A federal judge has sided with two First Nations in Manitoba and one in Ontario that sued the Canadian government over its duty to provide them with safe housing and clean drinking water, in separate rulings delivered Friday.
The federal government has had a duty to ensure Shamattawa First Nation, and other First Nations who opt into the northern Manitoba First Nation’s class-action, were provided access to drinking water safe for human use over the claim period, Justice Paul Favel said in a decision.
Shamattawa launched the class-action, which was certified in 2023, on behalf of all First Nations members countrywide whose communities were subject to a drinking water advisory in effect on or after June 20, 2020.
The judge also found in a separate ruling that residents of St. Theresa Point First Nation in northeastern Manitoba, Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario and other class-action members should have been provided with adequate housing on their reserves from June 12, 1999, until the present — the class period defined in the lawsuit.
Favel said in both decisions the Canadian government made First Nations dependent by forcing them to relocate to reserves, and that the country has historically “exerted direct control over every facet of First Nations life through legislation, regulations, policies, and practices,” including control over financing for water infrastructure and housing.
He said in both cases, Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees of equality under the law, as well as the life, liberty and security of all Canadians, may have been affected.
The $1.1-billion Shamattawa class action lawsuit picks up from an earlier class-action lawsuit over drinking water advisories that led to an $8-billion settlement in 2021.
The remote Manitoba community took the government to court after spending years under a boil-water advisory.
During the proceedings, representatives from several First Nations — Líl̓wat and Secwepemc in British Columbia, Peepeekisis Cree Nation and Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan, Wabaseemoong in northwestern Ontario and Tataskweyak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba — testified their communities do not receive enough funding to address long-term or chronic water advisories.
“The state of crisis experienced by our members living on reserve is one that is unknown to Canada’s employees,” Shamattawa Chief Jordna Hill said in an affidavit quoted in Favel’s decision. Federal workers in Shamattawa are provided with bottles and jugs of water for personal use, Hill said.
“The lives of Canada’s employees are unaffected by many of the hardships that we are forced to endure,” his affidavit said.
“It is hard to think of a more apt symbol of Canada’s neglect than seeing the pallets of water at our airport, and knowing that Canada has flown them in for its employees, but not for us.”
Hill was unavailable for comment Friday.
The $5-billion St. Theresa Point and Sandy Lake class-action said the federal government “deliberately underfunded housing on reserves,” while putting restrictions on their ability to provide housing.
“Class members’ reserves are generally short hundreds of houses to adequately shelter their populations,” Favel wrote, saying that many families are forced to live on condemned units because they have no other options.
He said some of the tragedies associated with those conditions include the deaths of two teenage girls in St. Theresa Point during the winter of 2023, and those of three children who died in a house fire in Sandy Lake in 2022.
“Children are unable to regularly bathe, their sleep is disrupted due to overcrowding, they are frequently ill due to cold, damp conditions, and because of severe mold and pest infestations,” Favel wrote in a summary of the evidence presented by witnesses.
“These conditions impact their mental, emotional, and physical well-being as well as their education.”
The decisions deal with the first stage of the class-action lawsuit, which revolved around a general determination of whether the government had an obligation to the First Nations.
A second stage will deal with several other questions, including the scope or existence of any breaches — including Charter rights infringements — as well as potential remedies.
For now, Favel’s decisions granted costs based on the “overwhelming success” of the plaintiffs in both matters.
St. Theresa Point Chief Raymond Flett said there’s still more work to be done.
“It is quite overwhelming that we got the decision in our favour and exciting stuff. But at the same time [we have] to be grounded,” Flett said in a phone call Friday night.
“We didn’t do it just for our Nation. We had to speak up for all the nations in Canada that are experiencing housing crises in their community.”
