water advisory It also includes details on why communities face long term drinking water advisories. The process involved in lifting an advisory, the status of each project, and the work required to keep water systems running and staffed.”