Iqaluit is in a state of emergency – they have no clean drinking water and have been advised to not even drink boiled water.
On October 12, the Nunavut Department of health identified a possible presence of petroleum hydrocarbons at the city’s water treatment plant and were conducting additional tests, and put a no consumption order in place.
A state of emergency has been called as Iqaluit water is completely unsafe after a potential petroleum contamination. Our thoughts are with the over 8,000 residents whose water is completely undrinkable, not even by boiling or filtering. While the cause is yet to be confirmed, the mayor of Iqaluit has said he suspects climate change. “It’s too early to suggest even what it is, but if I was a betting man and the petroleum product is in there, I would suspect that it’s been damaged due to climate change,” he said. “We had a very warm and wet summer here in Iqaluit and of course as climate change has been impacting us greatly, I would say maybe the permafrost melted and our facility may have moved.” (from ‘Terrible situation’: Iqaluit water crisis exposes precarious conditions in the city via CTV News, Oct 13, 2021)
Residents are in need of donations to purchase water jugs for its 8,000 residents. There is already bottled water already being flown, but it won’t be enough. Clean drinking water is a human right.
PLEASE DONATE IF YOU CAN AND SPREAD THIS INFORMATION.
They are not the only Indigenous community in Canada with water advisories.
First Nations face disproportionately higher numbers of drinking water advisories, and are subjected to these advisories for longer periods of time than non-Indigenous people. This is due to inadequate and chronic under-funding, regulatory voids and a lack of resources to support water management. The number of water-borne diseases in First Nations communities is 26 times higher than the national average, and people living on reserve are 90 times more likely to have no access to running water compared to non-Indigenous people in Canada.
As a consequence of colonial-era laws, Indigenous communities have been barred from funding and managing their own water treatment systems, and the federal government bears responsibility for fixing problems. In 2016, there were 105 communities with long-term drinking water advisories in place –meaning the water had been unsafe to use or consume for at least a year. As of late April, that number is down to 52 advisories in 33 communities.
Neskantaga First Nation in Northern Ontario has been on a long-term boil water advisory since 1995.
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