Oneida water woes sign of 'discrimination': Chief
Residents on the reserve asked to conserve water while neighbouring community extends pool hours
The grand chief of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, Joel Abram, is crying foul after noticing the discrepancy of water availability between Oneida of the Thames First Nation and some of its neighbouring municipalities.
"Municipalities generally have a more robust structure in terms of funding available to put toward it (water infrastructure) to ensure their systems are adequate to meet, not only the quality of water, but also the quantity and capacity of water to support housing, infrastructure and those types of things," said Abram.
Oneida residents get their water from an aquifir under the Thames River, according to Abram. Other municipalities get their water piped in from Lake Erie, Lake Huron, or both, as is the case in London. He'd like Oneida to connect with a pipeline supply as well, given the aquifir is an inconsistent source of water that can become contaminated when there's a heavy rainfall.
Abram told CBC's London Morning that it's hard to see public notices promoting extended hours for pools and splash pads in neighbouring Strathroy-Caradoc when, at the same time, residents at Oneida are being asked to conserve water and other First Nations communities are even worse off.
"There's seven member nations in our organization and some don't have treatment facilities whatsoever, while all the neighbouring municipalities have a bountiful amount of water," he said. "There's no other way to explain that other than discrimination on the part of the government."
Health and safety concerns
An on-line petition has been started to call attention to the problems with Oneida's water supply. Abram hopes it will get the government's attention.
He said, it's not only a matter for having water for day-to-day activities, such as laundry and showers, it has proven to be a safety hazard.
"There are only fire hydrants in the centre of the Oneida community so outlying portions are not covered by fire hydrants."
That proved deadly, he said, in a fatal fire in Dec., 2016. A father and four children perished in the blaze that was sparked by a child playing with a lighter or matches. They lived on a portion of the reserve that had relied on a reservoir of water in the event of a fire.
"The reservoir only holds a limited amount of water. It wasn't enough for that particular incident and the nearest fire hydrant was over a kilometre away," said Abram.
Abram said he will continue to lobby the federal government to elevate the quality and quantity of water on First Nations communities.
"It's sort of a dire situation," he said. "There's no logical reason in today's day and age for there to be a big difference in terms of basic life things people need like drinking water."