Winnipeg woman continues to boil her water in 'Shoalidarity'
Christie McLeod boils water in solidarity with people in Shoal Lake
A Winnipeg woman is continuing her own self-imposed boil water order for 18 days to raise awareness about the 18 year boil water advisory imposed on Shoal Lake 40 First Nation in Ontario.
Last week Winnipeggers had to boil their water for two days after tests found E.coli in the water.
Christie McLeod said she's continuing to boil her water in "Shoalidarity" for the community which is the source of Winnipeg's drinking water.
"So I just kind of found this outrageous that we're freaking out about a two-day advisory, when they've been under it for 18 years so I decided to take action and raise awareness about it," McLeod said.
Shoal Lake 40 First Nation community is built on an island with no road access.
"It is cut off from the rest of the mainland so they can't access clean water, so we're trying to get a road built but the Federal government hasn't committed any funding to this," McLeod said. She has a blog "Seeking Social Justice" and is also a recent graduate of the University of Winnipeg's International Development Studies and Human RIghts & Global Studies programs.
McLeod says Ottawa has yet to commit $30 million to build road access to the mainland.
She is tweeting about her experience with boiling water using the hashtag #Shoalidarity.
McLeod hopes the 18 day campaign will result in others joining and pressuring the federal government to fund a road for the community.