A. Introduction

Canada continues to fund drinking water and wastewater infrastructure on reserve through Indigenous Services Canada (“ISC“). First Nations will access funding under the First Nations Clean Water Settlement Agreement (the “Settlement”) in the same way you regularly access funding for water and wastewater infrastructure. There is an important difference now, however. In the Settlement, Canada has made a legal commitment to cover actual costs. So, as a First Nation you should prepare funding requests generally in the same manner as you have in the past but with these three important changes.

1. You should include in a cover letter to any funding request the suggested information set out below in Section B, which details Canada’s key obligations in the Settlement (the “Commitment”). 
2. You should ensure that your funding requests are drafted to include requests that Canada meet its Commitment under the Settlement. 
3. You should address your funding requests to your local Regional Director General and send copies of your funding requests to Joanne Wilkinson – Sr Assistant Deputy Minister ISC, Gina Wilson – Deputy Minister of Indigenous Services Canada c/o Rebecca Blake – A/Director for ISC, Sheila Read – General Counsel for Justice Canada, and First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water – the FNAC.

We recommend you take these steps because ISC is still working through the policy and program amendments to meet the requirements of Canada’s Commitment in the Settlement. As a result, your Regional Office may not be in the best position to respond to your requests for funding at actuals.

There is no menu of infrastructure upgrades to choose from, rather it is up to each First Nation to determine which system works best for its community. First Nations do not have to go it alone: community leadership can request Canada to fund the hiring of technical experts to help the nation better understand what it needs both now and into the future in order to build a water system that works for the community.

The Settlement does not change how water and wastewater services are provided on-reserve. However, the Settlement boosts funds available for Canada to distribute to First Nations to meet its Commitment.

First Nations should keep full and accurate records (with dates) when seeking funding for water and wastewater including its conversations with Canada, in the event the issue proceeds to dispute resolution.

B. Suggested Cover Letter to Accompany any Funding Request

Cover Letter should be addressed to your Regional Director General

Re: Request for Funding under the First Nations Clean Water Settlement Agreement (the “Settlement”)

The Settlement requires Canada to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that Individual Class Members living on reserves have regular access to drinking water in their homes, whether from a public water system (like a water treatment plant), or from a private water system (like a well or cistern).

This “regular access” must be of a nature and quantity sufficient to permit all usual and necessary uses of water in a similarly situated Canadian home, including but not limited to drinking water, bathing and personal hygiene, food preparation and dishwashing, sanitation, and laundry.

The water must meet either the federal requirements or provincial standards over water quality, whichever is stricter.

Please treat the attached materials as (a) the written notice required under Section 9.06 of the Settlement that Canada is not meeting its Commitment under the Settlement and (b) a Remediation Plan detailing our view of what Canada must do to meet its Commitment.

If Canada does not meet its Commitment, Canada will be subject to the Commitment Dispute Resolution Process (the “CDRP”) under the Settlement. If required, we will take full advantage of the strict timelines and binding nature of the CDRP to enforce our rights under the Settlement.

Yours sincerely,

cc. Gina Wilson – Deputy Minister of Indigenous Services Canada (proprepnh2o-cleanfnh2o@sac-isc.gc.ca)
Joanne Wilkinson – Sr Assistant Deputy Minister ISC (Joanne.Wilkinson@sac-isc.gc.ca)
Sheila Read – General Counsel for Justice Canada (Sheila.Read@justice.gc.ca)
First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water – the FNAC (admistrator@thefnac.ca)

This “Suggested Cover Letter to Accompany any Funding Request” is intended to serve as the written notice under Section 9.06. The actual funding request that accompanies the covering letter is intended to serve as the Remediation Plan referenced in that section.

For a downloadable PDF version of this cover letter, please follow this link: Suggested Cover Letter to Accompany any Funding Request