While more than two dozen First Nations communities in Canada are still subject to drinking water advisories, two Indigenous business leaders are doing their part to change that.
“We wanted to raise awareness of what was happening in our communities and what is still happening,” Tyson Wesley, co-owner of FN Clean Water in Ottawa, told CTV National News.
Driven by his own experiences with drinking water advisories, Wesley and his co-owner Natasha Commanda lead FN Clean Water, with the goal of bringing safe drinking water to First Nations.
The company sells canisters of water from natural springs in Lanark, Ontario, southwest of Ottawa.
A portion of the proceeds go to the Water First charity, which runs a clean water program to help young Indigenous adults become water treatment plant operators.
As of July 18, there were 31 long-term drinking water advisories in 27 First Nations communities, according to federal government figures.
Some, like the Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario, have been under long-term drinking water advisories for almost three decades.
The Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have promised since 2015 to end the advisories.
Although the federal government has lifted 135 long-term drinking water advisories since November 2015, its latest figures show it has also added 66 advisories during that time.
Wesley grew up in the remote community of Kashechewan in northern Ontario, which faced high levels of E. coli in his water 17 years ago.
“Our whole community had sores, lesions on our bodies, and we were eventually evacuated because of our water,” he said.
The company is still in its infancy and its owners say they hope to involve more retailers.
Commanda said many more tourists are coming to Ottawa now, which could help raise awareness of the company and ongoing water advisories in Canada.
“It is causing harm to our people and it is a very important issue that we should all have clean and safe drinking water, and everyone deserves it,” Commanda said.
With files from CTV News