Ontario First Nation seeks emergency relief in Federal Court over water crisis

A First Nation in northwestern Ontario is seeking $200 million in emergency relief from the federal government to address the “critical” state of its water and sewage system as part of legal action launched in Federal Court, lawyers for the community said Friday.

Pikangikum First Nation submitted a motion Thursday asking the court to compel the government to provide the emergency funds to deliver adequate water and sanitation services to the community of more than 4,000 people.

The First Nation has declared a state of emergency and filed a lawsuit against the federal government, arguing that Canada has failed to fix the water issue and has caused irreparable harm to the community.

A statement of claim initially filed last year says the First Nation has suffered from deficient water and sewage infrastructure for decades, and most households have no running water.

The First Nation alleges that Canada has failed to provide potable water, sewage disposal and fire prevention infrastructure to the community, and it’s asking the court to order the government to immediately construct and repair its water systems.

It claims community members have contracted skin diseases and parasites due to lack of access to safe drinking water and inadequate sanitation, and some have been injured or have died while travelling long distances to access water and outdoor toilet facilities.

The community is also “ill-equipped” to respond to fires with limited water pressure and too few fire hydrants, the statement of claim says.

“The conditions in Pikangikum would shock Canadians who have never visited the reserve,” the statement says. “These conditions constitute nothing less than a national embarrassment and demand an immediate and full remedy.”

The First Nation is also asking for a declaration that Canada has breached Pikangikum’s treaty rights and parts of the Constitution Act “by failing to respect its rights over the land and waters and its right to maintain its traditional livelihoods” within Treaty 5 territories.

The motion submitted Thursday is an interim request to the court “to address the urgency of the situation on the ground” while the main lawsuit proceeds, lawyer Yana Sobiski said in an email. The Federal Court has put the motion on hold while the parties agree on a timeline for next steps, Sobiski said.

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Indigenous Services Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The community said in a press release that it has done multiple studies that confirm the inadequacy of its water infrastructure and it has issued multiple long- and short-term drinking water advisories. The most recent advisory came in February 2024 and remains in effect, it said.

The First Nation’s leadership has had to implement daily water conservation measures to prevent closures of local institutions, including the community’s only school, it said.

Pikangikum Chief Paddy Peters said in a statement that he implored Indigenous Services Canada earlier this year to provide long-term solutions for the community’s residents, but nothing has changed.

Peters said the government makes “repeated promises for improvements that never come” while the residents’ health is at risk every day.

“In 2025, our people still draw their drinking water from the lake because there is no trust that our treated water is safe to drink,” said Peters. “For decades, we have waited for Canada. It’s inhumane to make our people wait any longer.”

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