Pikangikum First Nation takes federal government to court over lack of water, wastewater infrastructure

When Paddy Peters visits his wife's grave, helium says helium thinks astir her conflict with cancer and the unsocial challenges she faced compared to patients successful confederate Ontario.

The main of Pikangikum First Nation, a distant Ojibway assemblage much than 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, has nary moving h2o successful his home.

"She had to endure going extracurricular to the outhouse erstwhile she was sick," said Peters. "My woman passed distant without ever seeing moving h2o successful our house."

Peters was archetypal elected into bureau erstwhile helium was 30 years old. He turns 69 successful a fewer weeks and said his assemblage is dealing with the aforesaid infrastructure challenges arsenic erstwhile helium started.

"It truly conscionable annoys maine arsenic a leader, wherefore the aforesaid issues are inactive connected the array successful regards to h2o and wastewater services successful my community," Peters said.

Last week, Pikangikum declared a authorities of exigency implicit ongoing challenges with its h2o and wastewater infrastructure.

The First Nation besides announced it's taking the Government of Canada to Federal Court, seeking $2 cardinal successful damages and $200 cardinal successful exigency alleviation for urgent repairs astatine its h2o attraction plant.

"We request contiguous enactment that can't hold different 30 years," Peters said. "I don't deliberation I'll beryllium live successful 30 years. I privation to beryllium capable to spot safe, cleanable drinking water."

The lawsuit comes arsenic First Nation leaders crossed Canada advocator for the First Nations Clean Water Act to beryllium pushed done Parliament successful the archetypal 100 days of the government's caller term.

The legislation, introduced successful December 2023, aims to support caller h2o sources, make minimum nationalist drinking h2o and wastewater standards, and present sustainable backing for maintaining h2o prime successful First Nations.

About 4,000 radical unrecorded successful Pikangikum. Its astir caller drinking h2o advisory, which remains successful effect, was issued successful February 2024.

Before this, advisories were successful spot betwixt October 2000 to July 2002 and from October 2005 to September 2019.

"Pikangikum has been forced to state states of exigency successful 2000, 2011 and 2015, each owed to the deficiency of potable oregon moving water," the assemblage said successful a quality merchandise issued Thursday.

Pikangikum is being represented by Howie, Sacks and Henry LLP alongside co-counsel astatine Headwaters LLP and Phillips Barristers.

A lawsuit league has been scheduled for May 26, erstwhile a timetable for the lawsuit volition beryllium determined. After that, the question volition beryllium officially accepted by the Federal Court, said Paul Miller, a spouse with Howie, Sacks and Henry LLP.

The connection of claim, obtained by CBC News, argues the national authorities has violated Pikangikum's constitutional, Charter and pact rights by failing to guarantee capable entree to potable water, arsenic good arsenic sewage and occurrence prevention systems.

"They privation to beryllium treated similar citizens of Canada. That's the bottommost line," said Miller. "You would ne'er person radical successful confederate Ontario surviving this way."

In a emailed connection to CBC News, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) outlined past initiatives successful Pikangikum, and said the Government of Canada "respects the prime of First Nations, including Pikangikum First Nation, to question the Court's assistance connected the important contented of harmless drinking water."

'It comes down to equity'

None of Pikangikum's much than 500 homes person entree to moving water. The community's h2o attraction works lone services the school, nursing station, set bureau and a fistful of authorities buildings, said Peters.

There's a pumphouse by the lake, and the assemblage precocious discovered lone 1 of the 3 pumps is working, helium explained. 

"It doesn't pump capable h2o to the h2o attraction works astatine the reservoir wrong … and it besides doesn't nutrient capable pressure," Peters said.

Meanwhile, determination is lone 1 functioning entree constituent wherever radical tin get drinking h2o wrong the community. Otherwise, they person to capable buckets astatine the lake, bargain bottled h2o astatine the Northern Store or alert 100 kilometres southbound to Red Lake to bargain cases successful bulk.

"Given that we are not producing sufficient, cleanable water, assemblage members are forced to self-regulate however overmuch h2o they are using," said Carolina Budiman, elder wellness task manager for the Pikangikum Health Authority.

This impacts everything from cooking and bathing to doing laundry.

The community's nursing presumption has seen a fig of waterborne-related illnesses, peculiarly eczema and different kinds of tegument infections, she said.

During the E.coli situation successful Walkerton, Ont., successful 2000, Pikangikum besides saw an E.coli outbreak, which resulted successful 1 pistillate needing her arms and legs amputated, said Peters.

"They pumped successful money, resources to assistance that concern successful Walkerton, but up present we had the aforesaid situation," helium said. "It seems to maine they didn't instrumentality announcement what happened here."

Since then, galore assemblage members person mislaid spot successful Pikangikum's h2o attraction plant, helium added.

The debased h2o unit besides impacts Pikangikum's capableness to enactment retired fires.

"We person 1 occurrence hydrant, but it lone works if everything other shuts down," said Budiman.

The interaction connected the community's intelligence well-being has been well-documented successful studies astir its precocious termination rates implicit the years.

"What we're talking astir present is not lone mental, physical, affectional effects of not having entree to water, what we telephone successful the extracurricular satellite societal determinants of health, but it truly is astir manner and your outlook astir the satellite astir you," she said.

"It comes down to equity. It comes down to wherefore [do] urban-based, southern-based communities person entree to h2o and we don't?"

Indigenous Services Canada responds

CBC News received an emailed connection connected Friday from ISC spokesperson Eric Head, saying the section spent much than $700,000 to assistance Pikangikum behaviour a h2o and wastewater feasibility study.

The last draught study was shared with ISC successful November, helium said, and "outlines a way guardant to code the community's semipermanent h2o and wastewater needs."

"The survey besides identifies the request for interim upgrades to respond to much contiguous wellness and information concerns," said Head.

Between 2015-2016 and 2024-2025, helium said ISC has spent $10.1 cardinal to enactment the assemblage with: 

• Operations and attraction (including salaries for operators, chemicals, replacement parts, heating, substance and energy etc.) of the h2o and wastewater facilities.
• The acquisition of 2 sewer trucks and 1 h2o truck.
• Professional services related to h2o and wastewater operations.

"ISC remains acceptable to sermon adjacent steps with Pikangikum leadership, and partners, to beforehand some contiguous and semipermanent solutions that conscionable the needs of existent and aboriginal generations," helium said.

'They merit cleanable drinking water'

There person been galore studies and reports done connected Pikangikum's h2o and wastewater infrastructure implicit the years, Peters said. He held up a feasibility survey helium says dates backmost to 2020 — a manual astir 12 centimetres thick.

In the clip it's taken to constitute and reappraisal these assessments, helium says his assemblage could person had a solution.

His anticipation is that the litigation against the national authorities spurs much urgent action.

Peters said helium made a committedness to his precocious woman astatine her grave.

"Her sanction was Penny. I told her, 'Penny, we're gonna triumph this fight. We're gonna triumph this battle, for our grandkids, for our great grandkids.

'"They merit cleanable drinking water. My radical merit cleanable drinking water.'"