McGill Law Journal ~ Revue de droit de McGill
NO TAPS, NO TOILETS: FIRST NATIONS AND THE
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER IN CANADA
David R. Boyd*
In 1977, the Canadian federal government
promised to provide reserves with water and
sanitation services comparable to similarly sit-
uated non-Aboriginal communities. Despite
some progress, thousands of First Nations peo-
ple, living on reserves across Canada, still lack
access to running water or flush toilets. The ad-
verse health effects associated with inadequate
water infrastructure include elevated rates of
communicable diseases such as
influenza,
whooping cough (pertussis), shigellosis, and im-
petigo. Do First Nations have an enforceable
constitutional right to water? This article sug-
gests that they do, based on the right to life, lib-
erty, and security of the person under section 7
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Free-
doms; the right to equality under section 15 of
the Charter; and governments obligation to
provide essential public services of reasonable
quality to all Canadians under section 36 of the
Constitution Act, 1982. The legal arguments
available pursuant to these constitutional pro-
visions are buttressed by Canadas obligations
pursuant to international human rights law.
En 1977, le gouvernement fdral cana-
dien a promis de fournir des rserves qui au-
raient un accs leau et des installations sani-
taires comparables aux communauts non au-
tochtones. En dpit de certains progrs, des mil-
liers de membres des Premires Nations vivant
dans des rserves travers le Canada nont tou-
jours pas accs leau courante. Les effets nga-
tifs sur la sant, associs une infrastructure
lie leau inadquate, inclus des taux plus le-
vs de maladies contagieuses comme linfluen-
za, la coqueluche, la shigellose et limptigo. Les
Premires Nations ont-elles un droit constitu-
tionnel leau ? Cet article suggre que oui, en
se basant sur le droit la vie, la libert et la
scurit de sa personne sous larticle 7 de la
Charte canadienne des droits et liberts ; le droit
lgalit sous larticle 15 de la Charte ; et
lobligation du gouvernement de fournir tous
les Canadiens, un niveau de qualit accep-
table, les services publics essentiels sous lar-
ticle 36 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982. Les
arguments lgaux disponibles suivant ces dis-
positions constitutionnelles sont tays par les
obligations du Canada en droit international
des droits de lhomme.
* Adjunct Professor, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser
University.
Citation: (2011) 57:1 McGill LJ 81 ~ Rfrence : (2011) 57 : 1 RD McGill 81
David R. Boyd 2011
82 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
Introduction
I. Mixed Progress in Providing First Nations with
Access to Potable Water
A. Pikangikum (Ontario)
B. Kitcisakik (Quebec)
C. Little Buffalo (Alberta)
D. St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake,
and Garden Hill (Manitoba)
II. The Legal Framework Governing Safe Drinking
Water in Canada
A. The Provincial and Territorial Legal Framework for
Drinking Water
B. The Federal Legal Framework for Drinking Water
III. The Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person
(Section 7 of the Charter)
A. Deprivation of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security
of the Person
B. Is the Deprivation in Accordance with the Principles
of Fundamental Justice?
C. Justification Under Section 1 of the Charter
IV. The Right to Equality (Section 15 of the Charter)
A. Is the Distinction or Differential Treatment Based on
an Enumerated or Analogous Ground?
B. Is the Distinction or Differential Treatment
Discriminatory?
C. Justification Under Section 1 of the Charter
V. The Federal and Provincial Governments Obligation
to Provide Essential Public Services of Reasonable
Quality to all Canadians (Section 36 of the Constitution
Act, 1982)
VI.
International Law and the Human Right to Safe
Drinking Water
VII. Constitutional Remedies
Conclusion
83
87
90
92
93
94
96
97
97
100
104
107
110
110
111
115
117
118
122
129
132
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 83
Water is the essence of life and human dignity.
World Health Organization1
Access to safe water is a fundamental human
need and, therefore, a basic human right.
Kofi Annan, Former United Nations
Secretary-General2
Putting the point bluntly, except for the very
poorest nations in the world and for those
constrained by military occupation, any gov-
ernment that does not provide the 25 to 50 li-
tres of water per person-day commonly
deemed necessary for a minimal quality of life
is incompetent or corrupt.3
Introduction
Is there a constitutional right to safe drinking water in Canada? To
the vast majority of Canadians, this may seem a moot question, since 100
percent of urban residents and 99 percent of rural residents have access to
improved drinking water and sanitation as of 2008.4 Although this big pic-
ture is generally bright, pockets of darkness remain. As the preceding sta-
tistics indicate, there are still rural communities, comprising roughly 1
percent of Canadas population, where comprehensive access to running
water, safe drinking water, and indoor toilets is an aspiration rather than
reality. These rural communities are predominantly, if not exclusively, re-
serves inhabited by First Nations.5 Reserves are much more likely to ex-
perience high-risk drinking water systems and long-term boil water advi-
sories.6 The disparity between water quality on and off reserve in Canada
has been criticized by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social
1 Gro Harlem Brundtland & Sergio Vieira de Mello, Foreword in The Right to Water
(Geneva: World Health Organization, 2003), online: World Health Organization at 3
2 Ibid at 6, citing Kofi Annan.
3 David B Brooks, Human Rights to Water in North Africa and the Middle East: What is
New and What is Not; What is Important and What is Not (2007) 23:2 International
Journal of Water Resources Development 227 at 231 ×..
4 WHO/UNICEF, Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water: 2010 Update (Geneva:
World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2010), online: UNICEF
5 The word reserve in this article refers to both official and non-official First Nations
communities (in relation to designation under the Indian Act, RSC 1985, c I-5).
6 Andrea Harden and Holly Levalliant, Boiling Point! Six Community Profiles of the Wa-
ter Crisis Facing First Nations Within Canada (May 2008), online: Polaris Institute
84 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
and Cultural Rights,7 the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples,8 and
the Auditor General of Canada.9
The situation has improved considerably over the past twenty years,
but major disparities persist. As of 2010, forty-nine First Nations commu-
nities have high-risk drinking water systems and more than one hundred
face ongoing water advisories10 (out of roughly 615 First Nations commu-
nities in Canada11). Many of these deplorable situations have prevailed for
years and, in some cases, for over a decade.12 The federal government es-
timates that there are approximately five thousand homes in First Na-
tions communities that lack basic water and sewage services.13 Compared
to other Canadians, First Nations homes are ninety times more likely to
be without running water.14 Examples of First Nations communities
where, as of 2010, the majority of residents still lack running water, ac-
cess to safe drinking water, and indoor toilets include Pikangikum in On-
7 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Consideration of Reports Submit-
ted Under Articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant: Concluding Observations of the Commit-
tee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Canada, UNESCOR, 36th Sess, UN Doc
E/C.12/CAN/CO/4 and UN Doc E/C.12/CAN/CO/5 (2006) 1 at 3-4.
8 National Commission Inquiry on Indian Health & NIB Health Development Program,
National Indian Brotherhood National Indian Health Policy: A Compilation of Health
Policy Papers in Public Policy and Aboriginal Peoples, 1965-1992: Summaries of Re-
ports by Federal Bodies and Aboriginal Organizations (1994), vol 2 (Ottawa: Supply and
Services Canada, 1994) 226 at 227.
9 Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Report of the Auditor General of Canada, ch 23
(Ottawa: OAG, November 1995) 23-10; House of Commons, Office of the Auditor Gen-
eral of Canada, Chapter 5: Drinking Water in First Nations Communities in Report of
the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to the House of
Commons (29 September 2005) at 1 [Drinking Water in First Nations Communities].
10 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan:
Progress Report April 2009March 2010 (April 2010), online: Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern Development Canada at 11
2010 Progress Report]. As of 30 June 2011, there were 118 First Nations communities
with ongoing drinking water advisories (Health Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Abo-
riginal Health: Drinking Water and Wastewater, online: Health Canada
11 Statistics Canada, Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Mtis and First Na-
tions, 2006 Census (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2008) at 38 [Aboriginal Peoples in
Canada in 2006].
12 Harden and Levalliant, supra note 6 at 7.
13 Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:
Addendum to the Fourth Periodic Reports Submitted by State Parties, Canada,
UNESCOR, 19th Sess, UN Doc E/C.12/4/Add.15 (2004) at 84 [Implementation of
ICESCR].
14 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division of Social Policy and Develop-
ment, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, The State of the
Worlds Indigenous Peoples (New York: United Nations, 2009) at 25.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 85
tario; Kitcisakik in Quebec; St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker
Lake, and Garden Hill in Manitoba; and Little Buffalo in Alberta.15 The
lack of access to safe drinking water has adverse physical and psychologi-
cal effects. The federal government admits that [t]he incidence of water-
borne diseases is several times higher in First Nations communities, than
in the general population, in part because of the inadequate or non-
existent water treatment systems.16
The Canadian Government does not recognize the right to water, ei-
ther internationally or domestically.17 When the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly approved a resolution recognizing water as a human
right in 2010,18 124 countries supported the resolution while none were
opposed.19 Canada was among forty-two countries that abstained from
voting,20 and it has a history of blocking international efforts to recognize
the right to water.21 The Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 (Constitution)22
does not explicitly acknowledge a right to water. There is no federal legis-
lation explicitly recognizing the right to water in Canada.23 To date, no
Canadian court has acknowledged the right.24 In the only reported deci-
sion addressing the subject, involving a case where British Columbia resi-
dents unsuccessfully sought to stop logging activities in their watershed,
15 Helen Fallding, High and Dry: First Nations an Hour from Winnipeg Face Third
World Conditions, Winnipeg Free Press (30 October 2010) online: Winnipeg Free Press
Deal, Alberta Views 10:2 (March 2007) 39 at 39.
16 Implementation of ICESCR, supra note 13 at 84.
17 Lynda Collins, Environmental Rights on the Wrong Side of History: Revisiting Cana-
das Position on the Human Right to Water (2010) 19:3 RECIEL 351 at 363.
18 The Human Right to Water and Sanitation, GA Res 64/292, UNGAOR, 64th Sess, Supp
No 49 (vol III), UN Doc A/RES/64/292 (2010) 45.
19 UNGAOR, 64th Sess, 108th Plen Mtg, UN Doc A/64/PV.108 (2010) at 9.
20 Ibid.
21 See Collins, supra note 17.
22 Constitution Act, 1982, s 36, being Schedule B to the Canada Act (UK), 1982, c 11 [Con-
stitution].
23 See Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Government of Canadas Response to En-
vironmental Petition 163 Filed by Mr David R Boyd Under the Auditor General Act
(Received February 16, 2006): Right of Canadians to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a
Healthy Environment, (2 June 2006), online: Office of the Auditor General of Canada
24 David R Boyd, Unnatural Law: Rethinking Canadian Environmental Law and Policy
(Vancouver: UBC Press, 2003) at 25 [Boyd, Unnatural Law].
86 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
the judge held that [t]here is not before me an established case for the
concept of a right to clean water.25
However, recent developments indicate growing support for legal
recognition of the right to water in Canada. Quebec recently became the
first province to formally recognize water as a human right in legislation:
Under the conditions and within the limits defined by the law, it is the
right of every natural person to have access to water that is safe for drink-
ing, cooking and personal hygiene.26 In 2007, the Legislative Assembly of
the Northwest Territories passed a resolution recognizing that all peo-
ples have a fundamental human right to water that must be recognized
nationally and internationally, including the development of appropriate
institutional mechanisms to ensure that these rights are implemented.27
The Land Claims Agreement of the Labrador Inuit recognizes the right
for the Inuit to enjoy [w]ater that is on, in, under, flowing through or ad-
jacent to Labrador Inuit Lands.28
Water is regarded as sacred by many First Nations cultures.29 As a
leading First Nations scholar wrote, water misuse and pollution across
Canada causes multiple disruptions of indigenous peoples cultures, tra-
ditions, and economies.30 The Assembly of First Nations considers access
to safe drinking water to be a basic human right.31
In the absence of explicit legal recognition of the right to water, the
few Canadians who lack access to this essential public service are placed
25 Red Mountain Residents and Property Owners Assn v British Columbia (Ministry of
Forests), 2000 BCSC 250 at para 24, 35 CELR (NS) 127.
26 An Act to Affirm the Collective Nature of Water Resources and Provide for Increased Wa-
ter Resource Protection, RSQ 2009 (1st Sess), c 21, s 2.
27 Northwest Territories, Legislative Assembly, Motion 20-15(5): Right to Water in Han-
sard, 15th Assembly, 5th Sess, Day 34 (5 March 2007) at 1168-69 (Hon Paul Delorey).
28 Land Claims Agreement Between the Inuit of Labrador and Her Majesty the Queen in
Right of Newfoundland and Labrador and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, s
5(3)(2) (given effect by Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act, RSC 2005, c 27).
29 See Chiefs of Ontario, Water Declaration of the First Nations in Ontario (Resolution
08/87 passed at the 2008 Special Chiefs Assembly in Toronto, October 2008), online:
Chiefs of Ontario
Wasekimew/Clear Water: The Meaning of Water, from the Words of the Elders: The In-
terconnections of Health, Education, Law and the Environment (PhD, Simon Fraser
University, 2008), online: Simon Fraser University Institutional Repository
30 Ardith Walkem, The Land is Dry: Indigenous Peoples, Water, and Environmental Jus-
tice in Karen Bakker, ed, Eau Canada: The Future of Canadas Water (Vancouver:
UBC Press, 2007) 303 at 313.
31 Assembly of First Nations, Support for Empty Glass of Water Campaign, Annual
General Assembly, Resolution No 19/2009 (21-23 July 2009).
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 87
in the untenable position of being mere supplicants, dependent on the
will of federal and/or provincial governments to make safe drinking water
a priority. The purpose of this article is to explore the proposition that all
Canadians possess a constitutional right to water, a legally enforceable
right that the federal and provincial governments are violating for some
First Nations people living on reserves. The constitutional right to water
derives from three provisions: the right to life, liberty and security of the
person under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(Charter);32 the right to equality under section 15 of the Charter;33 and the
federal and provincial governments commitment to providing essential
public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians under section 36 of
the Constitution.34 The constitutional right to water is buttressed by Can-
adas obligations under international human rights law.
Excluded from the scope of this article are questions regarding Aborig-
inal title, Aboriginal rights, the federal governments fiduciary duty to
Aboriginal peoples, and treaty rights related to the use, management, and
governance of water. While important, these questions have been ad-
dressed comprehensively by other experts.35
I. Mixed Progress in Providing First Nations with Access to Potable
Water
The disparity between reserves and other Canadian communities in
terms of access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities
has long been recognized. In 1977, a federal policy report proposed an ex-
panded infrastructure program for reserves with the goal of providing Ab-
original homes and communities with facilities and services that both met
health and safety standards and were comparable to neighbouring non-
32 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 7, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, be-
ing Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 [Charter].
33 Ibid, s 15.
34 Constitution, supra note 22, s 36.
35 See e.g. Monique M Passelac-Ross and Christina M Smith, Defining Aboriginal Rights
to Water in Alberta: Do They Still Exist? How Extensive are They? (Calgary: Canadian
Institute of Resources Law, 2010), online: Canadian Institute of Resources Law
Water Rights (Surrey, British Columbia: Rocky Mountain Books, 2009); Walkem, supra
note 30; Richard H Bartlett, Aboriginal Water Rights in Canada: A Study of Aboriginal
Title to Water and Indian Water Rights (Calgary: Canadian Institute of Resource Law,
1986).
88 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
Aboriginal homes and communities.36 In 1991, Indian and Northern Af-
fairs Canada (INAC) committed to achieving equality amongst Canadians
with respect to access to safe water by 2001.37 In 1995, INAC reported
that serious problems with drinking water quality existed on one in four
reserves, and committed to remedying all deficient water systems by
2004.38 Between 1995 and 2003, the federal government spent $1.9 bil-
lion to improve water and wastewater infrastructure for First Nations.39 A
national assessment of drinking water systems in First Nations communi-
ties published in 2003 revealed that 218 out of 740 systems were consid-
ered high-risk.40 In 2003, the federal government pledged to address all
of the high-risk systems by the end of March 2008, and budgeted $600
million for its First Nations Water Management Strategy.41 In 2006, the
government of Canada announced a plan of action for drinking water in
First Nations communities to ensure that all First Nation reserves had
access to safe drinking water.42 From the 2006 budget, the federal gov-
ernment allocated $60 million over two years to help reach the objectives
of the 2006 plan of action.43 In 2008, the government of Canada an-
nounced a $330 million, two-year investment in a new plan, the First Na-
tions Water and Wastewater Action Plan (FNWWAP).44 An additional in-
vestment of $330 million for 2010-2012 is budgeted for FNWWAPs con-
tinued implementation.45 Canadas 2009 Economic Action Plan further
36 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Report of the Expert Panel on Safe Drinking Wa-
ter for First Nations, vol 1 (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Canada, 2006) at 22 [Report of the Expert Panel, vol 1].
37 Constance MacIntosh, Testing the Waters: Jurisdictional and Policy Aspects of the
Continuing Failure to Remedy Drinking Water Quality on First Nations Reserves
(2007-2008) 39:1 Ottawa L Rev 63 at 67.
38 Ibid.
39 Drinking Water in First Nations Communities, supra note 9 at 1.
40 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, National Assessment of Water and Wastewater
Systems in First Nations Communities: Summary Report (May 2003), online: Aboriginal
Affairs and Northern Development Canada at 10
41 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Plan of Action for Drinking Water in First Na-
tions Communities: Progress Report (7 December 2006), online: Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern Development Canada at 2
Progress Report].
42 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, News Release, 2-02757, Government Announces
Immediate Action on First Nations Drinking Water (21 March 2006) online: Aboriginal
Affairs and Northern Development Canada
43 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Plan of Action for Drinking Water in First Na-
tions Communities: Progress Report (17 January 2008), online: Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern Development Canada at 2
44 Action Plan: 2009-2010 Progress Report, supra note 10 at 2.
45 Ibid.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 89
pledged $183 million for building or upgrading eighteen water and
wastewater infrastructure projects on reserves.46 The federal government
recently published a comprehensive assessment of drinking water and
sewage infrastructure serving 571 First Nations, concluding that 39 per-
cent of water systems continue to pose a high risk.47
These actions and investments have resulted in tangible improve-
ments in access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities: 18 of
21 communities identified as high priority in 2006 have been removed
from the list due to improvements in infrastructure, training, and moni-
toring, and the number of high-risk drinking water systems has fallen
from 193 in 2006, to 49 in 2010.48 Furthermore, the proportion of certified
water system operators has increased from 8 percent in 2003,49 to 60 per-
cent in 2010 (although still far short of reaching the goal of 100 percent).50
Despite these positive steps, three outstanding problems remain.
First, the Expert Panel on Safe Drinking Water for First Nations (Expert
Panel) concluded in 2006 that the federal government has never provided
enough funding to First Nations to ensure that the quantity and quality of
their water systems was comparable to that of off-reserve communities.51
Inadequate funding continues to be a major obstacle to ensuring universal
access to safe drinking water.52 Second, there is still no regulatory frame-
work in place to ensure the safety of drinking water for First Nations
communities. As the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable
Development reported in 2005, [w]hen it comes to the safety of drinking
water, residents of First Nations communities do not benefit from a level
of protection comparable to that of people who live off reserves. This is
partly because there are no laws and regulations governing the provision
of drinking water in First Nations communities, unlike other communi-
ties.53 Bill S-11, the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, was intro-
duced in the Senate in 2010, but it died on the order paper as a result of
46 Ibid.
47 National Assessment of First Nations Water and Wastewater Systems: National Roll-Up
Report (Orangeville, Ont: Neegan Burnside for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
and Northern Development, 2011).
48 Action Plan: 2009-2010 Progress Report, supra note 10 at 4-5.
49 Plan of Action: 2006 Progress Report, supra note 41 at 4.
50 Action Plan: 2009-2010 Progress Report, supra note 10 at 9.
51 Report of the Expert Panel, vol 1, supra note 36 at 22.
52 See Randy Christensen, Nancy Goucher & Merrell-Ann Phare, Seeking Water Justice:
Strengthening Legal Protection for Canadas Drinking Water (Ecojustice, May 2010),
online: Ecojustice at 10-13
53 Drinking Water in First Nations Communities, supra note 9 at 1.
90 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
the federal election in 2011, and has not been re-introduced.54 Third, in
2006 the Expert Panel identified a number of high-risk communities, but
observed that these communities were excluded from the Department of
Indian Affairs and Northern Developments assessment because they had
no water system at all, or because an existing water treatment plant pro-
duced potable water, even if such plants were not connected to the majori-
ty of homes on a given reserve.55 For example, the Expert Panel specifical-
ly highlighted Pikangikum and Kitcisakik as urgent situations that
should be dealt with as soon as possible, yet INAC never added
Pikangikum to its high priority list.56 Nor did INAC include St. Theresa
Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, Garden Hill, or Little Buffalo on
its high priority list, despite the fact that a majority of residents in each of
these communities lack access to running water, safe drinking water, and
indoor toilets. The severity of the problems facing these seven First Na-
tions communities is outlined in more detail below, to provide a substan-
tive factual context for the subsequent exploration of the constitutional
law issues.
A. Pikangikum (Ontario)
In Pikangikum, an Aboriginal community of 2,300 people in north-
western Ontario, 95 percent of homes lack running water and indoor
plumbing.57 Only 20 of the 387 houses on the reserve are hooked up to the
water treatment plant that was built by the Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development in 1995. Many residents collect water from
the nearby lake in buckets for drinking. A sewage lagoon serving the
RCMP station, the store, and the school is located upstream from the in-
take for the water treatment plant, leading to contamination of the water
supply. Pikangikum became notorious in 2000 when media reports de-
scribed it as having the highest suicide rate in the world with people
killing themselves at thirty-six times the Canadian average.58
54 Bill S-11, An Act Respecting the Safety of Drinking Water on First Nations Land, 3d
Sess, 40th Parl, 2010 (second reading 14 December 2010) [Bill S-11].
55 Senate, Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, Safe Drinking Water for
First Nations: Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples
(May 2007) at 4 (Chair: Hon Gerry St Germain) [Safe Drinking Water].
56 Report of the Expert Panel, vol 1, supra note 36 at 51-52.
57 Northwestern Health Unit, Inspection Report on the Pikangikum Water and Sewage
Systems (Kenora: Northwestern Health Unit, 2006), online: The Water Chronicles at 4,
10
58 Louise Elliott, Ontario Native Suicide Rate One of the Highest in the World, Expert
Says, Canadian Press, (27 November 2000) (Canadian Newsstand).
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 91
At the request of the community in 2006, the Ontario governments
Northwestern Health Unit sent a team of professionals to Pikangikum to
assess the drinking water and sewage disposal systems and to evaluate
potential water-related health problems. The team included two public
health inspectors, a medical doctor, and an epidemiologist. Their report
concluded:
The most basic of twentieth century (ie last century) health-
supporting water/sewage infrastructures are not available to
Pikangikum First Nation residents. This includes (but is not limited
to) housing, air/water/soil contamination control and regulation,
drinking/water provision and sewage disposal.59
Regarding adverse health effects, the report recorded:
[T]he prevalence of gastrointestinal infections, skin infections, lice
infestations, urinary tract infections and eye/ear infections were in-
creased in this community compared to other regional First Nation
communities and non-Aboriginal communities, and that it was prob-
able that some of the increased prevalence could be attributed to the
lack of an adequate and safe water supply system.60
Doctor Pete Sarsfield, the medical officer of health, commented: [w]e
were startled, upset. It was awful. This was a level of neglect that almost
appeared purposeful.61 Sarsfield added that despite extensive experience
with First Nation communities, he had never seen living like this in
Canadainfrastructure so bad people are constantly putting themselves
at risk of serious illness.62 The Expert Panel summarized the testimony
of Bill Limerick, Director of Environmental Health and Director of Health
Protection at Ontarios Northwestern Health Unit:
[E]veryone has basically a five-gallon bucket to take their water
from nearby Pikangikum Lake. In the summer, raw sewage from
the community can flow directly into the lake from overburdened
septic systems. One sample of this water was overgrown with coli-
form bacteria and E. coli. It was … deplorable.
In the winter, Limerick estimated, roughly about half the resi-
dents take their water from a hole in the ice of the lake, just off-
shore of the community, in an area contaminated by animal wastes
and fuel from snowmobiles.
Almost all of the community relies on outhouses that are in poor
repair and grossly inadequate. Limerick described an open sewage
59 Inspection Report, supra note 57 at 14.
60 Ibid at 9.
61 Water Woes a Harsh Reality for Pikangikum, Kenora Daily Miner & News (26 Octo-
ber 2006) online: Miner & News
62 Ibid.
92 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
system at one facility covered with an old table, with children play-
ing nearby as sewage overflowed from the tank.63
When, in 2000, then Minister of Indian Affairs Robert Nault visited
Pikangikum, it was estimated that that the communitys water woes
would be fixed in six to eight weeks.64 In 2006, the federal government of-
fered the community 200 new outhouses, an offer that was summarily re-
jected by community leaders as inadequate.65 In 2007, Indian Affairs Min-
ister Jim Prentice announced $9.7 million for new water and sewer ser-
vicing that [would] bring clean, safe drinking water right to [the] homes
of Pikangikum.66 However, as of 2010, the problems persist.67 Among the
excuses used by the federal government to explain the delays are: the
need for further study; frequent changes in band leadership; inadequate
supply of electricity to pump the water to homes; and a cultural custom of
burying family members in backyards, making the placement of pipes dif-
ficult.68 Pikangikum sued former Minister of Indian Affairs Robert Nault
for damages, arguing that water and sewer infrastructure projects previ-
ously approved by the government were unlawfully frozen years ago.69
The Ontario Superior Court rejected the claim, finding that both parties
contributed to the unfortunate state of affairs.70
B. Kitcisakik (Quebec)
Kitcisakik is an Algonquin village with roughly 300 residents located
in the northern part of the La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve in Quebec.71
The Anicinapek Kitcisakik have never left their ancestral land, yet their
63 Report of the Expert Panel, vol 1, supra note 36 at 52.
64 Elliott, supra note 58.
65 Bill Curry & Karen Howlett, Burial Grounds on Reserve Blamed for Lack of Water,
The Globe and Mail (8 November 2006) online: The Globe and Mail
66 Jim Prentice, Speaking Points for the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Af-
fairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Mtis and Non-Status
Indians (Speech delivered at the Pikangikum Infrastructure Funding Announcement,
Pikangikum First Nation, 10 April 2007), online: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern De-
velopment Canada
67 Fallding, High and Dry, supra note 15.
68 See Karen Howlett, Remote Ojibwa Reserve Lies in Desperate Limbo, The Globe and
Mail (6 November 2006) online: The Globe and Mail
69 James Thom, Decision in Nault, Pikangikum Case Could Take Months, Wawatay
News (24 June 2010) online: Wawatay News
70 Pikangikum First Nation v Nault, 2010 ONSC 5122, 2010 CarswellOnt 9912 (WL Can).
71 Statistics Canada, Population and Dwelling Counts in Census 2006 Community Pro-
files: Kitcisakik, online: Statistics Canada
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 93
community has no recognized legal status.72 Approximately one hundred
houses in the village lack running water, indoor toilets, and electricity.73
According to Statistics Canada, 87.5 percent of dwellings in the communi-
ty need major repairs, compared to the provincial average of 7.7 percent.74
Because Kitcisakik is not formally designated an Indian reserve, it does
not qualify for automatic federal funding. In December 2009, the Quebec
government announced funding of $1.4 million to begin addressing some
of the communitys severe infrastructure and housing problems.75 Com-
munity leaders would like to build a new village, in a different location,
that includes all of the basic and essential services missing from
Kitcisakik.76 The situation in Kitcisakik is so deplorable that Emergency
Architects of Canada, a humanitarian organization that has projects in
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Darfur, intervened in this community.77
C. Little Buffalo (Alberta)
Little Buffalo is a Lubicon Cree First Nation community of approxi-
mately 225 people, located in a region heavily impacted by Albertas oil
and gas industry.78 There is no running water at Little Buffalo, local wa-
ter sources are contaminated and unsafe to drink, houses lack indoor
plumbing, and residents are forced to drive an hour each way to and from
Peace River to buy bottled water.79 Passed over in the westward sweep of
treaty-making pursued by the British Crown, the Lubicon Cree have long
sought a negotiated settlement of their land rights. In 1984, following un-
successful negotiations and court actions, the Lubicon filed a complaint
with the UN. In 1990, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Can-
ada was violating the basic human rights of the Lubicon First Nation.80
72 See Conseil des Anicinapek de Kitcisakik, online:
73 Rheal Seguin, Quebec, Ottawa Join Effort to Lift Village out of Third World Condi-
tions, The Globe and Mail (15 December 2009) online: The Globe and Mail
74 Statistics Canada, Occupied Private Dwelling Characteristics in Census 2006 Com-
munity Profiles: Kitcisakik, online: Statistics Canada
75 Seguin, supra note 73.
76 Ibid.
77 Kevin Dougherty, For First Project, Aid Group Looks to Quebecs North, The [Montre-
al] Gazette (18 October 2009) online: The Gazette
78 County Statistics: Little Buffalo, online: Northern Sunrise County
79 Steele, supra note 15 at 39.
80 Historical Inequities, to Which the State Party Refers, and Certain more Recent De-
velopments Threaten the Way of Life and Culture of the Lubicon Lake Band, and Con-
94 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
Twenty years later, despite repeated criticism from the UN, the problems
have not been addressed. In a 2006 submission to the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Lubicon First Nation wrote:
In the midst of multi-billion dollar resource exploitation of natural
resources from our unceded traditional Territory, the Lubicon people
face severe economic deprivation and live in third world housing
conditions with as many as three or four generations living in a
small 900 square foot bungalow with no running water or indoor toi-
let facilities.81
D. St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, and Garden Hill
(Manitoba)
Four Manitoba First Nations communitiesSt. Theresa Point,
Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, and Garden Hillhave a combined popu-
lation of approximately ten thousand people,82 yet lack basic water and
sanitation services. For example, a community profile of the Garden Hill
First Nation states: [t]he community obtains water directly from Island
Lake which is chlorinated by a small treatment plant and distributed via
a standpipe system. There is one house on a well; eight houses have cis-
terns; 267 houses have water barrels; and 236 houses have no service.83
When Garden Hill residents faced an outbreak of tuberculosis in 2006,
doctors told them to cough into, and then wash, their hands. According to
Garden Hill First Nation Chief David Harper, [w]e had to tell them that
in this community there is no such thing as turning on a tap and having
easy access to safe water. Things other Canadians take for granted is not
the reality in our community.84 A University of Manitoba study found
that residents of Garden Hill who did not have running water drank lake
water, and that those who did not have access to an outhouse were more
stitute a Violation of Article 27 so long as they Continue (Views of the Human Rights
Committee Under Article 5, Paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UNHRCOR, 38th Sess, Annex, Communication
No 167/1984, UN Doc CCPR/C/38/D/167/1984 (1990) at para 33).
81 Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, Submission to the 36th Session of the United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the Occasion of the Review of
Canadas 4th and 5th Periodic Reports, (Geneva: 1 May 2006), online: Office of the Unit-
ed Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at 2
82 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Registered Indian Population by Sex and Resi-
dence 2010 (Ottawa: Minister of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Devel-
opment, 2011) at 28-32.
83 Garden Hill First Nation, First Nation No 297, in 2004-2005 First Nation Community
Profiles: Manitoba Region, online: Manitoba Conservation at 51
84 Assembly of First Nations, Press Release, National Chief Denounces Government In-
action in Addressing the TB Outbreak in Garden Hill First Nations (27 April 2006)
online: AFN
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 95
likely to suffer from diarrhea.85 According to former Manitoba Premier
Gary Doer, the federal government has been promising to upgrade the
water system at Garden Hill since at least 1999.86
At the Red Sucker Lake First Nation, newer houses enjoy running wa-
ter, indoor plumbing, and electric heat while [a]ll other houses have no
running water and indoor plumbing, including the Red Sucker Lake Band
Office and [m]ost residents utilize pit privies.87 For the Wasagamack
and St. Theresa Point First Nations, [w]ater delivery services are provid-
ed to the few houses equipped with indoor plumbing.88 Studies indicate
that Wasagamack residents suffer from disproportionate exposure to Hel-
icobacter pylori bacteria, which cause ulcers, chronic gastritis, and in-
creased risk of stomach cancer.89 Contaminated water and inadequate wa-
ter and sanitation services are known risk factors for Helicobacter pylori.
Even in winter, when the temperatures drop below minus forty de-
grees Celsius, individuals in these four Manitoba First Nation communi-
ties are forced to use outhouses or latrine pails that must be emptied out-
side. A 2009 newspaper articleparaphrasing Doctor Arlene King, Ontar-
io’s chief medical officer of healthnoted that lack of running water, lack
of extensive medical facilities and overcrowding … faced by aboriginal res-
idents in northern and isolated communities make them more susceptible
to the H1N1 virus.90 In response to the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, Red
Sucker Lake Chief Larry Knott said he was worried that his community
wouldn’t be able to heed much of the preventative advice from public
health practitioners … [because] many residents don’t have running water
and must get fresh water in a pail from the lake.91 Studies published in
85 Helen Fallding, Disease Factory: Consequences of Living Without Tap Water and
Flush Toilets, Winnipeg Free Press (3 November 2010) online: Winnipeg Free Press
86 Province of Manitoba, News Release, Manitoba to Join Other Premiers at National
Summit on Aboriginal Health (24 November 2006) online: Province of Manitoba
87 Red Sucker Lake First Nation, online: Community Futures: Kitayan
88 Wasagamack First Nation, online: Community Futures: Kitayan
Kitayan
89 Samir K Sinha et al, The Incidence of Helicobacter pylori Acquisition in Children of a
Canadian First Nations Community and the Potential for Parent-to-Child Transmis-
sion (2004) 9:1 Helicobacter 59.
90 Aldo Santin, Officials Bolster H1N1 Strategy for First Nations, Winnipeg Free Press (8
August 2009) online: Winnipeg Free Press
91 Jen Skerritt, Swine Flu Surge Hits Reserve, Winnipeg Free Press (4 June 2009)
online: Winnipeg Free Press
96 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
the Canadian Medical Association Journal92 and the Journal of the Amer-
ican Medical Association demonstrated that Aboriginal people in Manito-
ba suffered a disproportionate share of cases of H1N1 influenza during
the 2009 outbreak.93 Although Aboriginal people make up approximately
15 percent of Manitobas population,94 37 percent of the patients who suf-
fered critical illness as a result of H1N1 infection were Aboriginal, and 60
percent of the people who had to be admitted to intensive care units were
Aboriginal.95 The St. Theresa First Nation was particularly hard hit, with
many individuals from this community having to undergo transportation
to hospitals in Winnipeg.96
An earlier study, published in 1997, found that shigellosisan acute
intestinal infection that kills thousands of children in developing coun-
tries each yearwas three to six times more common on Manitoba re-
serves without running water than on reserves with piped water.97 The
study found that lack of access to an adequate volume of clean water like-
ly resulted in less frequent handwashing, and suggested that disposal of
sewage from indoor pails likely raised the risk of diarrheal diseases.98
II. The Legal Framework Governing Safe Drinking Water in Canada
Canada is covered by a complicated patchwork quilt of federal and
provincial laws and regulations that govern safe drinking water.99 Unlike
the United States, there are no uniform national standards for drinking
water in Canada.100 Instead, the federal government establishes national
guidelines, which are adopted to widely varying degrees by provincial and
territorial governments.
92 Ryan Zarychanski et al, Correlates of Severe Disease in Patients with 2009 Pandemic
Influenza (H1N1) Virus Infection (2010) 182:3 Can Med Assoc J 257.
93 Anand Kumar et al, Critically Ill Patients with 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) Infection in
Canada (2009) 302:17 JAMA 1872 at 1874.
94 Philippe Jouvet et al, Critical Illness in Children with Influenza A/pH1N1 2009 Infec-
tion in Canada (2010) 11:5 Pediatric Critical Care Medicine 603 at 607.
95 Zarychanski et al, supra note 92 at 259.
96 Joanne Embree, Pandemic 2009 (A)H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) The Manitoba Ex-
perience (2010) 88 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 589 at 591.
97 Ted Rosenberg et al, Shigellosis on Indian Reserves in Manitoba, Canada: Its Rela-
tionship to Crowded Housing, Lack of Running Water, and Inadequate Sewage Dispos-
al (1997) 87:9 American Journal of Public Health 1547 at 1548-49.
98 Ibid at 1550.
99 Boyd, Unnatural Law, supra note 24 at 13-65.
100 David R Boyd, The Water We Drink: An International Comparison of Drinking Water
Quality Standards and Guidelines (Vancouver: David Suzuki Foundation, 2006) at 7.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 97
A. The Provincial and Territorial Legal Framework for Drinking Water
Every province and territory has passed laws and/or regulations that
establish drinking water quality standards, as well as requirements for
monitoring, testing, operator training and certification, and public report-
ing.101 In the wake of the Walkerton water disaster in 2000, almost every
province and territory has strengthened its regulatory framework for
drinking water.102 In general, laws intended to secure safe drinking water
apply to all water systems, except very small systems serving only a few
buildings or residents. The other exception is that provincial laws govern-
ing drinking water do not apply to reserves, because of the federal gov-
ernments constitutional responsibility for Indians, and lands reserved
for Indians.103
B. The Federal Legal Framework for Drinking Water
At the federal level, a variety of legal provisions ensure access to safe
water within the limits of federal jurisdiction. The Canada Labour Code
and associated regulations mandate the provision of potable water at all
facilities where there are federal employees.104 The Potable Water Regula-
tions for Common Carriers (under the Department of National Health and
Welfare Act) require the provision of potable water on aircraft, trains, and
ships travelling internationally, interprovincially, in coastal waters, or on
the Great Lakes.105
101 Potable Water Regulation, Alta Reg 277/2003; Drinking Water Protection Act, SBC 2001,
c 9 (5th Sess); The Drinking Water Safety Act, SM 2002, c 36; Potable Water Regulation,
NB Reg 1993-203; Water Resources Act, SNL 2002, c W-4.01; Waste and Wastewater Fa-
cilities and Public Drinking Water Supplies Regulations, NLR 186/2005; Safe Drinking
Water Act, SO 2002, c 32 (3d Sess); Drinking Water and Wastewater Facility Operating
Regulations, PEI Reg EC2004-710; Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water,
OC 647-2001, 30 May 2001, (2001) GOQ II, 2641; The Water Regulations, 2002, RRS, c
E-10.21, Reg 1, OC 856/2002; Drinking Water Regulation, YOIC 2007/139; Water Sup-
ply Systems Regulations, NWT Reg 108/09; Public Water Supply Regulations, RRNWT
1990, c P-23.
102 Nunavut appears to be the sole exception, with drinking water regulations dating to
1990 that have not been amended.
103 Constitution, supra note 22, s 91(24). See also MacIntosh, supra note 37 at 80.
104 Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2, s 125(1)(j). See also Canada Occupational Safe-
ty and Health Regulations, SOR/86-304, s 9(24); Aviation Occupational Safety and
Health Regulations, SOR/87-182, s 4(9); Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Reg-
ulations, SOR/2010-120, ss 73-78; Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regula-
tions, SOR/87-612, s 10(19).
105 Potable Water Regulations for Common Carriers, CRC, c 1105.
98 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
A number of federal laws relate to water and First Nations, including
the Canada Water Act,106 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999,107
Department of Health Act,108 Department of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development Act,109 Fisheries Act,110 First Nations Land Management
Act,111 and the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development
Act.112 However, none of these laws provide a regulatory framework for
the provision of safe drinking water on reserves.113 The sole federal legis-
lation relevant to drinking water on reserves is the Indian Act provision
authorizing band councils to make bylaws governing the construction
and regulation of the use of public wells, cisterns, reservoirs and other
water supplies.114 The Expert Panel determined that no bylaws have ever
been passed pursuant to this enabling provision.115 The Indian Act does
not authorize the protection of source water, which the Walkerton Inquiry
highlighted as a critical component of a comprehensive drinking water re-
gime.116 As Professor MacIntosh concludes, this Indian Act provision is
an inadequate basis for a regulatory framework to ensure the safety of
drinking water.117
The bottom line is that there are no federal or provincial laws or regu-
lations to ensure safe drinking water for First Nations individuals living
on reserves. Ironically, because of the Canada Labour Code, Health Can-
ada has installed small water treatment systems at nursing clinics and
health facilities on dozens of reserves with drinking water quality prob-
lems to ensure that employees have access to safe drinking water.118 The
Canadian Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Develop-
ment observed that because the Canada Labour Code applies only to
106 Canada Water Act, RSC 1985, c C-11.
107 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, RSC 1999, c 33.
108 Department of Health Act, RSC 1996, c 8.
109 Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act, RSC 1985, c I-6.
110 Fisheries Act, RSC 1985, c F-14.
111 First Nations Land Management Act, RSC 1999, c 24.
112 First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act, RSC 2005, c 53.
113 See Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Report of the Expert Panel on Safe Drinking
Water for First Nations, vol 2 (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Ser-
vices Canada, 2006) at 3 [Report of the Expert Panel, vol 2].
114 Indian Act, supra note 5, s 81(l).
115 Report of the Expert Panel, vol 2, supra note 113 at 25.
116 Ontario, Walkerton Commission of Inquiry, Report of the Walkerton Inquiry: A Strategy
for Safe Drinking Water, Part Two (Toronto: Queens Printer for Ontario, 2002) at 73
[Walkerton Inquiry].
117 MacIntosh, supra note 37 at 69.
118 Drinking Water in First Nations Communities, supra note 9 at 10.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 99
employees and provincial legislation and regulations are not applied on
reserves, residents of First Nations communities do not benefit from the
regulatory protection for drinking water available in provinces and to fed-
eral employees.119 As Professor MacIntosh concludes, all populations
under federal jurisdiction have their drinking water protected by law, ex-
cept for on-reserve First Nations people.120 This is part of a larger pattern
of regulatory abandonment of reserve lands and waters that also in-
cludes an absence of regulation for wastewater treatment, garbage dis-
posal, hazardous waste, air pollution, and other environmental con-
cerns.121
INAC has attempted to fill the regulatory gap with guidelines and
funding arrangements, but this approach fails to incorporate important
elements found in provincial regulatory regimes, including: approval and
licensing of water treatment plants, ongoing monitoring, public reporting
requirements, and compliance and enforcement mechanisms.122
In 2002, in his report on the Walkerton water disaster, Justice
OConnor wrote: I encourage First Nations and the federal government to
formally adopt drinking water standards, applicable to reserves, that are
as stringent as, or more stringent than, the standards adopted by the pro-
vincial government.123 In 2005, the federal Commissioner of the Envi-
ronment and Sustainable Development recommended the development of
a regulatory regime for drinking water in First Nations communities that
would protect the health and safety of First Nations people.124 In 2006,
the Expert Panel identified a number of legislative options and deter-
mined that the creation of a single federal regime of drinking water
standards for First Nations communities offered the most advantages and
the fewest drawbacks. The federal government pledged that it would
choose a regulatory option and propose an appropriate regulatory frame-
work that will ensure safe drinking water in First Nations communities in
the Spring 2007.125 In 2010, the government introduced Bill S-11 into the
Senate.126 Contrary to the recommendations of the Expert Panel and the
119 Ibid.
120 MacIntosh, supra note 37 at 93.
121 Ibid at 68.
122 Drinking Water in First Nations Communities, supra note 9 at 10-11.
123 Walkerton Inquiry, supra note 116 at 32.
124 Drinking Water in First Nations Communities, supra note 9 at 12.
125 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Plan of Action for Drinking Water in First Na-
tions Communities: Progress Report (22 March 2007), online: Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern Development Canada at 10
126 Bill S-11, supra note 54.
100 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
Assembly of First Nations, Bill S-11 proposed a regime based on the high-
ly variable provincial drinking water laws.127 The Expert Panel had iden-
tified this as the weakest option for three reasons: gaps and variations in
those [provincial] regimes could lead to uneven results, with some com-
munities benefiting from more comprehensive provincial regimes; First
Nations have low records of accepting provincial regulation; and because
involving another level of government in water management would add
complexity.128 Bill S-11 also contained provisions that: suggested constitu-
tionally protected Aboriginal rights could be violated;129 indicated that the
regulations would prevail over land claims agreements, self-government
agreements, and First Nations laws and bylaws in the event of a con-
flict;130 and limited the governments liability for acts and omissions and
precluded civil lawsuits.131
legislation was negative.132
Perhaps not surprisingly, the reaction of First Nations to the proposed
III. The Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person (Section 7 of the
Charter)
Modern sanitation services (potable drinking
water and safe wastewater disposal) are a
cornerstone of public health progress and
have contributed to decreased infectious dis-
ease morbidity and mortality.133
The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly stated that the inter-
pretation of the Charter should be a generous rather than a legalistic
one, aimed at fulfilling the purpose of the guarantee and securing for in-
127 Ibid.
128 Report of the Expert Panel, vol 1, supra note 36 at 59.
129 Supra note 54, s 4(1)(r).
130 Ibid, s 6.
131 Ibid, ss 10-12.
132 Assembly of First Nations, Press Release, AFN National Chief Calls for Real Action on
Safe Drinking Water for First Nations: Need Action to Address the Capacity Gap as
well as the Regulatory Gap (27 May 2010) online: AFN
133 Thomas W Hennessy et al, The Relationship Between In-Home Water Service and the
Risk of Respiratory Tract, Skin, and Gastrointestinal Tract Infections Among Rural
Alaska Natives (2008) 98:11 American Journal of Public Health 2072 at 2072.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 101
dividuals the full benefit of the Charter’s protection.134 Section 7 of the
Charter states:
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and
the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the
principles of fundamental justice.135
The appropriate scope of section 7 is one of the most contested issues
in Canadian constitutional law.136 Many different types of claims have
been launched based on the right to life, liberty and security of the person,
reflecting concerns about cruise missile testing in Canada, 137 the location
of a landfill,138 the inadequacy of provincial welfare programs,139 and the
legality of a Quebec law prohibiting private health insurance.140 Although
not all of these particular claims succeeded, most of the successful chal-
lenges launched under section 7 have been related to government actions
that deprive an individual of his or her right to life, liberty and security of
the person in the context of the administration of justice, particularly the
criminal justice system. Subsequent cases, including Chaoulli v. Quebec
(Attorney General),141 have confirmed that section 7 applies in a broader
range of circumstances.
According to the Supreme Court of Canada, the claimant asserting a
violation of section 7 must prove two main elements: 1) that a deprivation
of the right to life, liberty and security of the person has occurred; and 2)
that the deprivation was not in accordance with the principles of funda-
mental justice.142 In Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration,
Justice Wilson emphasized that the deprivation can relate to any or all
of the three interests identified in section 7life, liberty, and security of
the personand that it is incumbent upon the Court to give meaning to
134 R v Big M Drug Mart Ltd, [1985] 1 SCR 295 at 344, 18 DLR (4th) 321 [Big M Drug
Mart]. See also Dunmore v Ontario (AG), 2001 SCC 94, [2001] 3 SCR 1016 [Dunmore].
135 Supra note 32.
136 See generally Margot Young, Section 7 and the Politics of Social Justice (2005) 38:2
UBC L Rev 539.
137 Operation Dismantle Inc v Canada, [1985] 1 SCR 441, 18 DLR (4th) 481.
138 Manicom v County of Oxford (1985), 52 OR 2d 137, 21 DLR (4th) 611.
139 Gosselin v Quebec (Attorney General), 2002 SCC 84 at para 205, [2002] 4 SCR 429
[Gosselin].
140 Chaoulli v Quebec (Attorney General), 2005 SCC 35, [2005] 1 SCR 791 [Chaoulli].
141 Ibid.
142 Gosselin, supra note 139 at para 205. Steps originally delineated by Justice La Forest in
R v Beare; R v Higgins, [1988] 2 SCR 387 at 401, 55 DLR (4th) 481.
102 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
each of the elements.143 The right to life has been described as the right,
freedom or ability to maintain ones existence.144 Liberty under section 7
encompasses only those matters that can properly be characterized as
fundamentally or inherently personal such that, by their very nature,
they implicate basic choices going to the core of what it means to enjoy in-
dividual dignity and independence.145 Rodriguez v. British Columbia (At-
torney General) sets out the parameters of the right to security of the per-
son, including its physical and psychological components, as encom-
pass[ing] a notion of personal autonomy involving, at the very least, con-
trol over ones bodily integrity free from state interference and freedom
from state-imposed psychological and emotional stress as well as the
right to make choices concerning ones own body, control over ones physi-
cal and psychological integrity, and basic human dignity.146
A highly contentious issue is whether section 7 is, or ought to be, the
basis for a positive state obligation to guarantee adequate living stand-
ards.147 Efforts to broaden the application of section 7 to incorporate social
and economic rights, as in the Gosselin case about reduced welfare pay-
ments for young people in Quebec, have generally not succeeded, although
the Supreme Court has deliberately left the door open. Chief Justice
McLachlin, on behalf of the majority in Gosselin, wrote:
Nothing in the jurisprudence thus far suggests that s. 7 places a pos-
itive obligation on the state to ensure that each person enjoys life,
liberty or security of the person. Rather, s. 7 has been interpreted as
restricting the state’s ability to deprive people of these. Such a depri-
vation does not exist in the case at bar.
One day s. 7 may be interpreted to include positive obligations. …
It would be a mistake to regard s. 7 as frozen, or its content as hav-
ing been exhaustively defined in previous cases. …
The question therefore is not whether s. 7 has ever beenor will
ever berecognized as creating positive rights. Rather, the question
143 Singh v Minister of Employment and Immigration, [1985] 1 SCR 177 at 204-205, 17
DLR (4th) 422. See also Reference Re BC Motor Vehicle Act, [1985] 2 SCR 486, 24 DLR
(4th) 536 [Re BC Motor Vehicle Act cited to SCR].
144 Deborah Curran et al, Environmental Law: In the Public Interest (Vancouver, Continu-
ing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, 2008) at 6.2.11. See also Canada v
Schmidt, [1987] 1 SCR 500, 39 DLR (4th) 18 [Schmidt cited to SCR]; Kindler v Canada
(Minister of Justice), [1991] 2 SCR 779, 84 DLR (4th) 438 [Kindler]; Reference Re Ng Ex-
tradition (Canada), [1991] 2 SCR 858, 84 DLR (4th) 498 [Re Ng Extradition]; United
States v Burns, 2001 SCC 7, [2001] 1 SCR 283 [Burns].
145 Godbout v Longueuil (City), [1997] 3 SCR 844 at 893, 152 DLR (4th) 577.
146 Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney General), [1993] 3 SCR 519 at 587-88, 107 DLR
(4th) 342 [Rodriguez].
147 Young, supra note 136 at 540.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 103
is whether the present circumstances warrant a novel application of
s. 7 as the basis for a positive state obligation to guarantee adequate
living standards.
I conclude that they do not. … I leave open the possibility that a
positive obligation to sustain life, liberty, or security of the person
may be made out in special circumstances. However, this is not such
a case.148
Justices Arbour and LHeureux-Dub, dissenting in Gosselin, argued that
section 7 establishes a positive obligation on the state to provide for eve-
ryones basic needs.149 In Schachter, the Supreme Court clearly stated
that sections 7 and 15 of the Charter include both negative and positive
rights.150 Given its preeminence within the overall scheme of the Charter,
the need to safeguard a degree of flexibility in the interpretation and evo-
lution of s. 7 is, as Justice LeBel suggests in Blencoe v. British Columbia
(Human Rights Commission), crucial.151 So too, as Justice LHeureux-Dub
asserts in New Brunswick (Minister of Health and Community Services) v.
G.(J.), is the need to interpret section 7 through an equality rights lens in
order to recognize the importance of ensuring that our interpretation of
the Constitution responds to the realities and needs of all members of soci-
ety.152 The majority and concurring opinions in Chaoulli v. Quebec (At-
torney General) may have marked a new era in judicial interpretation of
the Canadian and Quebec charters, indicating more responsiveness to the
needs of Canadians.153 Some commentators have argued that the Supreme
Court decision in Chaoulli, striking down Quebecs prohibition of private
health insurance, created a de facto obligation upon the state to provide
timely health care.154 The 2009 British Columbia Court of Appeal decision
dealing with homelessness, Victoria (City) v. Adams, is also instructive.155
The Court of Appeal agreed with the trial judge that a municipal bylaw
prohibiting homeless people from establishing temporary structures in
parks and other public spaces violated section 7 of the Charter. The Court
148 Gosselin, supra note 139 at paras 81-82 [emphasis in original].
149 Ibid at paras 357-58.
150 Schachter v Canada, [1992] 2 SCR 679 at 721, 93 DLR (4th) 1 [Schachter].
151 Blencoe v British Columbia (Human Rights Commission), 2000 SCC 44 at para 188,
[2000] 2 SCR 307 [Blencoe].
152 New Brunswick (Minister of Health and Community Services) v G (J), [1999] 3 SCR 46
at 101, 177 DLR (4th) 124 [G(J)]. See also R v Mills, [1999] 3 SCR 668 at 689, 180 DLR
(4th) 1.
153 Chaoulli, supra note 140.
154 Stanley Hartt, What the Chaoulli Decision Said About Health Care Rhetoric vs.
Health Care Reality, Policy Options (February 2006) 44 at 46, online: IRPP
155 Victoria (City) v Adams, 2009 BCCA 563, 313 DLR (4th) 29 [Adams].
104 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
held that its decision did not impose positive obligations on the city to
provide adequate shelter or take other specified actions to address home-
lessness, although it acknowledged that, from a practical point of view,
the city would have to undertake some kind of responsive action to com-
ply with the requirements of the Charter, which can involve some expend-
itures of public funds or legislative action, or both.156
A. Deprivation of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person
According to the Supreme Court of Canada, the right to security of the
person is violated when state action or inaction results in serious physical
and/or psychological harm.157 As Chief Justice Lamer stated in G. (J.):
It is clear that the right to security of the person does not protect the
individual from the ordinary stresses and anxieties that a person of
reasonable sensibility would suffer as a result of government action.
If the right were interpreted with such broad sweep, countless gov-
ernment initiatives could be challenged on the ground that they in-
fringe the right to security of the person, massively expanding the
scope of judicial review, and, in the process, trivializing what it
means for a right to be constitutionally protected.158
Psychological harm must be greater than ordinary stress or anxiety,
but does not have to rise to the level of psychiatric illness. Examples of
situations where the right to life, liberty and security of the person will be
violated include: extradition to another country to face the death penalty;
extradition to another country to face torture; and delays in the provision
of medical treatment. In Chaoulli, the Court stated that delays in obtain-
ing medical treatment which affect patients physically and psychologically
trigger the protection of s. 7.159
Does the federal governments failure to provide adequate funding for
basic drinking water and sanitation infrastructure at Pikangikum,
Kitcisakik, Little Buffalo, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker
Lake, Garden Hill, and other reserves deprive First Nations persons in
those communities of their right to life, liberty and security of the person?
The answer is clearly in the affirmative. It is widely recognizedby
health experts, the UN, the World Health Organization, and even the
government of Canadathat a minimum supply of potable water is a pre-
156 Ibid at para 96.
157 Blencoe, supra note 151.
158 G(J), supra note 152 at 77. Affirmed in Blencoe, supra note 151 at para 81.
159 Chaoulli, supra note 140 at para 118.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 105
requisite for life, adequate human health, and well-being.160 The federal
government seems to acknowledge that [c]lean, safe water is a basic re-
quirement for life which must be accessible by all peoples of Canada.161
There is compelling evidence showing that: First Nations individuals
face elevated levels of waterborne disease compared to other Canadians;162
First Nations individuals living on reserves without running water expe-
rienced a higher incidence of H1N1 than the general Canadian popula-
tion, as well as a higher incidence of illness and death;163 First Nations
children suffered from a disproportionately high rate of H1N1 influenza,
due largely to the outbreak on the Manitoba reserves highlighted in this
article (St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, and Garden
Hill);164 and some First Nations communities that lack access to safe
drinking water have disproportionately high suicide rates, indicating high
levels of psychological distress.165
Other studies indicate that residents of reserves where the majority of
homes lack tap water or toilets face elevated risks of: whooping cough
(pertussis); infection with a dangerous superbug known as MRSA, or
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; shigellosis, a deadly illness
that affects children; diarrhea; and impetigo, a bacterial skin infection
that can lead to kidney problems.166 A key element of prevention in each of
these cases is proper hygiene, including frequent handwashing, which is
dependent on the availability of sufficient quantities of water of adequate
quality. A study of rural Native villages in Alaska found that residents of
160 See generally Peter H Gleick, Basic Water Requirements for Human Activities: Meet-
ing Basic Needs (1996) 21 Water International 83; Guy Howard and Jamie Bartram,
Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health (Geneva: World Health Organiza-
tion, 2003); WHO and UNICEF, Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment: 2000
Report (Geneva: World Health Organization and United Nations Childrens Fund,
2000); Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Scope
and Content of the Relevant Human Rights Obligations Related to Equitable Access to
Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation Under International Human Rights Instruments,
UNGAOR, 6th Sess, UN Doc A/HRC/6/3, (2007) 1 [Access to Safe Drinking Water and
Sanitation].
161 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, News Release, 2-02757, Government Announces
Immediate Action on First Nations Drinking Water Frequently Asked Questions (21
March 2006) online: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
162 Implementation of ICESCR, supra note 13 at 84.
163 Alexia Campbell et al, Risk of Severe Outcomes Among Patients Admitted to Hospital
with Pandemic (H1N1) Influenza (2010) 182:4 Can Med Assoc J 349 at 354.
164 Jouvet et al, supra note 94 at 605, 607.
165 Elliott, supra note 58.
166 Fallding, Disease Factory, supra note 85.
106 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
homes without piped water and wastewater services faced significantly
higher risks of pneumonia, influenza, and skin infections.167 The same
study found that infants in villages lacking basic water services were five
times more likely to be hospitalized for lower respiratory tract infections
and respiratory syncytial virus, and eleven times more likely to be hospi-
talized for pneumonia compared to the overall United States popula-
tion.168 The authors concluded that this disparity ought to be remedied by
improving sanitation infrastructure.169
In circumstances analogous to the situation in Chaoulli,170 First Na-
tions persons living on reserves without access to adequate water and
sanitation services face elevated risks of serious health problems and may
in some cases face an increased risk of death. There is a direct connection
between the federal governments failure to provide adequate funding for
basic water infrastructure in these communities and deprivation of the
right to life, liberty and security of the person. There is an indirect con-
nection between the federal governments failure to ensure legal protec-
tion for the drinking water of these communities, as it has done for other
persons under federal jurisdiction (for example, federal employees, travel-
lers on planes, trains, and ships, and military personnel), and the depri-
vation of the right to life, liberty and security of the person. This is analo-
gous to the Supreme Courts finding that Albertas human rights legisla-
tion was under inclusive in Vriend v. Alberta.171
An argument can also be made that the liberty interests of First Na-
tions individuals who live on reserves without access to basic water or
sanitation services may be compromised. The Supreme Court has made it
clear that for First Nations people, the choice of whether to live on or off
reserve is fundamental to their identity.172 The federal governments fail-
ure to provide access to water and sanitation may effectively compel First
Nations persons to leave their reserves and to protect their health by
moving to communities where these services are available.
In Chaoulli, Chief Justice McLachlin wrote that by failing to provide
public health care of a reasonable standard within a reasonable time, the
government creates circumstances that trigger the application of s. 7 of
167 Hennessy et al, supra note 133.
168 Ibid at 2076.
169 Ibid at 2078.
170 Supra note 140. See also R v Morgentaler, [1988] 1 SCR 30, 44 DLR (4th) 385 [Mor-
gentaler cited to SCR].
171 [1998] 1 SCR 493, 156 DLR (4th) 385 [Vriend cited to SCR].
172 Corbiere v Canada (Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs), [1999] 2 SCR 203, 173
DLR (4th) 1 [Corbiere cited to SCR].
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 107
the Charter.173 Similarly, by failing to provide drinking water and sanita-
tion infrastructure of a reasonable standard within a reasonable time
the government creates circumstances that trigger the application of sec-
tion 7.
B. Is the Deprivation in Accordance with the Principles of Fundamental
Justice?
The second part of the section 7 analysis involves determining wheth-
er the deprivation of the right to life, liberty and security of the person is
consistent with the principles of fundamental justice. There is ambiguity
about the meaning of the phrase principles of fundamental justice. Ac-
cording to the Supreme Court, to constitute a principle of fundamental
justice for the purposes of section 7, a rule or principle must: i) be a legal
principle about which there is significant societal consensus that it is fun-
damental to the way in which the legal system ought fairly to operate;
and ii) be identified with sufficient precision to yield a manageable
standard against which to measure deprivations of life, liberty or security
of the person.174
At least three of the principles of fundamental justice that have been
accepted by the Supreme Court of Canada appear to be violated by the
federal governments ongoing failure to provide First Nations persons liv-
ing on reserves with safe drinking water. First, according to Justice Wil-
son in Morgentaler, a deprivation of the s. 7 right which has the effect of
infringing a right guaranteed elsewhere in the Charter cannot be in ac-
cordance with the principles fundamental justice.175 The next section of
this article provides compelling evidence that the same government fail-
ure to provide safe drinking water that violates section 7 also violates the
Charters section 15 equality guarantee by discriminating against First
Nations.
Second, if the deprivation of the right to life, liberty and security of the
person would shock the conscience of Canadians, then it violates the
principles of fundamental justice. Typically, shock the conscience has
involved government decisions to extradite or deport someone who faces
the death penalty, torture, or another form of punishment that would be
unlawful in Canada. The main shock the conscience cases are Schmidt
(1987), Kindler (1991), Re Ng Extradition (1991), Burns (2001), and
173 Supra note 140 at para 105.
174 R v Malmo-Levine; R v Caine, 2003 SCC 74 at para 113, [2003] 3 SCR 571 [Malmo-
Levine]. See also Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v Canada (At-
torney General), 2004 SCC 4 at para 8, [2004] 1 SCR 76.
175 Morgentaler, supra note 170 at 175. See also Re BC Motor Vehicle Act, supra note 143.
108 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
Suresh v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) (2002).176
Schmidt held that the principles of fundamental justice are invoked by ac-
tion that shocks the conscience.177 In Suresh, the Supreme Court articu-
lated the test for determining what shocks the conscience, which asks
whether the conduct [is] fundamentally unacceptable to our notions of
fair practice and justice.178 The failure to ensure that all First Nations
communities have running water, access to safe drinking water, and in-
door plumbing is surely sufficient to shock the conscience of Canadians.179
Third, a law, policy, or program that is arbitrary also violates the
principles of fundamental justice. A law, policy, or program is arbitrary
where it bears no relation to, or is inconsistent with, the objective that
lies behind [it].180 In Chaoulli, the Court explained that:
To determine whether this is the case, it is necessary to consider the
state interest and societal concerns that the provision is meant to re-
flect.
In order not to be arbitrary, the limit on life, liberty and security
requires not only a theoretical connection between the limit and the
legislative goal, but a real connection on the facts. The onus of show-
ing lack of connection in this sense rests with the claimant. The
question in every case is whether the measure is arbitrary in the
sense of bearing no real relation to the goal and hence being mani-
festly unfair. The more serious the impingement on the persons lib-
erty and security, the more clear must be the connection. Where the
individuals very life may be at stake, the reasonable person would
expect a clear connection, in theory and in fact, between the measure
that puts life at risk and the legislative goals.181
In identifying priority communities under the First Nations Water
and Wastewater Action Plan, the federal government evaluated five as-
pects of a communitys water treatment system: source water quality, de-
sign of the system, operation and maintenance of the system, operator
176 Schmidt, supra note 144; Kindler, supra note 144; Re Ng Extradition, supra note 144;
Burns, supra note 144; Suresh v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration),
2002 SCC 1, [2002] 1 SCR 3 [Suresh].
177 Schmidt, supra note 144 at 522.
178 Supra note 176 at para 49. See also David W Elliott, Suresh and the Common Borders
of Administrative Law: Time for the Tailor? (2002) 65:2 Sask L Rev 469 at 499.
179 See generally Andrew Gage, Public Health Hazards and Section 7 of the Charter
(2004) 13 J Envtl L & Prac 1.
180 Rodriguez, supra note 146 at 619-20. See also Malmo-Levine, supra note 174 at para
136; Chaoulli, supra note 140 at paras 130-31.
181 Supra note 140 at paras 130-31 ×..
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 109
training and certification, and reporting and record keeping.182 This un-
justifiably narrow approach led to the exclusion of Pikangikum,
Kitcisakik, Little Buffalo, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker
Lake, and Garden Hill from the list of priority First Nations. This exclu-
sion occurred despite previous government commitments to these com-
munities, media coverage of the acute problems facing these communities,
and even the identification of some of these communities by the govern-
ments own Expert Panel as requiring urgent intervention. As the Stand-
ing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples reported in 2007, the Ex-
pert Panel told the Committee that they had identified communities that
were clearly at higher risk, but that these communities failed to appear as
high risk on the Departments risk assessment because they did not have
any water systems at all.183
It is likely that a strategy to provide safe drinking water and sanita-
tion that fails to prioritize the communities where these basic services are
most urgently required is arbitrary. The seven First Nations communities
highlighted in this article are suffering extensive adverse health effects as
a direct consequence of the lack of access to a sufficient quantity of ade-
quate quality water. The INAC criteria for ranking priority communities
are arbitrary because they ignore whether a treatment plant exists and, if
one does exist, whether it is actually serving members of a community. As
the Supreme Court held in Chaoulli (endorsing the ruling of Justice Beetz
in Morgentaler) rules that endanger health arbitrarily do not comply
with the principles of fundamental justice.184
A fourth legal principle that may be relevant in this discussion is re-
spect for minorities. As the Supreme Court noted in Reference Re Seces-
sion of Quebec, there are four fundamental and organizing principles of
the Constitution which are relevant to addressing the question before us
(although this enumeration is by no means exhaustive): federalism; de-
mocracy; constitutionalism and the rule of law; and respect for minori-
ties.185 The Court further emphasized that the protection of minority
rights is itself an independent principle underlying our constitutional or-
der.186 Given that First Nations persons clearly belong to a minority in
182 Debates of the Senate, 39th Parl, 1st Sess, No 15 (25 April 2007) at 15-49 (Hon Gerry St
Germain).
183 Safe Drinking Water, supra note 55 at 4 [emphasis in original].
184 Supra note 140 at para 133.
185 Reference Re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 SCR 217 at 240, 161 DLR (4th) 385 [Re Se-
cession of Quebec].
186 Ibid at 261-62.
110 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
the Canadian context,187 the failure to provide adequate funding for drink-
ing water and sanitation infrastructure on reserves and the failure to leg-
islate protection for safe drinking water could be construed as contrary to
the principle of respecting and protecting minority rights.
C. Justification Under Section 1 of the Charter
Once a claimant has established a violation of one or more Charter
rights, the onus shifts to the party seeking to justify the infringement un-
der section 1 of the Charter.188
The Supreme Court has stated that section 7 violations can rarely be
justified by section 1 of the Charter.189 In Re B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, Jus-
tice Lamer observed that [s]ection 1 may, for reasons of administrative
expediency, successfully come to the rescue of an otherwise violation of s.
7, but only in cases arising out of exceptional conditions, such as natural
disasters, the outbreak of war, epidemics, and the like.190 Thus, if depriv-
ing residents of First Nations reserves of access to safe water violates
their right to life, liberty and security of the person, it is unlikely that the
government will be able to justify its actions under section 1 of the Char-
ter.
IV. The Right to Equality (Section 15 of the Charter)
Section 15(1) of the Charter states:
Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right
to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrim-
ination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, na-
tional or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical
disability.191
It is a general principle of Charter interpretation that section 15(1) is to
be generously and purposively interpreted.192 Courts have been clear in
explaining that section 15 applies to more than just statutes. As the Su-
preme Court ruled in Lovelace v. Ontario, government programs and ac-
187 Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006, supra note 11 at 6.
188 R v Oakes, [1986] 1 SCR 103, 26 DLR (4th) 200 [Oakes cited to SCR].
189 R v DB, 2008 SCC 25 at para 89, [2008] 2 SCR 3.
190 Re BC Motor Vehicle Act, supra note 143 at 518.
191 Supra note 32.
192 See e.g. Hunter v Southam Inc, [1984] 2 SCR 145 at 156, 11 DLR (4th) 641; Big M Drug
Mart, supra note 134 at 336, 344; Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia, [1989] 1
SCR 143 at 175, 56 DLR (4th) 1 [Andrews].
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 111
tivities undertaken pursuant to statutory authority are also subject to
Charter scrutiny.193
The purpose of the equality right guaranteed under the Charter has
been described by the Supreme Court of Canada in different ways. In R. v.
Turpin, the Court defined the overall purpose of section 15 to be the rem-
edying or preventing of discrimination against groups suffering social, po-
litical, and legal disadvantage in Canadian society.194 In Eldridge v. Brit-
ish Columbia (Attorney General), the Court held that section 15(1) has two
key purposes:
First, it expresses a commitmentdeeply ingrained in our social, po-
litical and legal cultureto the equal worth and human dignity of
all persons. As McIntyre J. remarked in Andrews, at p. 171, s. 15(1)
entails the promotion of a society in which all are secure in the
knowledge that they are recognized at law as human beings equally
deserving of concern, respect and consideration. Secondly, it instan-
tiates a desire to rectify and prevent discrimination against particu-
lar groups suffering social, political and legal disadvantage in our
society.195
The legal test for establishing a violation of section 15 of the Charter has
evolved through a number of Supreme Court of Canada decisions, begin-
ning with Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia196 and arising most
recently in R. v. Kapp.197 In Kapp, the Supreme Court of Canada reiterat-
ed the test for potential section 15 violations as involving two questions:
(1) Does the law create a distinction based on an enumerated or analo-
gous ground? (2) Does the distinction create a disadvantage by perpetuat-
ing prejudice or stereotyping?198
A. Is the Distinction or Differential Treatment Based on an Enumerated or
Analogous Ground?
According to Professor Hogg, a section 15 analysis requires a compar-
ison between the legal position of the claimant and that of other people to
193 Lovelace v Ontario, 2000 SCC 37 at para 56, [2000] 1 SCR 950 [Lovelace]. See also
McKinney v University of Guelph, [1990] 3 SCR 229 at 277, 76 DLR (4th) 545.
194 R v Turpin, [1989] 1 SCR 1296, 96 NR 115.
195 Eldridge v British Columbia (Attorney General), [1997] 3 SCR 624 at 667, 151 DLR
(4th) 577 [Eldridge] [footnotes omitted]. See also Law v Canada (Minister of Employ-
ment and Immigration), [1999] 1 SCR 497, 170 DLR (4th) 1 [Law cited to SCR].
196 Supra note 192.
197 R v Kapp, 2008 SCC 41, [2008] 2 SCR 483 [Kapp].
198 Ibid at para 17.
112 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
whom the claimant may legitimately invite comparison.199 Thus, all por-
tions of the section 15 test proceed
on the basis of a comparison with another relevant group or
groups, and locating the relevant comparison groups requires an
examination of the subject-matter of the law, program or activity
and its effects, as well as a full appreciation of the context. Gen-
erally, the claimant chooses the relevant comparator, however, a
court may, within the scope of the ground or grounds pleaded, re-
fine the comparison presented by the claimant.200
Race and ethnicity are enumerated grounds under section 15. In the con-
text of access to safe drinking water, however, it is not Aboriginality per
se that is the basis of the impugned distinction. Aboriginal people living
off-reserve enjoy the same level of access to safe drinking water and sani-
tation as other Canadians, and the same legal protection provided by fed-
eral and provincial drinking water laws and regulations. It is the combi-
nation of Aboriginality with on-reserve residence that is the basis of the
distinction, or Aboriginality-residence to use the terminology of the Su-
preme Court of Canada.201 In the case of Corbiere v. Canada (Minister of
Indian and Northern Affairs), it was held that Indian Act provisions re-
quiring residence on reserve in order to vote in band council elections vio-
lated the section 15 equality rights of Aboriginal people living off-
reserve.202 Residence on an Indian reserve is an exception to the courts
position that place of residence is not an analogous ground.203 The Su-
preme Court unanimously held in Corbiere that Aboriginality-residence
is an analogous ground because the decision to live on- or off-reserve is a
personal characteristic essential to a band member’s personal identity
which can be changed only at great cost, if at all.204
Regarding access to safe drinking water, it is First Nations people liv-
ing on-reserve whose section 15 equality rights are being violated. The
Aboriginal communities of Pikangikum, Kitcisakik, Little Buffalo, St.
Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, and Garden Hill are re-
mote northern reserves. Relevant comparison groups are therefore remote
northern communities, of similar size, that are not reserves. Examples
199 Peter W Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada, 5th ed, loose-leaf (consulted on 9 August
2011), (Toronto: Carswell, 2007) vol 2 at 55.32.3.
200 Lovelace, supra note 193 at para 62 ×.. See also Law, supra note 195 at
531.
201 Corbiere, supra note 172 at 216.
202 Ibid.
203 Ibid.
204 Ibid at 220.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 113
could include Red Lake, Ontario (population 4,526);205 Aumond, Quebec
(population 775);206 Berwyn, Alberta (population 546); and Flin Flon, Man-
itoba (population 5,594).207 Residents of these remote, northern, non-
reserve communities enjoy safe drinking water from systems that are
provincially regulated. For example, there is a dramatic contrast between
access to safe water in Pikangikum and Red Lake despite comparable
population sizes and geographic proximity (roughly one hundred kilome-
tres separate the communities). Whereas the residents of the Pikangikum
First Nation predominantly lack running water and indoor plumbing,
forcing them to collect water in buckets and to rely on outhouses,208 the
residents of Red Lake enjoy safe drinking water from a certified municipal
water system and are served by a sewage treatment plant that treats
their wastewater.209 Red Lakes water treatment system must meet the
stringent requirements of Ontarios Safe Drinking Water Act, which im-
poses extensive treatment and monitoring requirements in order to en-
sure that human health is protected.210 Pikangikums water treatment
plant (which is not connected to 95 percent of the homes in the communi-
ty) is not subject to a regulatory regime.211 According to the legally re-
quired public annual report, the operator of the Red Lake water treat-
ment system carried out over 6,000 routine independent in-house water
quality tests … in 2010.212 In contrast, water quality testing at
Pikangikum was described by Ontarios Northwestern Health Unit as
sporadic, infrequent, and insufficient.213
As discussed earlier, there are no federal or provincial laws that pro-
tect the quality of drinking water on First Nations reserves. Every prov-
ince and territory in Canada has legislation intended to ensure the provi-
sion of safe drinking water. However, because the Constitution Act, 1867
205 Statistics Canada, Community Profiles: Red Lake, Ontario in 2006 Census of Popula-
tion, online: Statistics Canada
206 Statistics Canada, Community Profiles: Aumond, Quebec in 2006 Census of Popula-
tion, online: Statistics Canada
207 Statistics Canada, Community Profiles: Flin Flon, Manitoba in 2006 Census of Popu-
lation, online: Statistics Canada
208 Report of the Expert Panel, vol 1, supra note 36 at 52.
209 Municipality of Red Lake, Ontario, Red Lake Drinking Water System: Annual Report
2010 (Red Lake, Ontario: Northern Waterworks, 2010) [Red Lake Drinking Water Sys-
tem].
210 Safe Drinking Water Act, RSO 2002, c 32. See also Drinking Water Systems, O Reg
106/10.
211 Inspection Report, supra note 57 at 4.
212 Red Lake Drinking Water System, supra note 209 at 3.
213 Inspection Report, supra note 57.
114 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
assigns jurisdiction over Indians and Indian lands to the federal govern-
ment,214 these laws do not apply on First Nations reserves. The practical
consequence is that the roughly half a million Canadians who live on re-
serves are without the legal guarantees of water quality enjoyed by the
other thirty-four million Canadians. Therefore, First Nations people living
on certain reserves have a strong argument that the legal framework in-
tended to ensure safe drinking water for all Canadians has a glaring gap
or, in legal terms, is under-inclusive. It is not that safe drinking water
laws explicitly exclude Aboriginal Canadians living on reserve, but that is
the ultimate result of the otherwise comprehensive network of laws. In
Vriend, Alberta human rights legislation was held to be under-inclusive
because it did not include discrimination based on sexual orientation.215 In
Dunmore v. Ontario (AG), a case dealing with Ontario legislation exclud-
ing agricultural workers from the statutory labour relations regime, the
Supreme Court held that legislation that is underinclusive may, in
unique contexts, substantially impact the exercise of a constitutional free-
dom.216 In the context of the right to water, Canadian drinking water leg-
islation is under-inclusive in that it does not apply on reserves. Because of
the allocation of constitutional jurisdiction, responsibility for this legal la-
cuna lies with the federal government.
While some may be encouraged by the allocation of additional re-
sources and the introduction of new legislation, the crises in Pikangikum,
Kitcisakik, Little Buffalo, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker
Lake, and Garden Hill are ongoing. These crises have not been treated
with the degree of urgency recommended by the Expert Panel in 2006.
The allocation of money in a budget cannot be regarded as a substitute for
tangible remedial action in the affected reserve communities. The intro-
duction of proposed legislation that may or may not be passed by Parlia-
ment cannot be regarded as a substitute for the enactment, implementa-
tion, and enforcement of legislation. In Vriend, the Supreme Court held
that groups that have historically been the target of discrimination can-
not be expected to wait patiently for the protection of their human dignity
and equal rights while governments move toward reform one step at a
time.217
214 Constitution Act, 1867 (UK), 30 & 31 Vict, c 3, s 91(24), reprinted in RSC 1985, App II,
No 5.
215 Supra note 171.
216 Dunmore, supra note 134 at para 22 [emphasis in original]. See also Dianne Pothier,
The Sounds of Silence: Charter Application when the Legislature Declines to Speak
(1996) 7:4 Const Forum Const 113.
217 Supra note 171 at 559.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 115
B. Is the Distinction or Differential Treatment Discriminatory?
The focus of the second part of the section 15 analysis has shifted over
time, from Andrews to Law v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Im-
migration) and, more recently, Kapp. Four contextual factors were identi-
fied by the Supreme Court of Canada in Law as being relevant to the
analysis under this last branch of the section 15 test: pre-existing disad-
vantage, correspondence between the ground of distinction and the actual
needs and circumstances of the affected group, ameliorative purpose of
the impugned measure for a more disadvantaged group, and the nature of
the interests affected.218 The Supreme Court has clarified that these four
factors are non-exhaustive guiding principles rather than a mechanical
test.219
One of the elements at the heart of section 15(1) is the concept of hu-
man dignity. As the Supreme Court observed in Law, [h]uman dignity is
harmed when individuals and groups are marginalized, ignored, or deval-
ued, and is enhanced when laws recognize the full place of all individuals
and groups within Canadian society.220 The Court elaborated:
[P]robably the most compelling factor favouring a conclusion that
differential treatment imposed by legislation is truly discriminatory
will be, where it exists, pre-existing disadvantage, vulnerability, ste-
reotyping, or prejudice experienced by the individual or group. …
These factors are relevant because, to the extent that the claimant is
already subject to unfair circumstances or treatment in society by
virtue of personal characteristics or circumstances, persons like him
or her have often not been given equal concern, respect, and consid-
eration. It is logical to conclude that, in most cases, further differen-
tial treatment will contribute to the perpetuation or promotion of
their unfair social characterization, and will have a more severe im-
pact upon them, since they are already vulnerable.221
Whereas Law focused on the impairment of human dignity, Kapp em-
phasized discrimination, which it defined as the perpetuation of disad-
vantage or stereotyping.222 Under both of these related approaches, it is
clear that First Nations persons living on reserves meet the section 15
test. There can be no doubt that Aboriginal Canadians have a long and
dismal history of being discriminated against in Canada. The Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples described countless examples that
demonstrate pre-existing disadvantage, vulnerability, stereotyping, or
218 Law, supra note 195.
219 Lovelace, supra note 193 at para 54.
220 Law, supra note 195 at 530.
221 Ibid at 534-35 [emphasis added, footnotes omitted].
222 See Hogg, supra note 199 at 55.31-55.32.2.
116 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
prejudice, ranging from residential schools and denial of the right to vote,
to violations of treaty commitments and governments ongoing failure to
recognize or respect Aboriginal title and rights.223 In Corbiere, Lovelace,
and Kapp, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that First Nations
people suffer historical and ongoing disadvantages vis–vis the general
Canadian population:
The disadvantage of aboriginal people is indisputable. In Corbiere v.
Canada (Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs), [1999] 2 S.C.R.
203, the Court noted the legacy of stereotyping and prejudice
against Aboriginal peoples (para. 66). The Court has also acknowl-
edged that Aboriginal peoples experience high rates of unemploy-
ment and poverty, and face serious disadvantages in the areas of ed-
ucation, health and housing (Lovelace, at para. 69).224
The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that the essence of differ-
ential treatment cannot be fully appreciated without evaluating the eco-
nomic, constitutional and societal significance of the interest adversely af-
fected by the program in question.225 In Egan v. Canada, the Court held
that, all other factors being equal, the more severe and localized the eco-
nomic consequences on the affected group, the more likely that the dis-
tinction responsible for these consequences is discriminatory within the
meaning of s. 15 of the Charter.226 Safe drinking water must be recog-
nized as a human right not only because it is fundamental to health and
quality of life, but also because it is a critical aspect of peoples dignity.
The lack of access to safe drinking water that is being experienced by
First Nations communities has several adverse health, social, and eco-
nomic effects. Residents of these communities experience higher rates of
waterborne disease227 and increased risks of diseases such as H1N1 (the
swine flu).228 The lack of access to safe drinking water strikes a blow to
human dignity, and may contribute to the significantly higher rates of
substance abuse and suicide experienced by some of these communities.229
The adverse economic effects include both the direct costs of the foregoing
problems and the opportunity costs associated with living in conditions
that make it difficult to attract or retain skilled workers or businesses.
223 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Looking Forward, Looking Back,
vol 1 (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1996).
224 Kapp, supra note 197 at para 59.
225 Lovelace, supra note 193 at para 88. See also Law, supra note 195 at 540.
226 Egan v Canada, [1995] 2 SCR 513 at 556, 124 DLR (4th) 609 [Egan].
227 Implementation of ICESCR, supra note 13 at 84.
228 See e.g. Santin, supra note 90; Zarychanski et al, supra note 92; Kumar et al, supra
note 93.
229 Elliott, supra note 58.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 117
In human rights jurisprudence, it is a widely accepted principle that
failing to take positive actions to provide basic public services to disadvan-
taged groups can constitute discrimination.230 The Supreme Court has
consistently held that once the state does provide a benefit, it is obliged
to do so in a non-discriminatory manner.231 In Eldridge, the Supreme
Court ruled that section 15 may require governments to take special
measures to ensure that disadvantaged groups are able to benefit equally
from government services, for example by extending the scope of a benefit
to a previously excluded group.232 Eldridge was a case of discrimination in
which the adverse effects suffered by deaf persons were caused by the
governments failure to ensure that deaf persons benefited equally from
an essential service offered to everyone. By analogy, it is incumbent upon
the federal government to ensure that in the context of access to safe
drinking water, First Nations persons living on reserve (members of a
disadvantaged group) are provided with the same essential services as the
rest of the population. Although the various programs, initiatives, and in-
vestments described earlier represent useful steps in the right direction,
they are flawed in that they do not direct adequate resources to communi-
ties with the most urgent needs. Whether a failure to legislate could be
challenged under the Charter was mentioned as a possibility in Vriend.233
C. Justification Under Section 1 of the Charter
Section 1 of the Charter reads:
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the
rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable lim-
its prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and
democratic society.234
As the terms of the section make clear, no Charter protection is absolute.
In the presence of a section 15 violation, the courts therefore undertake a
separate section 1 evaluation to determine whether the infringement nev-
ertheless constitutes a reasonable limit on the right to equality. The gov-
ernment bears the burden of establishing that any Charter breach is justi-
230 Eldridge, supra note 195 at 681; Haig v Canada; Haig v Canada (Chief Electoral Of-
ficer), [1993] 2 SCR 995 at 1041, 105 DLR (4th) 577 [Haig].
231 Eldridge, supra note 195 at 678. See also Ttreault-Gadoury v Canada (Employment
and Immigration Commission), [1991] 2 SCR 22, 81 DLR (4th) 358; Haig, supra note
230 at 1041-42; Native Womens Assn of Canada v Canada, [1994] 3 SCR 627 at 655,
119 DLR (4th) 224.
232 Supra note 195 at 678.
233 Supra note 171 at 534.
234 Supra note 32.
118 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
fied.235 The governing approach to the section 1 analysis, detailed by the
Supreme Court of Canada in Oakes, involves a two step process.236 First,
the objective of the legislation or government action must be shown to be
sufficiently pressing and substantial to warrant overriding a Charter
right.237 Second, the means adopted to attain that objective must be rea-
sonable and demonstrably justified.238 In order to satisfy the second re-
quirement, three criteria must be satisfied: (1) the rights violation must
be rationally connected to the aim of the legislation; (2) the impugned
provision must minimally impair the Charter guarantee; and (3) there
must be a proportionality between the effect of the measure and its objec-
tive such that the attainment of the legislative goal is not outweighed by
the abridgement of the right.239
Justification of conduct deemed discriminatory under section 15 is
difficult, because the finding of an impairment of human dignity will in-
volve much of the same inquiry as that required by s. 1.240 Given the ex-
tensive adverse effects of the failure to provide safe drinking water to
First Nations people living on reserves (stemming from inadequate re-
sources and the lack of a regulatory framework), the government would be
hard pressed to meet the burden of justification. There is no apparent
pressing and substantial objective, nor is there minimal impairment of
the equality guarantee or proportionality between the government objec-
tive and the infringement of the right.
V. The Federal and Provincial Governments Obligation to Provide
Essential Public Services of Reasonable Quality to all Canadians
(Section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1982)
A little-known section of the Constitution commits the federal and
provincial governments to providing essential public services of reasona-
ble quality to all Canadians. Section 36, which falls under Part III:
Equalization and Regional Disparities, reads:
(1) Without altering the legislative authority of Parliament or of the
provincial legislatures, or the rights of any of them with respect to
the exercise of their legislative authority, Parliament and the legis-
latures, together with the government of Canada and the provincial
governments, are committed to
235 Oakes, supra note 188.
236 Ibid.
237 Ibid at 138-39.
238 Ibid at 139.
239 Ibid. See also Egan, supra note 226 at 605.
240 Hogg, supra note 199 at 55.19.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 119
(a) promoting equal opportunities for the well-being of Canadi-
ans;
(b) furthering economic development to reduce disparity in
opportunities; and
(c) providing essential public services of reasonable quality to all
Canadians.
(2) Parliament and the government of Canada are committed to the
principle of making equalization payments to ensure that provincial
governments have sufficient revenues to provide reasonably compa-
rable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of tax-
ation.241
There has been little judicial consideration of section 36 and only a mod-
est academic debate about the potential consequences of the provision.
The Manitoba, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia Courts of Appeal have
indicated that section 36 may be justiciable in certain circumstances.242 In
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. v. Manitoba Hydro-Electric
Board, Chief Justice Scott of the Manitoba Court of Appeal observed: I
am satisfied that in the general sense a reasonable argument might be
advanced that the section could possibly have been intended to create en-
forceable rights.243 At the British Columbia Supreme Court, Chief Justice
Brenner held that section 36 of the Constitution cannot form the basis of
a claim since it only contains a statement of commitment.244 The British
Columbia Court of Appeal disagreed, reiterating Chief Justice Scotts
comment in Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak that the section could
create enforceable rights, but deciding that the Canadian Bar Associa-
tions statement of claim failed to offer the [m]aterial facts [that] must be
pleaded to create an informed environment for consideration of that ques-
tion.245
In the Nova Scotia case, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality
(CBRM) argued that section 36 is a legally enforceable constitutional
commitment on the part of the federal and provincial governments, and
241 Constitution, supra note 22.
242 See Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc v Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board (1992),
91 DLR (4th) 554, 78 Man R (2d) 141 (CA) [Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak cited to
DLR]; Canadian Bar Assn v British Columbia (2008), 290 DLR 617, 76 BCLR (4th) 48
(CA) [Canadian Bar Assn cited to DLR]; Cape Breton (Regional Municipality) v Nova
Scotia (Attorney General) (2009), 277 NSR (2d) 350, 191 CRR (2d) 273 (CA) [Cape Bre-
ton cited to NSR].
243 Supra note 242 at 557-58.
244 Canadian Bar Assn v British Columbia (AG), 2006 BCSC 1342 at para 118, [2007] 1
WWR 331.
245 Canadian Bar Assn, supra note 242 at 637 [emphasis in original].
120 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
that it was violated by the inadequate provision of funding to Cape Bre-
ton.246 The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (NSCA) ruled that the only par-
ties capable of litigating a case based on section 36 are the provincial and
federal governments themselves, based on the dubious premise that sec-
tion 36 is akin to a contractual agreement.247
One of the key issues regarding section 36 is whether it represents
justiciable commitments or a suite of unenforceable objectives. The word
commit and its French equivalent sengager are both subject to several
definitions. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary identifies two options: hav-
ing a strong dedication to a cause or belief or obliged (to take a certain
action).248 All three courts of appeal agreed that by its plain meaning
committed could, in appropriate circumstances, connote a justiciable ob-
ligation.249 However, the NSCA held that a number of factors weighed
against finding that the CBRM could rely on section 36 as an enforceable
cause of action, including: the vague language of the three commitments
in section 36(1); the absence of the word right in the title of the section;
the lack of identified beneficiaries; and the opening phrase reiterating the
legislative authority of Parliament and the provincial legislatures.250 With
respect, none of these arguments are convincing. It is a reality of constitu-
tional drafting that provisions are vague, with details provided through
legislation, regulation, and judicial interpretation. The language of section
36 is neither more nor less vague than other provisions of the Constitu-
tion, such as the right to life, liberty and security of the person251 or ex-
isting aboriginal and treaty rights.252 It seems incorrect to suggest there
are no identified beneficiaries in light of section 36(1)(c)s reference to all
Canadians.253 It is true that the location and wording of section 36 are
distinct from the individual rights set forth in the Charter. Nevertheless,
section 36(1)(c) plainly articulates the commitment of federal and provin-
cial governments to providing essential public services of reasonable
quality to all Canadians.254
246 Cape Breton, supra note 242.
247 Ibid at 365.
248 The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2d ed, sub verbo committed.
249 Cape Breton, supra note 242 at 363. See also Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, su-
pra note 242 at 557-58; Canadian Bar Assn, supra note 242 at 637.
250 Cape Breton, supra note 242.
251 Charter, supra note 32, s 7.
252 Constitution, supra note 22, s 35.
253 Ibid, s 36(1)(c).
254 Ibid.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 121
There are several arguments in favour of finding that section 36(1)(c)
imposes a justiciable duty on governments. Canada has stated to the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that the Constitution
guarantees social and economic rights in Canada.255 Canada also stated to
the UN Human Rights Committee that the right to life in the Interna-
tional Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights may impose ob-
ligations on governments to provide minimum basic necessities for
health or social well being.256 Section 36(1)(a) and (b) of the Constitution
refers to promoting equal opportunities and furthering economic devel-
opment, both of which suggest a progressive quality of improvement over
time.257 In contrast, section 36(1)(c) refers to providing essential services,
which has a more immediate connotation and represents a more substan-
tive obligation.258 Section 36(1)(c) plainly provides an unqualified com-
mitment, not a goal or objective.
The French version of section 36 uses the verb engager, which lends
credence to the interpretation that the commitment is closer to an abso-
lute, binding duty or responsibility.259 The very fact that the commitment
is constitutionalized, rather than contained in a federal-provincial agree-
ment or memorandum of understanding, lends it further legal potency.260
If governments fail to fulfill this responsibility, section 36 appears to be as
justiciable as any other provision of the Constitution Act, 1982 as long as a
claim has a sufficient legal component.261 As Nader argues: [u]nder this
provision, it is not enough for governments to work towards providing es-
sential public services. Governments must provide them.262 Sossin finds
255 See e.g. United Nations International Human Rights Instruments, Core Document
Forming Part of the Reports of State Parties: Canada, HRI/CORE/1/Add.91 (12 January
1998) at para 127; UNESCOR, 8th Sess, 5th Mtg, UN Doc E/C.12/1993/SR.5 (1993) at
paras 3, 21; Government of Canada, Responses to the Supplementary Questions Emitted
by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(E/C.12/Q/Can/1) on Canadas Third Report on the International Covenant on Eco-
nomic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/1994/104/Add17), (November 1998) at question
16.
256 United Nations Human Rights Committee, Consideration of Reports Submitted by
States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant: Addendum: Canada, UN Doc
CCPR/C/1/Add.62 (15 September 1983) at 23.
257 Supra note 22.
258 Ibid.
259 See Aymen Nader, Providing Essential Services: Canadas Constitutional Commit-
ment Under Section 36 (1996) 19:2 Dal LJ 306 at 352.
260 Ibid at 351-55.
261 Reference Re Canada Assistance Plan (BC), [1991] 2 SCR 525 at 545, 83 DLR (4th) 297.
See also Nader, supra note 259 at 349.
262 Ibid at 357.
122 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
Naders argument, that section 36 is a justiciable provision that could be
relied upon to seek declaratory relief in the event that governments fail to
provide Canadians with essential public services, persuasive.263
Is access to safe drinking water an essential public service? Surely
the answer must be yes, by any reasonable persons standard. As men-
tioned earlier, scientists, health experts, international bodies, and gov-
ernments all describe access to safe drinking water as being essential to
life. Canadian laws include the provision of drinking water as an essential
service that must be maintained even when unions exercise their consti-
tutionally protected right to strike.264
First Nations individuals are Canadian citizens, and they are being
deprived of an essential public service of reasonable quality, a violation of
section 36 of the Constitution. The phrase of reasonable quality provides
governments with discretion in terms of the method of delivering essen-
tial services. It is comparable to the flexibility embodied in section 1 of the
Charter, in that it ensures that a claim to essential public services is not a
right to a specific form of delivery or fulfillment of those services. But it
cannot possibly be argued that requiring residents to collect water in a
bucket from a lake or a standpipe, or offering 200 outhouses to the resi-
dents of Pikangikum, is consistent with providing essential public ser-
vices of reasonable quality.265
VI. International Law and the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water
There are a number of reasons why it is important to recognize that
access to safe drinking water is a legally protected human right, rather
than a commodity or a service provided on a charitable basis.266 Recogni-
tion that access to safe drinking water is a human right will: help priori-
tize and accelerate access to safe drinking water for those who lack it, and
thereby decrease inequality; ensure that all Canadian citizens are accord-
ed essential public services of reasonable quality; empower citizens to
take part in decision making processes (a procedural aspect that is en-
263 Lorne Sossin, Boundaries of Judicial Review: The Law of Justiciability in Canada (To-
ronto: Thomson Canada, 1999) at 184-91. See also Lorne Sossin, Salvaging the Welfare
State?: The Prospects for Judicial Review of the Canada Health and Social Transfer
(1998) 21:1 Dal LJ 141 at 184.
264 The Essential Services Act (Government and Child and Family Services), SM 1996, c 23,
CCSM c E145, s 5, Schedule.
265 Constitution, supra note 22, s 36(1)(c).
266 The fact that water is a human right does not mean that it should be free, any more
than health care is free. Charging a price for water that reflects its full costs is justifia-
ble on grounds of ecology, equity, and efficiency.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 123
hanced by the substantive right); prevent discrimination or neglect of un-
derprivileged or marginalized communities; and provide a means of hold-
ing governments accountable.267 Many experts agree that legal recognition
of the human right to water is a significant step toward realization of ac-
cess to safe drinking water on the ground.268
Broadly speaking, international obligations are a relevant and per-
suasive factor in Charter interpretation.269 More specifically, it is well es-
tablished that international human rights law exerts a critical influence
on the interpretation of the scope of the rights included in the Charter.270
The Supreme Court has held that it is particularly important to view sec-
tions 7 and 15 through the lens of international human rights because
these rights embody the notion of respect of human dignity and integri-
ty.271
It is increasingly apparent that Canada has an obligation under inter-
national law to recognize the right to water, despite Canadas inconsistent
position toward recognition of this right. Canada has ratified the Conven-
tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW)272 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),273 both
267 See generally Stephen C McCaffrey and Kate J Neville, Small Capacity and Big Re-
sponsibilities: Financial and Legal Implications of a Human Right to Water for Devel-
oping Countries (2009) 21 Geo Intl Envtl L Rev 679; Erik B Bluemel, The Implica-
tions of Formulating a Human Right to Water (2004) 31 Ecology LQ 957.
268 See e.g. UN Human Development Report 2006, Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the
Global Water Crisis (New York, United Nations Development Programme, 2006) at 60;
Henri Smets, The Right to Water in National Legislations (Paris: Agence Franaise de
Dveloppement, 2006), online: World Water Council at 16
ter and Sanitation: Legal Basis, Practical Rationale and Definition (Geneva: Centre on
Housing Rights and Evictions, 2008), online: Water Supply and Sanitation Collabora-
tive Council
Itself? A Response to Stephen Tullys Critique of the General Comment on the Right to
Water (2006) 24:3 Nethl QHR 433; Amy Hardberger, Whose Job is it Anyway? Gov-
ernmental Obligations Created by the Human Right to Water (2006) 41 Tex Intl LJ
533.
269 Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta), [1987] 1 SCR 313 at 348, 38
DLR (4th) 161.
270 Baker v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 SCR 817 at 861,
174 DLR (4th) 193 ×.. See also Slaight Communications Inc v Davidson,
[1989] 1 SCR 1038, 59 DLR (4th) 416; R v Keegstra, [1990] 3 SCR 697 at 749-55, 117 NR
1.
271 R v Ewanchuk, [1999] 1 SCR 330 at 365, 169 DLR (4th) 193.
272 Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1 March
1980, 1249 UNTS 13, Can TS 1982 No 31 [CEDAW].
273 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3, Can TS 1992
No 3 [CRC].
124 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
of which recognize human rights obligations related to water. Article
14(h) of the CEDAW provides for the right [t]o enjoy adequate living con-
ditions, particularly in relation to … water supply.274 Article 24(2)(c) of
the CRC sets forth signatories obligation to combat disease and malnu-
trition by ensuring the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean
drinking-water.275 It is an established principle of international law that
all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated, and interdepend-
ent.276
The right to water is not explicitly included in the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights (UDHR)277 or in the International Covenant on Eco-
nomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).278 However, implicit rights
to water and sanitation are arguably included in section 25 of the UDHR
(the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family), and sections 11 (the right to an adequate
standard of living) and 12 (the right to health) of the ICESCR.279 The UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published General
Comment No. 15 on the right to water in 2002, providing guidelines for
the interpretation and implementation of the right.280 General Comment
No. 15 affirms that the human right to water is indispensable for leading
a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other
human rights, and states that [t]he human right to water entitles every-
one to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable wa-
ter for personal and domestic uses.281 General Comment No. 15 also iden-
tifies a suite of core obligations related to the right to water that are to be
implemented immediately:
(a) To ensure access to the minimum essential amount of water, that
is sufficient and safe for personal and domestic uses to prevent dis-
ease;
274 Supra note 272.
275 Supra note 273.
276 World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
UNGAOR, UN Doc A/CONF.157/23 (1993) at art 5.
277 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res 217(III), UNGAOR, 3d Sess, Supp No
13, UN Doc A/810, (1948) 71.
278 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 19 December 1966,
993 UNTS 3, Can TS 1976 No 46.
279 Stephen Tully, A Human Right to Access Water? A Critique of General Comment No.
15 (2005) 23:1 Nethl QHR 35 at 36-38.
280 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No 15
(2002): The Right to Water (Arts 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights), UNESCOR, 29th Sess, UN Doc E/C.12/2002/11 [General
Comment No 15].
281 Ibid at 1-2.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 125
(b) To ensure the right of access to water and water facilities and
services on a non-discriminatory basis, especially for disadvantaged
or marginalized groups;
(c) To ensure physical access to water facilities or services that pro-
vide sufficient, safe and regular water; that have a sufficient number
of water outlets to avoid prohibitive waiting times; and that are at a
reasonable distance from the household;
(d) To ensure personal security is not threatened when having to
physically access … water;
(e) To ensure equitable distribution of all available water facilities
and services;
(f) To adopt and implement a national water strategy and plan of ac-
tion addressing the whole population … ;
(g) To monitor the extent of the realization, or the non-realization, of
the right to water;
(h) To adopt relatively low-cost targeted water programmes to pro-
tect vulnerable and marginalized groups; [and]
(i) To take measures to prevent, treat and control diseases linked to
water, in particular ensuring access to adequate sanitation.282
An earlier General Comment published by the UN Committee on Eco-
nomic, Social and Cultural Rights confirmed that governments have a
core obligation to ensure the provision of, at the very least, minimum es-
sential levels of each of the rights enunciated in the International Cove-
nant.283 In 2007, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights conclud-
ed:
[I]t is now time to consider access to safe drinking water and sanita-
tion as a human right, defined as the right to equal and non-
discriminatory access to a sufficient amount of safe drinking water
for personal and domestic usesdrinking, personal sanitation,
washing of clothes, food preparation and personal and household
hygieneto sustain life and health.284
In 2010, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing the
right to water,285 with 124 nations voting in favour, none against, and 42
nations abstaining for various reasons.286 Canada was among the nations
282 Ibid at 12-13.
283 General Comment No 3: The Nature of States Parties Obligations (Art 2, Para 1 of the
Covenant), UNESCOR, 5th Sess, Annex III, UN Doc E/1991/23 and E/C.12/1990/8
(1990) 83 at 86.
284 Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, supra note 160 at 26.
285 The Human Right to Water and Sanitation, supra note 18.
286 See supra note 19.
126 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
that abstained.287 Later in 2010, the UN Human Rights Council affirmed,
in a draft resolution, that the human right to safe drinking water and
sanitation is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and
is inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, as well as the right to life and human digni-
ty.288 The resolution on the right to water has already had a demonstra-
ble effect. In January 2011, the Botswana Court of Appeal relied on the
resolution in ruling that the constitutional rights of the Bushmen of the
Kalahari were being violated by the governments refusal to allow them to
access a water source within a wildlife reserve where they resided.289
Canada has voted against or abstained from recognizing the right to
water on several occasions in recent years.290 At the UN Commission on
Human Rights meeting in 2002, Canada was the only country to vote
against a resolution recognizing the right to water and sanitation.291 Can-
ada also played a key role in blocking a motion by Germany and Spain to
officially recognize water as a human right at the UN Human Rights
Council in March 2008.292 According to experts, Canada is internationally
viewed as the primary State opposed to the right to water and sanita-
tion.293
At the national level, the right to water is also gaining progressively
broader legal recognition.294 The UN High Commissioner for Human
287 Iain Hunter, Canadas Cowardly Vote on Right to Water, The [Victoria] Times Colo-
nist (1 August 2010) online: Times Colonist
288 UNHCR, Human Rights and Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation: Draft Reso-
lution, 15th Sess, UN Doc A/HRC/15/L.14 (2010).
289 Mosetlhanyane v Attorney General (27 January 2011), Botswana Court of Appeal Civil
Appeal No CACLB-074-10, online: Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide
290 Collins, supra note 17 at 351, 363.
291 Mike Blanchfield, Our Painful Vote Against Clean Water, The Ottawa Citizen (21
September 2003) online: The Ottawa Citizen
292 See Mike De Souza, UN Meeting Rejects Recognition of Water as Basic Human Right,
The Ottawa Citizen (26 March 2008) online: The Ottawa Citizen
Devastated at Failure of Resolution to recognize Water as a Basic Human Right The
[Toronto] Star (2 April 2008) online: The Star
293 Ashfaq Khalfan and Thorsten Kiefer, Why Canada must Recognise the Human Right to
Water and Sanitation (Geneva: Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, 2008) at 3. See
also Susan Howatt, A National Disgrace: Canadas Shameful Position on the Right to
Water Needs to Change, Canadian Perspectives (spring 2007) 6, online: The Council of
Canadians
294 Malcolm Langford et al, Legal Resources for the Right to Water: International and Na-
tional Standards (Geneva: Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, 2004), online:
World Water Council
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 127
Rights observed in 2007 that an increasing number of States are recog-
nizing safe drinking water as a human right in their constitutions, as well
as national legislation, while national courts are enforcing it as a justicia-
ble right.295 Constitutional recognition of the right to water is gaining
traction around the world. The experiences of other nations illustrate two
distinct approaches to constitutional protection of the right to water: ex-
plicit incorporation of the right to water, and implicit incorporation of the
right to water into national constitutions. In South Africa, the right to wa-
ter is explicitly articulated in section 27 of the nations constitution and is
enforceable through the courts:
27(1) Everyone has the right to have access to …
(b) sufficient food and water …
(2) The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures,
within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation
of each of these rights.296
In South Africa, constitutional recognition of the right to water has been
translated into legislation, policy, and a major investment in infrastruc-
ture; this is credited with spurring the extension of potable water to ten
million South Africans in ten years.297 Nelson Mandela describes the ex-
tension of clean drinking water to millions of South Africans (predomi-
nantly black, and living in poverty) since the mid 1990s as amongst the
most important achievements of democracy in our country.298 At least
sixteen other nations have constitutional provisions specifically requiring
the protection and/or provision of clean water, and such provisions are in-
creasingly common in new constitutions, as demonstrated by Kenya and
the Dominican Republic in 2010.299 There are also ninety nations whose
295 Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, supra note 160 at 26.
296 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, No 108 of 1996, s 27 [Constitution of
South Africa].
297 Smets, supra note 268 at 92.
298 Nelson Mandela. No Water, No Future (Address delivered at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 28 August 2002), online: South
African Government Information
299 Constitucin de 2009 (Bolivia), 2008, art 16(I); Constitucin Poltica de Colombia 1991
con reformas hasta 2009, Constitutional Gazette No 116, 20 July 1991, art 366; Consti-
tution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2005, art 48; Constitucin de la Repblica
Dominicana, 2010, arts 15, 61; Constitucin Poltica de la Repblica del Ecuador, 2008,
art 12; Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1994, art 90(1);
Constitution of the Republic of Gambia, 1997, art 216(4); Constitution of Kenya, 2010,
art 43(1)(d); Constitution of the Republic of Maldives, 2008, art 23(a); Constitucin Pol-
tica de la Repblica de Panam, 1972 (with reforms of 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004), Of-
ficial Gazette No 25176, 2004, arts 110, 118; Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland
Act, 2005, arts 215-26; Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation, 1999, art 76;
128 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
constitutions now explicitly recognize the right to live in a healthy envi-
ronment.300 The right to clean water is regarded as an integral element of
this broader right.301
In nations where there is no explicit constitutional right to water
including Argentina,302 Belgium,303 Brazil,304 Costa Rica,305 Colombia,306
Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995, National Objectives XIV(b), XXI; Con-
stitucin Poltica de la Repblica Oriental del Uruguay de 1967, 1967 (with reforms of
1989, 1994, 1996, 2004), art 47; Constitucin de la Repblica Bolivariana de Venezuela,
1999, arts 127, 304; Constitution of Zambia Act, Act No 1 of 1991, Acts No 17-18 of
1996, art 112(d). See also Constitution of South Africa, supra note 296, s 27.
300 David R Boyd, The Environmental Rights Revolution: A Global Study of Constitutions,
Human Rights, and the Environment (Vancouver: University of British Columbia
Press) [forthcoming in 2011].
301 Ibid.
302 Courts have ordered governments to provide potable water, construct drinking water
treatment facilities, treat individuals harmed by contaminated drinking water, and car-
ry out environmental remediation. See e.g. Romina Picolotti, Argentine Case Study:
Using Human Rights as an Enforcement Tool to Ensure the Rights to Safe Drinking
Water (Paper delivered at the 7th International Conference on Environmental Com-
pliance and Enforcement, April 2005), online: International Network for Environmental
Compliance and Enforcement
303 Constitutional Court (Cour dArbitrage), Belgium, 1 April 1998, Justel No F-19980401-
8, Docket No 36/98, online: Service Public Fdral Justice
304 Litigation based on the constitutional right to a healthy environment has produced a
policy that all Brazilians have the right to a core minimum of environmental services
including water and sanitation. See Ingo Sarlet & Tiago Fenstersifer, Chapter 7: Bra-
zil in Louis J Kotz & Alexander R Paterson, eds, The Role of the Judiciary in Envi-
ronmental Governance (The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2009) 249 at 260-
61.
305 Constitutional Court (Sala Constitucional), Costa Rica, No 02154 from 09:49 hrs, 16
February 2007.
306 There were nearly 8,000 constitutional cases brought in Colombia between 1991 and
2008 related to the provision of potable drinking water and basic sanitation (Defensora
del Pueblo, Colombia, Diagnstico del Cumplimiento del Derecho Humano al Agua en
Colombia (Bogota: Defensora del Pueblo de Colombia, 2009), online: Defensora del
Pueblo, Colombia at 293-94
Rodrguez, (3 November 1992), Colombia T-1848, Judgment No T-578/92 (Constitution-
al Court), online: Constitutional Court of Colombia
tional Court), online: Constitutional Court of Colombia
tional Court), online: Constitutional Court of Colombia
lombia T-697667, Judgment No 410/03 (Constitutional Court), online: Constitu-
tional Court of Colombia
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 129
Indonesia,307 India,308 Israel,309 and Pakistan310courts have held that the
right to water is an implicit, essential, and enforceable constitutional
right, usually derived from the right to life. These courts have generally
based their decisions on the fact that access to safe drinking water is a
fundamental prerequisite to the enjoyment of other human rights. As ob-
served in a recent Harvard Law Review note, [a]lthough justiciability
alone is not a panacea, it is a step in the direction of ensuring access to
sufficient water.311 Given that Canadas Constitution is silent on the mat-
ter of the right to water and sanitation, but includes the right to life, the
jurisprudence from these countries is directly relevant.
VII. Constitutional Remedies
[A] right … is only as meaningful as the remedy provided for its
breach.312 There is a range of potential remedies available for a breach of
the Charter (sections 7 and 15) or the Constitution (section 36).313 For
Charter violations, section 24(1) of the Charter authorizes remedies that
are appropriate and just in the circumstances, and the Supreme Court
emphasizes that that courts must issue effective, responsive remedies
that guarantee full and meaningful protection of Charter rights and free-
doms.314 As Professor Roach observes in the context of socio-economic
rights, such as the right to water, it is a challenge to strike the right bal-
307 Munarman, (13 July 2005), Indonesia 058-059-060-063/PUU-II/2004 (Constitution-
al Court), online: Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia
308 AP Pollution Control Board v MV Nayudu, AIR 1999 SC 812 (India). See also Vrinda
Narain, Water as a Fundamental Right: A Perspective from India (2010) 34 VT L Rev
917.
309 Tomer Zarchin, Court Rules Water a Basic Human Right, Haaretz (6 June 2011)
online: Haaretz
310 The Supreme Court of Pakistan held that the right to have water free from pollution
and contamination is a right to life itself and that [t]he right to have unpolluted water
is the right of every person wherever he lives (General Secretary, West Pakistan Salt
Miners Labour Union (CBA) Khewra, Jhelum v The Director, Industries and Mineral
Development, Punjab, Lahore, 1994 SCMR 2061 at 2070 (Pakistan)).
311 What Price for the Priceless?: Implementing the Justiciability of the Right to Water,
Note, (2007) 120: 4 Harv L Rev 1067 at 1069 [What Price for the Priceless?]. See also
David Marcus, The Normative Development of Socioeconomic Rights Through Supra-
national Adjudication (2006) 42:1 Stan J Intl L 53.
312 R v 974649 Ontario Inc, 2001 SCC 81 at para 20, [2001] 3 SCR 575.
313 See generally Kent Roach, Constitutional Remedies in Canada (Aurora, ON: Thomson
Reuters Canada, 2010) [Roach, Constitutional Remedies].
314 Doucet-Boudreau v Nova Scotia (Minister of Education), 2003 SCC 62 at para 87, [2003]
3 SCR 3 [Doucet-Boudreau].
130 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
ance between individual and systemic relief, remedies that attempt to re-
pair the harms of past violations and remedies that aim to achieve com-
pliance with the constitution in the future.315
Violations of the right to life, liberty and security of the person, and of
the right to equality would most likely result in a declaration that the fed-
eral governments actions are contrary to the Charter.316 A declaration
would not generally specify positive actions to be taken by a government,
but would allow the government to exercise its discretion regarding the
means employed to comply with the law. The Supreme Court has repeat-
edly articulated its preference for declarations rather than injunctive re-
lief because there are myriad options available to the government that
may rectify the unconstitutionality of the present system.317 Declarations
are also more flexible, require less supervision, and are more deferential
to the other branches of government.318 On the other hand, declarations
may also be vague and inadequate for ensuring compliance.319
Because section 24(1) of the Charter gives the courts broad remedial
powers, more ambitious and creative remedies are also possible.320 The
Supreme Court has confirmed that courts have the authority to supervise
compliance with a mandatory remedial order (that is, a mandatory in-
junction) under section 24(1).321 For example, in Doucet-Boudreau, a judge
ordered the Nova Scotia government to build French language schools in
five districts and to develop curricula for these schools by specified dates,
in order to comply with the minority language educational rights in sec-
tion 23 of the Charter.322 The court subsequently held periodic hearings to
review the governments progress on construction and curriculum devel-
315 Kent Roach, The Challenges of Crafting Remedies for Violations of Socio-Economic
Rights in Malcolm Langford, ed, Social Rights Jurisprudence: Emerging Trends in In-
ternational and Comparative Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 46
at 58 [Roach, The Challenges of Crafting Remedies].
316 See ibid.
317 Eldridge, supra note 195 at 691. See also Mahe v Alberta, [1990] 1 SCR 342, 68 DLR
(4th) 69.
318 Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v Canada (Minister of Justice), 2000 SCC 69 at
para 258, [2000] 2 SCR 1120 [Little Sisters].
319 See e.g. Lorna McGregor, Are Declaratory Orders Appropriate for Continuing Human
Rights Violations? The Case of Khadr v Canada (2010) 10:3 HRLR 487; Roach, The
Challenges of Crafting Remedies, supra note 315; Little Sisters, supra note 318 at para
258.
320 See generally Roach, Constitutional Remedies, supra note 313.
321 Doucet-Boudreau, supra note 314.
322 Ibid.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 131
opment.323 A similar order, requiring the federal government to build ade-
quate drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure on a spe-
cific reserve by a specified date, would appear to be an equally appropri-
ate and just remedy in the context of a Charter violation related to non-
provision of safe drinking water on the specific reserve. Professors Roach
and Budlender argue that mandatory relief and supervisory jurisdiction
are more likely to be necessary in cases where governments are incompe-
tent or intransigent with respect to the implementation of rights.324 The
federal governments longstanding and ongoing failure to provide access
to safe drinking water in specific First Nations communities reflects both
governmental incompetence and intransigence. In Little Sisters Book and
Art Emporium v. Canada (Minister of Justice), Justice Iacobucci held that
declarations can be inadequate, and place an unfair burden on litigants in
cases of grave systemic problems where the government has proven it-
self unworthy of trust.325 Again, these comments are germane to the
plight of First Nations communities that lack safe drinking water, sug-
gesting that mandatory remedial orders would be the preferred remedy.
Finally, based on the recent Supreme Court decision in Vancouver
(City) v. Ward, there may also be damages owing as a result of Charter vi-
olations flowing from the federal governments long-term failure to pro-
vide adequate drinking water to certain First Nations communities.326 The
availability and appropriateness of damages will turn on the specific facts
of an individual case.
Remedies available for a violation of section 36 of the Constitution in-
clude declarations (analogous to those described above for Charter viola-
tions), as well as remedies pursuant to section 52 of the Constitution.327
The Supreme Court has held that section 52 allows courts to strike down
legislation, sever portions of legislation, or read provisions into under-
inclusive legislation.328
From a practical perspective, in order to remedy the violation of the
constitutional rights of First Nations persons living on reserves without
access to safe drinking water, the federal government needs to: immedi-
323 See Debra M McAllister, Doucet-Boudreau and the Development of Effective Section
24(1) Remedies: Confrontation or Cooperation?, Case Comment (2004-2005) 16:1 NJCL
153.
324 Kent Roach and Geoff Budlender, Mandatory Relief and Supervisory Jurisdiction:
When is it Appropriate, Just and Equitable? (2005) 122:2 SALJ 325 at 327.
325 Supra note 318 at paras 257, 265.
326 Vancouver (City) v Ward, 2010 SCC 27, [2010] 2 SCR 28.
327 Nader, supra note 259 at 351.
328 Schachter, supra note 150.
132 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
ately implement an effective and equitable interim system to provide safe
water to reserve residents; accelerate the investment of adequate re-
sources to ensure that drinking water infrastructure on reserves reaches
a reasonable quality, comparable to that available in comparable non-
reserve communities; work with First Nations to design a mutually ac-
ceptable regulatory framework governing water and wastewater on re-
serves; and take steps with First Nations and, where required, provincial
and territorial governments, to improve the protection of drinking water
sources for reserves and restore water sources that have been polluted or
otherwise degraded. Responsive and effective judicial remedies should
aim to increase the likelihood that these steps will be taken in a timely
fashion, without dictating the specific implementation details. As in the
Victoria homelessness case, achieving compliance with the Charter may
require investing public money and/or taking legislative action.329
Conclusion
All Canadians have the right to safe drinking water, an essential ser-
vice that is vital to life, health, and human dignity. It appears likely,
based on the analysis presented in this article, that the constitutional
rights of the residents of Pikangikum in Ontario, Kitcisakik in Quebec, St.
Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake and Garden Hill in Mani-
toba, and Little Buffalo in Alberta are being violated by the federal gov-
ernments failure to provide safe water. The consequences include serious
physical and psychological harm, ranging from waterborne disease to
death, and ongoing discrimination vis–vis the broader Canadian popula-
tion for whom safe and abundant drinking water is often taken for grant-
ed. This constitutes an ongoing violation of sections 7 and 15 of the Cana-
dian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, guaranteeing the right to life, liber-
ty and security of the person, and the right to equality, respectively, and
section 36(1)(c) of the Constitution Act, 1982, committing governments to
providing essential public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians.
These constitutional transgressions stem from the federal govern-
ments failure to: provide adequate resources for drinking water infra-
structure; prioritize the needs of communities in the most dire and dan-
gerous circumstances; and enact and enforce a regulatory framework to
ensure safe drinking water for First Nations communities. These failures
have persisted for decades despite a series of pledges and promises. Thir-
ty-four years have passed since the federal government committed to en-
suring that drinking water infrastructure for First Nations would meet
commonly accepted health and safety standards, and would be similar to
329 Adams, supra note 155 at para 96.
FIRST NATIONS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WATER 133
infrastructure available in comparable communities. Twenty-nine years
have passed since that commitment was entrenched in Canadas Constitu-
tion. Patience may no longer be a palatable option for the residents of
Pikangikum, Kitcisakik, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker
Lake, Garden Hill, Little Buffalo, and other reserves facing similar prob-
lems.
Turning to the courts to resolve complex issues such as the provision
of safe drinking water is not an optimal approach, but it is an approach
that appears necessary in the current circumstances. Under the current
system, the federal government evades responsibility and cannot be held
accountable, except possibly through litigation. Ensuring that the right to
safe drinking water is a justiciable issue enables individuals to seek rem-
edies and to hold their governments accountable for providing all Canadi-
ans with the essential service of access to drinking water, and for thus ful-
filling this fundamental right.330 In Chaoulli, Justice Deschamps said of
public health care waiting times: it seems that governments have lost
sight of the urgency of taking concrete action. The courts are therefore the
last line of defence for citizens.331
Canadas Constitution is often described as a living tree, which the
Supreme Court of Canada affirms must be capable of growth to meet the
future.332 Yet the Supreme Court has been heavily criticized for its timid
approach to recognizing governments positive obligations under sections
7 and 15 of the Charter with respect to fulfilling social and economic
rights.333 In the words of Justice Arbour:
Whichever avenue Canada takes to ensure full protection of econom-
ic and social rights, whether through a constitutional amendment, a
more progressive interpretation of the current Charter text, a modi-
fication of other (federal and provincial) human rights instruments,
or otherwise, this is the next step which must be taken if Canada
wants to ensure that the most disadvantaged members of society
will truly benefit from the immense promise of the Charter. As one
author put it five years ago, on the 20th anniversary of the Char-
330 See generally What Price for the Priceless?, supra note 311.
331 Supra note 140 at para 96.
332 Reference Re Prov Electoral Boundaries (Sask), [1991] 2 SCR 158 at 180, 81 DLR (4th)
16 (citing Edwards v Attorney-General for Canada, [1930] AC 124 at 136).
333 See generally Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter, Socio-Economic Rights Under the Ca-
nadian Charter in Langford, supra note 315 at 209; Sheila McIntyre and Sanda Rodg-
ers, eds, Diminishing Returns: Inequality and the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (Markham, Ontario: LexisNexis Canada, 2006).
134 (2011) 57:1 MCGILL LAW JOURNAL ~ REVUE DE DROIT DE MCGILL
terand we believe it more acutely nowsocial and economic rights
are the next frontier of Charter rights protection.334
Recognizing the right to water as implicit in the Canadian Constitu-
tion would provide accountability, offer remedies, and ensure non-
discrimination. If Canadas Constitution, including the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, cannot be extended to provide relief to individuals de-
prived of their human right to water, a deprivation that causes adverse
health effects, violates human dignity, and flouts the principle of envi-
ronmental justice, then the Constitution is not a living tree but is merely
dead wood. As the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples con-
cluded: First Nations people in this country have a right to expect, as do
all Canadians, that their drinking water is safe.335
334 Louise Arbour and Fannie Lafontaine, Beyond Self-Congratulation: The Charter at 25
in an International Perspective (2007) 45:2 Osgoode Hall LJ 239 at 270.
335 Safe Drinking Water, supra note 55 at 9.
