Coffee and Ketchup — Canadian Conscious [in]Action

This morning like every other morning, I made coffee. Filling the pot directly from the tap I paused and took a deep breath realizing that this was a luxury that we all take for granted.

A friend of mine was filming earlier this year at a Northern Manitoba First Nation, one of many under a water advisory. We were talking about the -40C weather and then he mentioned that he had to purchase a 4 litre jug of water to drink. It cost him $13.50 and lasted 2 days. That’s ONE person. I think back to raising my own children, how vital clean water was and can’t imagine what it would be like trying to raise them under these conditions. Many Canadians struggle to put food on the table, not water.

The other day someone pointed out to me that Canadians “lost their shit” over the Walkerton water crisis. Meanwhile today, 2/3rds of all First Nation communities in Canada have been under at least one water advisory in the last decade — and our reaction has been ‪#‎ketchup‬.

In light of ‪#‎WorldWaterDay‬ and the Trudeau budget release, here’s hoping that these First Nation communities can finally get the relief they desperately need.

10 First Nations Under Water Advisories for over a decade:

Neskantaga First Nation, ON — — 20 Years
Nazko First Nation, BC — — 16 Years
Alexis Creek First Nation, BC — — 16 Years
Lake Babine First Nation, BC — — 16 Years
Algonquin Kitigan Zibi First Nation, QC — — 15 Years
Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, ON — — 14 Years**See Below
Xeni Gwet’ln First Nation, BC — — 14 Years
Eabametoong First Nation, ON — — 13 Years
North Spirit Lake First Nation, ON — — 13 Years
Deer Lake First Nation, ON — — 13 Years

Thanks to CBC for the info & graphic — further reading on this Issue:

10 First Nations With More Than 10 Years of Bad Water — CBC

Bad Water: ‘Third World’ conditions on First Nations in Canada — CBC