The audit report released by Karen Hogan, Comptroller General of Canada on February 25 local time, pointed out that unless the federal government can address a number of potential defects in the water supply system and regulate according to normal standards, the First Nations (commonly known as Indians) will still not have access to reliable, Clean drinking water.
The report states that Aboriginal Services Canada “did not provide enough support to First Nations” to ensure that they have access to safe drinking water.
To this end, the federal government needs to take long-term measures to improve the water supply system, provide sufficient funds to operate and maintain the water supply system, and implement supervision.
The Canadian government promised in December 2015 to solve the drinking water problem of First Nations by March 2021, but in December 2020, the Canadian government admitted that this commitment could not be fulfilled as scheduled and that at least 22 related issues remained to be resolved.
The audit report found that the government has only taken some temporary measures to alleviate this problem, and because of the lack of long-term measures to improve the First Nations water supply system, these communities have not yet received the same drinking water supply as other regions.
However, the Canadian government has not made new assurances about when this problem can be solved.
Auditor General Hogan said, “Although there are some plans and some progress, they will not solve these problems at least until 2025.
For First Nations communities, there will be a long time when safe drinking water cannot be obtained.
Canada divides Aboriginal people into Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis. First Nations is legally synonymous with Indians.
Although Canada is a developed country, the living conditions of Aboriginal people are not as good as that of most developing countries, and the average life expectancy is far below the national average.
Most First Nations live in sparsely populated “reserved areas” and have never had access to safe drinking water.
