NESKANTAGA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh visited Neskantaga First Nation to draw attention to the community’s 26-year drinking water advisory – the longest advisory in Canada. The people in this community live every day with the cost of Justin Trudeau’s empty promise end the boil water advisories in Indigenous communities.
“Indigenous children and families have lived without clean drinking water for decades. Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise to end all of that by 2021, but he didn’t mean it – and it’s costing these families dearly,” said Jagmeet. “I’m not Justin Trudeau. I will l fix the water crisis so all people can have clean drinking water.”
In 2015, Justin Trudeau made Neskantaga the symbol of his promise to deliver clean water across Canada by 2021. Today there are more than thirty communities – including Neskantaga – that are still without water they can drink.
During the recent leaders’ debate, Trudeau dismissed criticisms of his inaction on reconciliation as “cynicism.”
“Justin Trudeau sometimes says the right things about reconciliation, but when it comes to basic human rights for Indigenous peoples, he won’t deliver. On something as basic as clean drinking water, he failed to meet this own timeline and has now kicked the can even further down the road,” said Jagmeet. “Justin Trudeau says we can’t act with ‘unlimited zeal’ to make lives better for people across Canada. I will act with unlimited zeal to fix the drinking water crisis and work to improve the lives of all people across Canada.”
“I know better is possible. But first you’ve got to vote for it.”
