01-40_WC_149_JUL-AUG26_PT - Flipbook - Page 30
INDIGENOUS
Remote Challenges
First Nations water advisories see decade
of progress with more work needed
BY WARREN FREY
T’S BEEN MORE than a decade since prime
minister Justin Trudeau vowed to end boil water
advisories in First Nations communities within
five years.
In 2026, Trudeau is no longer prime minister
and the goal has not yet been met, but progress has
been made.
According to Indigenous Services Canada
information, (ISC) as of March 21, 2026 long-term
drinking water advisories have been lifted across
Canada since Nov. 2015 with 40 remaining advisories
in effect in 38 communities.
Candace Cook is an Indigenous civil engineer who
has worked with numerous First Nations to restore
and improve water and wastewater systems to lift
long-term water advisories.
Cook said she had a lifelong interest in improving
water infrastructure in reserve communities and
started her career in Ottawa working on water policy
before returning to the West Coast to work with a
research group at the University of British Columbia
for five years.
“That’s where I worked directly on targeted projects
with remote and rural First Nations communities
primarily in B.C. with a focus on coming up with
innovative ways to come up with co-created solutions
to lift long-term water advisories and improve
drinking water health outcomes,” Cook said.
Cook also pointed to the unique challenges faced
by each Nation with various factors affecting the
approach to improving water infrastructure.
“Each drinking water source is going to be
completely different, like fingerprints. Even around
the same water source they can look different based
on where the community is located in relation to
the water sources, the existing infrastructure and the
capacity of the community,” she said.
I
Warren Frey is a
freelance writer based
in Vancouver.
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WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2026
Pikangikum First Nation has renewed a state of emergency over
its collapsing water and wastewater systems nearly one year after
昀椀rst declaring the crisis.
“Some Nations are huge and already have people
that are trained up to operate water and wastewater
systems or have a bunch of people ready to go in
the background, but not every community has
that especially in B.C.,” she added. “Out of all the
provinces B.C. has the most individual Nations and
they’re usually remote.”
Cook said the key to getting advisories lifted is to
“look at the whole community.”
“You have to factor in how far these communities
might be from the nearest airport, the nearest supply
of chlorine, (along with) what’s unique about the
community, the people and their relationship to water
in terms of what they will accept and ultimately be
able to maintain,” she said.
Challenges to building and maintaining drinking
water infrastructure in remote First Nations communities
include extreme weather conditions, limited access
to materials, and a shortage of available contractors,
especially those without all-season road access.
“These challenges mean that infrastructure projects
can take longer to plan and deliver. Accessing and
transporting materials, as well as working within
shorter construction seasons, can further impact
progress,” Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson
Suzanna Su added.
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