Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not.
Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River MP Buckley Belanger and the Liberal government remain committed to delivering clean drinking water to First Nations, despite concerns from the Assembly of First Nations and other groups.
The federal government tabled the First Nations Clean Water Act last week, which aims to meet the needs of First Nations by making sure those communities have legally enforceable protections for safe drinking water, consistent with those provided to other communities in Canada.
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It is the second time such a bill has been forward, but the original bill died because time in the previous legislative session ran out.
The Assembly of First Nations, however, have raised concerns with the new version and have announced it must be improved through direct engagement with First Nations.
Specifically, they have raised issues about it not explicitly recognizing First Nations rights to clean water, as well as offers weak source-water protection, ambiguity around the definition of First Nations lands, and a lack of sustainable funding.
“Safe water for all people, including the Indigenous community, is very, very important to our government,” Belanger said.
“Clearly, we want to concentrate on some of the problem areas when it comes to delivery of safe water and this effort is designed to make sure that if there are some pressing areas that have not been resolved, that there’s more and more emphasis to get it done.”
In the last eight years, Belanger explained progress has been made when it comes to bringing safe drinking water to First Nations communities.
“From Saskatchewan’s perspective, there aren’t a whole bunch of boil water advisories. There’s a few here and there, but by and large let’s look at some of the progress made in Saskatchewan,” he remarked.
“In general, there has been some good progress, especially on the Indigenous front to deal with this matter. Nonetheless, legislation and the ambitions we have as a federal government to achieve the access to safe drinking water objectives, there’s always focus and work required on that and that’s exactly what the bill is doing.”
In the last 12 months, Belanger noted the federal government has advanced 21 bills and has worked to bring changes in areas such as the economy, justice, and affordability.
For instance, he said taxes have been cut for the middle class and the consumer carbon tax has been eliminated.
“I really like the Groceries and Essential Benefit, which replaced the GST tax credit, but it has put a lot more money into some of the families who are in the moderate income level, so they are able to address some of the affordability issues,” Belanger added.
With the House of Commons now on a break for the summer, Belanger is excited to be back in Northern Saskatchewan. He plans to spend time travelling throughout the riding and visiting as many communities as he can.
“It is very nice to be home,” he said.
“The reminder I have is we don’t forget the folks who got us to Ottawa to represent them and to speak on their behalf, so to the people of Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River, thank you for the honour to bring Northern Saskatchewan’s voice to Ottawa. We are going to be working very hard for you.”
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