Clean drinking water

Fast progress, then a plateau

In 2015, Ottawa promised to end every long-term advisory on public systems on reserves, and later set March 2021 as the deadline. Advisories were lifted quickly until 2021. Since then, new long-term advisories have roughly kept pace with the ones lifted.

How long the remaining advisories have lasted

Each line is one water system, from the month its advisory was issued to today. 21 of the 39 had already been issued when the March 2021 deadline passed.

Where the advisories are

Every long-term advisory still in effect is in Ontario, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan, and 28 of the 39 are in Ontario. Short-term advisories, in effect for less than a year, come and go across the country.

Every long-term advisory since 2015

Of all the long-term advisories ISC has tracked since November 2015, four in five have been lifted. Many that remain are waiting on more than construction: 17 of the 39 affected systems can already produce clean water, but the advisory stays until the system runs reliably with trained operators.

The laws behind it

Since 2013, Ottawa has tried three times to put First Nations drinking water on a legal footing. A court settlement now requires it to keep trying.

1. Canada · C-37

   Introduced 16 June 2026

   In committee

   First Nations Clean Water Act

   Would affirm First Nations’ jurisdiction over water on their lands, set minimum drinking water and wastewater standards, allow source-water protection zones by agreement, and require Ottawa to make best efforts to fund assessed needs. It passed second reading on 9 October 2026 and is before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

2. Canada · C-61

   Introduced 11 December 2023

   Died on the order paper

   First Nations Clean Water Act (2023)

   Co-developed with First Nations, it reached report stage in the House before Parliament was prorogued in January 2025. C-37 is its successor, with a reworded rights clause that critics say is weaker.

3. Canada · Settlement

   December 2021

   Approved by the courts

   First Nations drinking water class action

   An $8 billion settlement: $1.5 billion in compensation for people under year-long advisories between 1995 and 2021, at least $6 billion for water infrastructure, and a commitment to replace the 2013 law with new legislation.

4. Ontario · Bill 286

   2021

   Not passed

   Inherent Right to Safe Drinking Water Act, 2021

   A private member’s bill from Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa. It would have had Ontario recommend reserve water standards at least as protective as its own, and press Ottawa to adopt them.

5. Canada · S.C. 2013, c. 21

   2013

   Repealed in 2022

   Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act

   Allowed Ottawa to make water regulations for reserves, but came with no funding to meet them, and many First Nations opposed it. It was repealed in June 2022, as the settlement required.

More bills about drinking water

Live results for “drinking water” across every region we cover, including U.S. bills on lead pipes and PFAS. Filter by region to narrow them down.

What an advisory means at home

An advisory becomes long-term once it has been in effect for more than a year. There are three kinds, and each asks more of a household than the last.

1. 01

   Boil water

   Bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least one minute before drinking it, cooking with it, mixing infant formula, or brushing teeth. Issued when treatment fails, chlorine runs low, or tests find bacteria, viruses, or parasites.

2. 02

   Do not consume

   Don’t drink or cook with tap water at all, because boiling won’t remove the contaminant. It can still be used for handwashing, dishes, laundry, and bathing.

3. 03

   Do not use

   Don’t use tap water for anything, including bathing. Issued when contact with the water is itself a risk, such as after a chemical spill.

Who actually decides

Water on reserves falls between governments. Off reserve, provincial law sets enforceable drinking water standards. On reserve, no enforceable standards apply today.

• First Nations

  In most provinces, chief and council issue and lift advisories on the advice of an environmental public health officer. Many First Nations own and run their water systems, and are asking for binding authority over standards and source water.

• Federal

  Indigenous Services Canada funds water plants, operators, and testing on reserves, and employs most of the health officers who recommend advisories. Bill C-37 would set minimum standards in law and require Ottawa to make best efforts to fund them.

• Provincial

  Provinces regulate drinking water everywhere off reserve, but their standards do not apply on reserves. In British Columbia, the First Nations Health Authority provides the public health advice that ISC gives elsewhere.