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From Lake of the Woods Enterprise

First Nations seek water independence  - Great Nations Environmental not-for-profit enterprise aims to help area First Nations reach independence in water management

By Jon Thompson - August 2, 2011

Phil Tangie's voice boomed above the whir of the Ochiichagwe'babigo'ining (Dalles) First Nation water treatment plant's machines as he directed his students. With the help of the provincial government, he's opening the training floodgates for Treaty 3 communities.

A $10-million national study revealed a third of Treaty 3 First Nations have "high risk" drinking water systems and "Operation" was identified as a major shortcoming of water systems on reserve. It cited deficiencies in training and operations in 51 systems throughout Ontario.

Taking 36 water operators under his wing from the nine area First Nations comprising the Bimose Tribal Council, Tangie is attempting to reverse the flow.

Tangie had been with Bimose for a year in 2010 when the technical service officer was called into Dalles to fix its chlorine dioxide generator. Over the following week of a boil-water advisory, he and the band council reviewed the logbooks and found nearly monthly non-compliance and no records of corrective actions taken. The operators were dismissed and he now troubleshoots incidents with operators directly.

Finding the annual federal funding for operator training of $5,000 per community insufficient, he was able to procure $30,000 over two years for each operator's training from the provincial Northern Training Partnership Fund. In 2011, certification and training in the region is flowing. While performing required hours, operators can now afford to enrol in the next level of certification and take upgrading parallel courses like first aid, distribution and leak detection or post-secondary classes.

"We can improve their training opportunities sixfold," he said. "We can expedite the certification process. Before, it was two or three courses and you're done. With $15,000 per operator, John (Elders) already has his one license. All he has to do is put his time in and in the meantime, we can have him get his courses to get his Class 2."

Elders is one of two operators at Dalles.

"You can't even get in at a water plant unless you're certified now so I've written my Class 1 exam and I just got my 1,800 hours," he explained. "You learn something new every day. For me, I don't want anyone getting sick on my watch. I'm fussy that way and I do whatever's required. I'm here every day."

The training is just the beginning. Tangie and Bimose have incorporated Great Nations Environmental, a not-for-profit enterprise aiming to help area First Nations reach independence in water management. The corporation is exploring generating revenues by charging water fees, as many First Nations do in Southern Ontario.

"Government should bring them from where they are to where they need to be. From there, cut the strings and say, 'you're on your own,'" Tangie said.

Ultimately, he predicted, protecting the ownership of the water systems will be a critical issue on the horizon. By both socializing the process and achieving quality standards, he believes control can stay in the communities.

"We see privatization as the enemy in so many ways because it's all about profit. We see privatization taking a stronghold all over the world and it's coming to Canada. We're trying to do the opposite of that, so the profits go into building infrastructure and holding the costs down," he explained.

"Who owns the water? That's the big question. Nobody owns the water. It's a natural gift from the creator. We want to make water affordable and safe for First Nations and beyond First Nations. We believe water is an inherent right and not something that should be sold and profited from."