Reconciliation beyond September 30: Canada's unfinished promise of clean drinking water

On September 30, Canadians will gather in orange shirts, attend ceremonies and honour the Survivors of the residential school system, their families and the children who never returned home.

This year's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation comes at another important moment in Canada's relationship with First Nations: renewed federal legislation intended to strengthen access to clean drinking water, alongside evidence that longstanding problems remain unresolved.

According to Indigenous Services Canada's September 10, 2026, figures, 38 long-term drinking water advisories remained active on public systems on reserve in 36 First Nations communities. They affected approximately 5,590 homes and 335 community buildings.

Those figures do not tell the entire story of reconciliation, nor should access to water be treated as a substitute for the distinct experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

They do, however, provide a measurable picture of one continuing public responsibility.

For households affected by an advisory, clean drinking water is not an abstract policy objective. It shapes ordinary decisions about preparing meals, maintaining hygiene and caring for family members.

For governments and institutions, the issue raises questions about funding, infrastructure, public health, Indigenous jurisdiction and accountability.

The approaching national observance offers an opportunity to examine those questions alongside the essential work of remembrance.

The progress is real, but the problem remains

Canada's record on First Nations drinking water contains evidence of substantial improvement. Indigenous Services Canada reported that 158 long-term drinking water advisories had been lifted from public systems on reserve since November 2015, as of September 10, 2026.

Recent examples include Slate Falls Nation in Ontario, where an advisory was lifted September 4 following repairs and operational improvements, and Pauingassi First Nation in Manitoba, where an advisory ended August 27 after distribution-system repairs and filter replacements.

These are meaningful operational outcomes. They indicate that the affected systems met the conditions necessary for their advisories to be lifted. Yet the national numbers also reveal an important limitation. Of the 38 systems still under long-term advisories, 17 already had infrastructure capable of producing clean drinking water. Twenty required operational improvements before their advisories could be lifted. The categories are not mutually exclusive. That distinction matters.

A completed water treatment plant does not automatically establish reliable access. Systems also require trained operators, effective maintenance, testing, monitoring and adequate resources to respond when equipment fails. A community can have new infrastructure and still face an advisory.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Manitoba illustrates this challenge.

The federal government's September 10 listing showed that construction of its long-term water solution was complete, but its boil water advisory remained active. The system was listed as affecting 371 homes and five community buildings, with no projected date for lifting the advisory.

Another longstanding example is Neskantaga First Nation in northwestern Ontario.

Its public water system has been under an advisory since February 1995. According to the federal listing, the advisory became long-term in February 1996 and still had no projected lifting date as of September 10, 2026. Upgrades and expansion had been completed, but deficiencies remained under review.

These cases demonstrate why construction milestones and safe-water outcomes must be reported separately. They also show the importance of reliable operational funding after a project is completed.

What the Auditor General found

Canada's Office of the Auditor General has repeatedly examined federal efforts to improve drinking water in First Nations communities Its October 2025 follow-up report found that Indigenous Services Canada had made unsatisfactory progress on more than half of the recommendations examined across six previous audits of critical First Nations programs.

The findings covered water, health services, emergency management and other areas affecting community well-being.

In drinking water specifically, the Auditor General reported that 35 long-term advisories remained active as of April 1, 2025. Nine had been in place for a decade or longer.

The audit also identified continuing concerns about preventing new advisories, addressing recurring system deficiencies and ensuring sufficient operational and maintenance funding.

According to departmental briefing material prepared for Parliament in April 2026, eight of the nine advisories that had lasted at least a decade lacked target dates for implementation of their long-term solutions at the time of the audit.

April 27, 2026

The difference between identifying a solution and delivering it is significant.

A plan may demonstrate that a problem has been recognized. An approved project may establish a route toward improvement. Funding may make implementation possible.

None of those steps, individually, establishes that residents have reliable access to safe drinking water. This is particularly important when evaluating public commitments. The number of advisories lifted is a legitimate performance indicator. It should be accompanied by information about new advisories, recurring failures, maintenance capacity and the durability of improvements.

A new water law enters the discussion

On June 16, 2026, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty introduced Bill C-37, the proposed First Nations Clean Water Act. The federal government also announced an additional $4.6 billion in targeted funding for First Nations water and wastewater services.

According to Indigenous Services Canada, the proposed legislation would establish minimum water-service standards, recognize First Nations jurisdiction over water on their lands and support a future First Nations-led water commission. It would also require the federal government to work with First Nations on a long-term funding framework. As of September 28, the bill remained at second reading in the House of Commons. It had not become law.

The legislation represents an attempt to address regulatory and funding gaps that have persisted for years. However, its introduction has also prompted substantive concerns from First Nations leadership. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in June that the proposed law required improvements through direct engagement with First Nations.

The AFN identified concerns involving recognition of the right to water, source-water protection, the definition of First Nations lands and sustainable funding.

Its preliminary analysis also raised questions about the strength of federal obligations and changes to co-development provisions compared with the previous Bill C-61.

The federal government maintains that Bill C-37 would strengthen legal protections while supporting First Nations self-government and collaboration across jurisdictions.

The AFN has argued that certain provisions require stronger rights-based language and clearer obligations.

These positions identify unresolved questions that Parliament will need to examine during the legislative process. They also reflect a central feature of the issue: drinking water does not exist within a single administrative boundary. Watersheds extend across First Nations lands, provincial jurisdictions and other territories. Infrastructure within a community may depend on water sources affected by decisions made elsewhere.

Effective source-water protection therefore requires consideration of both Indigenous jurisdiction and the responsibilities of neighbouring governments. The legislation's eventual effectiveness will depend not only on its wording, but on the regulatory arrangements, funding decisions and institutions established through implementation.

Funding must be connected to long-term needs

The June funding announcement offers resources for addressing outstanding water and wastewater needs. Its scale is significant, but its relationship to the wider infrastructure gap requires context.

In its June 2026 analysis, the AFN cited an estimated water and wastewater infrastructure gap of approximately $44 billion. That estimate addresses a broader set of needs than the federal government's new $4.6-billion commitment. The figures should not be interpreted as interchangeable measures of funding or immediate project costs.

The wider question is whether available resources are sufficient for both construction and the continuing operation of systems over their working lives. Water services require recurring expenditures.

Equipment must be maintained and replaced. Operators require training and certification. Treatment systems must be monitored, and repairs must be completed before relatively small problems develop into major interruptions. For remote communities, transportation, construction timelines and access to specialized personnel can add further complexity.

Indigenous Services Canada identifies operator training, monitoring, maintenance and operational support as important measures for preventing temporary drinking water advisories from becoming long-term.

These are also areas where measurable performance information can improve accountability. A useful public record would show whether a system is functioning reliably, whether sufficient trained personnel are available, whether operating funds match community needs and whether water-quality results remain consistent after an advisory is lifted. Funding announcements establish financial commitments. Delivered services establish outcomes.

Both deserve scrutiny.

September 30 and the responsibility of remembrance

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established in 2021 in response to Call to Action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Its purpose is to honour Survivors, their families and communities while ensuring that public commemoration of the residential school system remains an essential part of reconciliation.

This year, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is again working with APTN and CBC/Radio-Canada to present Remembering the Children, a national commemorative gathering from Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The September 30 gathering is intended to honour Survivors and remember the children who never returned home, with the participation of Elders, Indigenous leaders and First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists.

Commemoration has its own purpose and importance. It provides space for Survivor testimony, education, collective remembrance and acknowledgment of the harms created by residential schools. The questions surrounding drinking water belong to another part of the same broader national responsibility: examining how institutions respond to longstanding inequities and how that response affects people today.

The existence of a federal observance does not establish that other reconciliation commitments have been fulfilled. Likewise, the continuing presence of water advisories does not negate the progress achieved through completed projects and community-led improvements. Both realities deserve accurate reporting.

What measurable progress would look like

The remaining drinking water advisories can be addressed through identifiable work.

Projects are underway. Systems have been upgraded. Operational problems are being assessed. New resources have been announced. The federal government reports that decisions to lift long-term advisories rest with community chiefs and councils, informed by recommendations from environmental public health officers.

This places First Nations decision-making within the process rather than treating communities solely as recipients of federal infrastructure. It also provides a basis for following the results. Progress can be measured through the number of advisories lifted and those newly issued; whether systems remain reliable after an advisory ends; the availability of trained operators; the completion of promised infrastructure; and the extent to which funding meets ongoing operational needs.

Further measures concern governance: whether First Nations have meaningful authority over water decisions, whether source-water protections are effective and whether accountability arrangements are developed with the communities they affect.

These are practical, observable matters. As Canada approaches September 30, the evidence shows that the country has made substantial progress in reducing long-term drinking water advisories. It also shows that thousands of households remain affected and that the legal and operational framework intended to support reliable services is still developing.

The enduring purpose of the national day is to ensure that Survivors and the children who never returned home are remembered. The continuing work of reconciliation reaches into the institutions, infrastructure and decisions that shape daily life. For communities still living under drinking water advisories, the next measure of progress will be found in the reliability of the water itself.

SDG context

SDG 6 — Clean water and sanitation

This article relates directly to Target 6.1: universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water. Its practical application includes infrastructure, long-term operations, water quality and First Nations governance.

Sources referenced

1. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. September 2026 national commemoration announcement.

2. Indigenous Services Canada. September 10, 2026, long-term drinking water advisory data and community-level project information.

3. Office of the Auditor General of Canada. October 21, 2025, follow-up audit of First Nations programs.

4. Indigenous Services Canada. June 16, 2026, Bill C-37 and associated funding announcement.

5. Assembly of First Nations. June 16 and June 19, 2026, statements and preliminary analysis concerning Bill C-37.

6. Parliament of Canada. Legislative record and current parliamentary status of Bill C-37.

7. Government of Canada. Statutory framework establishing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, S.C. 2021, c. 11.