Drinking water on reserves an ongoing problem: chief

A year after 1,100 residents of a First Nationsreserve in northern Ontario were forced to leave their homes because of tainted water, a chief says many aboriginal people in the province are still being denied access to clean drinking water.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy, who speaks for the Kashechewan First Nation,said Wednesday that more than 30 aboriginal communities in Ontario are living under a boil water advisory.

"Being a resident of Ontario, I'm entitled to some basic, universal rights like everyone else," Beardy told the Canadian Press.

"One of those universal rights is that I should have access to clean drinking water just like everybody else. We're talking about basic human rights here."

Residents scattered after evacuation

Last October, the Ontario government evacuated the Kashechewan First Nationnear James Bay after water on the reserve was found to be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Residents were taken to a number of cities, including Ottawa, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timmins, Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie.

Following the evacuation, the federal and provincial governments argued about who was responsible for ensuring clean drinking water on the reserve.

Officials with the Ontario government, which recently passed a clean water act, have said the problem of clean drinking water in First Nations communities cannot be solved without the help of the federal government.

Aboriginal people frustrated, chief says

Beardysaid First Nations communities in Ontario are trying to cope with water treatment plants that are poorly designed or require major maintenance and staff.

"There's a frustration amongst my people that we're still experiencing a lot of crisis situations … in a lot of communities in the far north," Beardy said.

"If it was Walkerton we were talking about, there would be quicker action to deal with the immediate problem and address the long-term solution."

The Harper government has asked Alan Pope, aformer cabinet minister, to write a report on the evacuation of Kashechewan and what needs to be done for the community. The report is expected shortly.

First Nations groups speak out

Meanwhile, First Nations groups held a news conference in Toronto about the state of drinking water on reserves and to mark the anniversary of the evacuation.

Chief of Kashechewan Jonathan Solomon said his memories still haunt him.

"People suffering from skin diseases and rashes, especially the young people," he said.

David Ramsay, Ontario's natural resources minister, said Thursday that both levels of government, working with aboriginal communities, need to find a solution to the ongoing problem of access to clean drinking water on reserves.

"We should be working together on this, all three parties, to ensure we fix this problem," he said.

"Kashechewan put us all on alert," he told CBC News.

Ramsay said the evacuation let people know that "in some parts of this country, we have Third World water conditions and that is not acceptable."