End boil-water advisories
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to end all boil-water advisories nationwide by partnering with provinces and territories to ensure safe drinking water. The government responds that it funds and advises but provinces retain responsibility.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would mobilize federal partnership to upgrade aging water infrastructure in communities like Sage Mesa, helping end long-running boil-water advisories and improve public health.
- A national commitment could unlock federal funding and technical support to accelerate repairs and long-term upgrades in small and rural systems.
- Ending advisories would reduce health risks, improve equity in access to safe drinking water, and restore community confidence in supplies.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Provinces, territories and municipalities hold primary responsibility for water systems, so federal partnership alone may not produce immediate changes.
- Achieving an immediate, nationwide end to all advisories would require substantial funding and trained personnel, which may not be feasible quickly.
- Local solutions and phased investments may be more practical than a one-time nationwide mandate and could better match specific community needs.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada WHEREAS: • The community of Sage Mesa and surrounding area have faced boil water advisories for years as a result of aging and outdated water infrastructure. • Many other communities across Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay also continue to live with insufficient water quality. • Access to safe, affordable and clean drinking water should not continue to be an issue in a nation like Canada. THEREFORE: We, the undersigned citizens and permanent residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately partner with provincial and territorial governments to bring an end to all boil water advisories across Canada for the delivery of clean, drinking water.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada Signed by Jennifer McKelvie, M.P. The Government of Canada thanks the petitioners for sharing their concerns regarding drinking water in the communities of Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay, British Columbia. The federal government remains firmly committed to fostering healthy communities and ensuring equitable access to safe and reliable drinking water for all Canadians. The responsibility for drinking water services and infrastructure primarily lies with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments. Nevertheless, the federal government plays an important supporting role by providing funding for infrastructure upgrades through Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, helping local governments deliver safe and reliable drinking water. Drinking water infrastructure is an eligible category of investment under current Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada funding programs, including the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, as well as under several past programs including the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund and the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada provides funding to provinces, territories, and municipalities, which retain ultimate responsibility for delivering the infrastructure projects. The 2025 Federal Budget announced several initiatives to support infrastructure development, including the Build Communities Strong Fund, which was formally launched on April 7, 2026. It will provide $51 billion over ten years, starting in 2026–2027, and $3 billion per year ongoing. Drinking water infrastructure projects are eligible for support under all three streams of the Build Communities Strong Fund: Provincial and Territorial stream: $17.2 billion to support a range of infrastructure projects, including water and wastewater infrastructure. Direct Delivery stream: $6 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026–2027, to support regionally significant projects, large building retrofits, climate adaptation, and community infrastructure. Community stream: The Canada Community-Building Fund has been rebranded under this stream, providing $27.8 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026–2027. The federal government continues to engage actively with provinces and territories on key Build Communities Strong Fund program features and the advancement of shared priorities. To benefit from this new federal funding opportunity, the authority responsible for your local drinking water system is encouraged to engage with provincial partners to confirm their interest in pursuing support for required drinking water infrastructure upgrades. Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi Our Government recognizes that access to safe and reliable drinking water is essential to protecting public health and supporting the well-being of communities across Canada. Long-term boil water advisories in Canada, particularly those affecting Indigenous communities and small communities, are a challenge that requires coordinated and sustained action from all levels of government. Responsibility for making sure drinking water supplies is safe is shared by federal, First Nations, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments. Health Canada plays a central federal role in protecting drinking water safety through its scientific leadership and health risk assessment. Health Canada is responsible for developing Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality in collaboration with the provinces and territories. These health-based guidelines assess the risks posed by microbiological, chemical, and radiological contaminants in drinking water and serve as the national benchmark for protecting public health. Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the safety and security of drinking water and use the drinking water guidelines to inform action including setting drinking water standards and regulations, monitoring performance of municipal water systems, and enforcing compliance. Municipalities are responsible for the delivery of drinking water from public water supplies. This includes the day-to-day operation and maintenance of public drinking water systems, in accordance with provincial or territorial standards. Private property owners who draw drinking water from a source on their property are responsible for their own water safety. Boil water advisories are an important public health protection measure, and are issued by local public health or regulatory authorities based upon site-specific knowledge and conditions. Advisories are commonly used across Canada when drinking water may pose a risk to health, most often due to contamination from harmful bacteria, such as E. coli. Advisories may also be issued during planned maintenance, unexpected equipment failures, treatment problems, or when water sources become contaminated. The advisories provide clear direction on what steps people can take to protect themselves from real or potential health risks. In these situations, advisories are often precautionary, meaning they are issued before drinking water quality problems occur, to reduce the risk of exposure to unsafe water. Health Canada supports the use of advisories as a public health tool through its Guidance for Issuing and Rescinding Boil Water Advisories in Canadian Drinking Water Supplies. Boil water advisories are intended to be used as a short-term tool, to protect consumers from potential health risks while the drinking water system is being fixed. In some situations, longer term maintenance or major upgrades are required and cannot be implemented immediately due to resource constraints, including financial and human resource limitations. This can lead to longer term boil water advisories. In the case of Sage Mesa, the voting results of its water system referendum on April 11, 2026, suggest that its water license will remain privately held, with the system under provincial management. Health Canada remains committed to working collaboratively with provincial authorities and other federal departments to help resolve the drinking water infrastructure issues and provide clean water to this community and others across the Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay.