Howard Williams

OTTAWA, Nov 3 2005 (IPS) — Canada’s image as a nation with a pristine environment and bountiful fresh water, as well as a champion of the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples, has taken a hit with the revelation of squalid living conditions among its native communities.

The latest crisis has resulted in about half of the 1,900 members of the Cree community in Kashechewan, Northern Ontario, being airlifted within a week to other Ontario communities after it was revealed that raw sewage was being pumped into the community’s water supplies and that a strain of the deadly E. coli bacteria had been discovered in the water.

The remainder of the population is expected to be airlifted out in the next couple of weeks as the hunting season winds down.

Efforts to correct the water contamination problem by increasing chlorine in the water just exacerbated a range of skin diseases, such as eczema, scabies and impetigo, without making the water safe to drink or even to bathe in.

The federal government in Ottawa has promised to relocate the entire community with new housing to replace the overcrowded squalor of the Kashechewan reserve where officials say several generations of extended families have to share the same housing – including 19 members of one extended family who are sharing a two-bedroom house.

But the relocation will take 10 years to complete.

And, according to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), which represents so-called “status Indians” who have the right to live on Indian reserves, Kaschechewan just the tip of the iceberg.

The AFN says that at least another 100 Indian communities nationwide are suffering from the same squalor as Kashechewan and need emergency action.

The federal government claims it was caught by surprise by the extent of the problem at Kashechewan. But others, including the AFN and the provincial government of Ontario, insist that the problem has been apparent for several years and nobody should have been surprised.

Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters: “I think that, obviously, it’s unacceptable and the government, our government, the federal government, must obviously accept its responsibility and we do so and that action is going to be taken.”

But it was the provincial government that took responsibility for airlifting the first 1,000 residents to other Ontario communities even though, technically, Indian reserves are the responsibility of Ottawa.

As the residents were being airlifted out, Canadian Forces were airlifting in emergency water purification equipment.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, normally a political ally of Martin, said the federal government had been “missing in action” for the past two years, as Kashechewan’s water treatment plant poured high amounts of chlorine into the water to deal with persistent pollution.

The province’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said: “We’ve had to act, because there has been no action there (by the federal government).”

The reaction in Ottawa appears to have been, at best, confused.

Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Andy Scott, told the House of Commons that action was taken by his department as soon as it knew the extent of the problem. But he then admitted “this problem has existed in that community since 1957″ adding “and this problem will be solved by this government, beginning now”.

AFN Grand Chief Phil Fontaine said more had to be done urgently and not just for Kaschechewan.

“The first step is to deal with the crisis in Kashechewan,” he said. “Then we must map out a comprehensive plan to address this issue on a national basis because this situation occurs in far too many First Nations communities in Canada.”

According to the AFN, currently more than 100 First Nation communities must boil their drinking water and more than one quarter of the water treatment systems in all First Nations communities remain at high risk of contamination.

Federal, provincial and community leaders have already started talks on finding a new location for the Kashechewan community. The current community, on the shore of James Bay, is unable to expand because of the rock structure surrounding it, which has led to already overcrowded housing becoming more overcrowded and leading to even greater strains on community services such as sewage, water supplies and health care.

The provincial government has promised to provide whatever land may be necessary to build a new community and Martin has promised to provide the federal financing, although nobody as yet knows how much money will be necessary.

But clearly everyone is hoping the moving of the entire community will be more successful than the transfer of another Indian community in Newfoundland three years ago.

The Innu band at Davis Inlet, Newfoundland, was moved top a newly-created reserve at nearby Natuashish after the Davis Inlet community made international headlines when it was hit by massive incidents of gasoline-sniffing and suicides by its adolescents.

Television crews from all around the world filmed pictures of squalor with a lack of basic sewage and drinking water.

So the community was moved. But new problems appear to have emerged.

The band council at Natuashish is being investigated following reports that councilors traveled on lavish trips, armed with blank cheques from the council’s bank account, and made excessive loans with no controls to themselves.

The band has, so far, refused to comment on the allegations.