Premier's Water Charter Forgets First Nations

On August 6, 2010, the Premiers of all provinces and territories of Canada, through the Council of the Federation, agreed to a Water Charter 'recognizing the collective obligation of Canadians and their governments to be responsible water stewards' and challenged themselves and 'individual Canadians, businesses and governments to reduce water consumption; increase water efficiency; and protect our water quality.' You can find it at

http://www.councilofthefederation.ca/pdfs/Water_Charter_Aug_4_2010.pdf

While this is a positive statement of intent of the signatory governments (and there is much that I could query as to how implementation of the Water Charter will be monitored to ensure that it avoids being nothing more than opportunistic political puffery...but that is for another post), I was dismayed to see that the uniquely challenging water problems facing First Nations was forgotten (or avoided) by the Premiers.

Focussing upon conservation, efficiency, and climate change impacts is not a priority when you are one of the 1 in 5 First Nations that doesn't have basic access to drinkable water. Setting a goal to have all First Nations have the access to water of the same or similar quality as all other Canadians would have been a courageous and appropriate goal. Instead, by their omission, First Nations are treated by the Premiers as part of 'the other', those that reside on federal land and therefore are not a great concern to the provinces, despite the fact that sources of pollution of water often begin off-reserve (meaning, on provincial land) and then flow onto First Nation reserve land to be addressed. And, this despite the fact the First Nations are also citizens of the province or territory in which they reside.

Human Right to Water

On July 28, 2010 the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of recognizing the human rights to water and sanitation. The resolution – put forward by Bolivia and 35 other states – passed with 124 states voting in favour and 42 abstaining. It is noteworthy that Canada abstained, appearing to maintain its position regarding concerns about Canada potentially being forced to give away Canadian water to those in need (although the legal validity of this position is uncertain).

The Council of Canadians asserts that "Canada's abstention from the vote will not excuse it from the work that needs to be done to maintain and improve its public water and sanitation systems for all peoples living in Canada, including Indigenous communities who have lived for generations without adequate infrastructure.”

I agree this is a positive step, especially regarding access to basic needs and entitlements. One word of caution, however. I have always worried that Indigenous Rights to water may be be forgotten, or ignored, in the rush to guarantee a human right to water. International rights are always implemented within a domestic, or country, context, and it is also within that context that Aboriginal peoples in Canada possess rights to water. We need to understand where Indigenous Rights to water stand with regards to this now internationally accepted but domestically implemented human right to water. We need to ensure that Indigenous rights to water are protected, while ensuring basic water needs of human beings and the environment are met.

Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth

I have long believed that all aspects of nature, not only human beings, need to have a seat at the decision-making table. But since it is always a human-created table, it can be difficult to develop a way that this could happen that is effective (at least from the perspective of nature). One way to do that is to recognize that when we give humans rights, we can also 'give' nature rights, which will then get implemented as if they are human obligations...things we must do not, or things we must do.

The President of Bolivia, Eva Morales, recently suggested the creation of a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth when he spoke to the G77 nations at a United Nations meeting on May 7, 2010. This is what he said, as reported by the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth website:

Some of the rights of nature that were proposed were:

- The right to life and to exist

- The right to regenerate its bio-capacity and to continue its vital cycles and processes free from human disruptions;

- The right to be free from contamination, pollution and toxic or radioactive waste;

- The right to not have its genetic structure modified or disrupted in a manner that threatens it integrity or vital and healthy functioning

He has already created rights of nature in that country's constitution.

Similar to this, Jospehine Mandamin, the Ojibwe grandmother doing the walk around the Great Lakes recently asked me 'can water have rights?'

I think that the greatest challenge we face is whether we will decide to accept that we must change our interpretation of our relationship to lands and waters and the earth. We must accept that we have not only rights to consume, but also the responsibilities to ensure the natural continuation of ecosystems and species we impact. I'm not sure how we do this, I think I will think about it, but stating the water ethics we commit to live by might be a first step.

Empty Glass for Water

Cheryl Suggashie, an Ojibwe woman from northern Ontario, is running a campaign called 'Empty Glass for Water'. She wants 'clean drinking water for all communities' and she is asking everyone to mail an empty glass to Stephen Harper to make this point. I think everyone should support her in her efforts.

Here's where to send your water glass:

Office of the Prime Minister

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa

K1A OA2

You can also check out her facebook group page at Empty Glass for Water.

The future of Manitoba's waters?

The licensing of the Churchill River Diversion (CRD) in Manitoba is proceeding with minimal comment from Manitobans. Most Manitobans may forget this project, given that it was developed in the mid-70's. However, it dramatically impacted two of the major waterways in northern Manitoba, the Churchill River and the Nelson River, and devastated First Nations communities and the environment, in order to maximize hydro-electric development.

First Nations, and rightfully so, are participating in consultations with the Government of Manitoba regarding what they feel should be in the final operating license for the CRD - these are the terms (such as minimum and maximum water flows) that govern whether the CRD will be operated to maximize environmental health and economic and social benefits, or just the latter, for the next fifty years.

The Government is planning on licensing the Lake Winnipeg Regulation project next, which governs the levels and flows out of Lake Winnipeg. The CRD and Lake Winnipeg Regulation together comprise much of the water in Manitoba.

We need to have a province-wide discussion now about how we use or protect, or both, the waters in our province.