Montreal Gazette ePaper

`Funding is insufficient'

In its report released Wednesday, it found the government had set aside $6.4 billion for infrastructure upgrades, well above the estimated remaining costs of $3.1 billion.

However if the new and existing plants aren't well maintained the PBO says that number could rise.

The Auditor General found the same problem earlier this year in a review of the program and said badly-maintained water treatment plants will only become future problems.

“If available (operating and maintenance) funding is insufficient, water-related infrastructure may continue to deteriorate at a faster-than-expected rate, and overall costs may continue to increase as the infrastructure ages.”

The auditor also highlighted that the government's commitment did not cover homes on about a third of homes on reserves with private well or cisterns or simply no access to running water.

Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said they had boosted the funding for operating and maintaining water treatment facilities, now covering all of the costs instead of just 80 per cent and they were prepared to do more.

“The current funding that we announced this past December will effectively quadruple the amounts in operations and maintenance in the communities and we're willing to look at more solutions,” he said.

Many of the Indigenous communities where water advisories are in place are small and remote communities. Miller said it would be an ongoing challenge to keep those facilities fully staffed, because well-trained water technicians were going to be in demand everywhere.

“Those members are the pride of their community and if they're seeing a better salary offered in another, often non-indigenous community, why would I fault them for jumping at them?”

Miller highlighted a training program in Manitoba that has been very successful in recruiting and training Indigenous people to work on water treatment.

He said they hoped they could keep using programs to train more operators, but it would be an ongoing issue.

“We just have to have more saturation of those options and make sure that local folks are trained up to be the pride of their community and operate something that's such an essential asset,” he said. “Absolutely, it will be a challenge ongoing but it's something we're willing to meet.”

NDP critic MP Lori Idlout said the Liberals said the right things, but failed to deliver.

“In a country as rich as Canada, it is unacceptable that so many Indigenous communities are still living under boil water advisories. In communities like Neskantaga in Northern Ontario, many people have never known what it's like to have safe, clean drinking water straight from the tap,” she said in a statement.

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2021-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://montrealgazette.pressreader.com/article/283085597465486

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