Background Information

The lack of clean, safe drinking water in First Nations is one of the greatest violations of the UN-recognized human rights to water and sanitation (“Safe Water for First Nations, n.d.). The higher the risk of water contamination, the higher the chance of water-borne infections. These infections are 26 times higher than the national average. Inadequate access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities is demonstrated through a large number of drinking water advisories on First Nations water systems across Canada (Xue Luo, 2021).

Drinking water advisories are public health protection notifications about real or potential health risks associated with drinking water ("Government of Canada", 2022). There are 3 types of drinking water advisories:

• Boil Water Advisory -> members of the community have to boil their water before use, if they cannot boil their water they have to purchase commercially packaged water. This can be a burden time-wise and financially.

• Do Not Consume -> when the water in a community's water system contains contaminants that cannot be removed from the water by boiling. This prevents members of the community from consuming a resource they need to survive.

• Do Not Use -> when the water system contains pollutants that cannot be removed from the water by boiling and exposure to the water could cause skin, eye, and/or nose irritations. This prevents members of the community from using the water for drinking, hygiene and cooking purposes (Xue Luo, 2021).

The longer the drinking water advisory is, the more challenging it becomes for Indigenous Peoples.