Report of the Expert Panel on Safe Drinking Water for First Nations
Table of Contents
Introduction
I. What is safe and how is it achieved?
- Defining safe drinking water
- Safe does not mean risk-free
- A comprehensive approach
- Source water protection
- Drinking water and wastewater treatment
- Secure distribution
- Monitoring
- Training and certification
- Operations, management and governance
- Making cautious decisions
- Research and technology
- The policy and regulatory framework
- Unregulated systems
- Closing thoughts on assuring safe water
II. Challenges and complexities
- Most systems are small and many are remote
- Many players are involved
- Comparability is not supported by funding
- Devolution demands resources
- Law and history
III. What we heard
- The obstacle is seen as inadequate resources, not lack of regulation
- Funding arrangements do not always support the lowest life-cycle costs
- Processes do not always support efficient and effective solutions
- Capacity is growing
- Views on standards and regulatory frameworks differ
- Enforcement would need to apply to all participants in the sector
- Solutions will need community-level acceptance
- Traditional attitudes towards water are holistic and spiritual
IV. What would be regulated, and how
V. Regulatory options
- Pursuing "laws of general application" is too uncertain
- Existing federal statutes are not equal to the task
- Pre-conditions: Provide resources, discuss and deal with high risks
- Three potential routes
- Comparing the options
- Whatever route is taken, improve processes now
- Conclusion