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New legislation tabled by the government on Tuesday will create a legislative framework to protect drinking water in First Nations communities, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said.
But one chief who helped draft a previous version of the legislation warns that the bill’s vague language on First Nations’ right to clean drinking water will only leave communities worse off.
Gull-Masty told reporters on Parliament Hill that Bill C-37, tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, will “advance the critical work of addressing long-term drinking water advisories” and recognize First Nations jurisdiction over water on their lands.
She said the new bill is backed by $4.6 billion in funding over five years, describing the sum as the single largest commitment ever made to First Nations water protection.
This isn’t the first time the federal Liberals have put forward clean water legislation — but it is the first attempt by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to tackle the issue.
C-37 states that the federal government will “further the progressive realization, for individuals on First Nation lands, of the human right to safe drinking water, as protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”
The federal government has tabled legislation on providing clean drinking water to First Nations. But the bill has different language from a previous version, which stated safe drinking water is a human right. This version says the bill will advance that idea.
The previous bill introduced by the Trudeau Liberals, C-61, affirmed the “human right of every individual on First Nations land to have access to clean and safe drinking water in accordance with this Act.”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige, who helped draft the previous version of the bill, said First Nations communities have had enough of “progressive realization” and simply want the federal government to recognize they have a right to clean water.
“I’m absolutely concerned with that language in that bill,” she said Tuesday, adding that First Nations already have a human right to clean water.
Lawyer Michael Rosenberg, whose successful efforts to sue the federal government on behalf of some 260 First Nations led to the new water bill, told The Canadian Press the changes to the bill’s wording on human rights amount to “legal gymnastics.”
“The federal government has turned a clear recognition of a right to safe drinking water on reserve into an aspirational policy that carries little accountability,” Rosenberg said.
“This change appears to be a direct response to the fact that the federal government is still in court fighting First Nations to deny the right to safe drinking water on reserve.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the legislation offers a “strong starting point” for addressing the problem. The nations he represents currently have 16 long-term and eight short-term drinking water advisories.
“I have heard many governments over my years promise to make the necessary investments, but we remain in the same position. The legislation introduced today is not perfect but it addresses the most immediate needs of our communities,” Fiddler said in a media statement.
“It sets minimum standards for drinking water and affirms the inherent right of First Nations to hold jurisdiction in relation to water and wastewater.”
Fiddler said he still worries the legislation “may not adequately address the true costs of ending the water crisis on reserve.”
NDP Indigenous affairs critic Leah Gazan attacked the wording of the bill, calling it weaker than previous attempts by the Liberals to ensure clean and safe drinking water on reserves.
“In 2015, when the Liberal government was elected, they promised to end all water boil advisories. It is now 2026 and, in addition to not fulfilling that promise, they have now confirmed that they do not even recognize clean drinking water as a human right for First Nations,” Gazan said in a media statement.
Gull-Masty said the new bill was written to “stand the test of time.”
The now-defunct C-61, introduced in 2023 by the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, died when Parliament was prorogued last year.
The federal government tabled long-awaited legislation to govern clean drinking water in First Nations communities. But the new Bill C-37 has different language from a now-defunct Trudeau-era version that stated access to clean drinking water was a human right.
Patty Hajdu, Trudeau’s Indigenous services minister, introduced the 2023 bill in response to the lawsuit against the government that was settled in 2021.
The text of that bill went beyond the terms of the settlement. It included an option for source water protection and recognition that First Nations have a human right to clean drinking water.
C-61 was opposed by the provinces of Alberta and Ontario, which warned that it would undermine resource development. The Trudeau-era bill was drafted with input from First Nations and nearly became law after weeks of study and debate before it died on the order paper.
In January 2025 — months before the last federal election — Hajdu said she hoped whoever is “in government next time picks this up” and called C-61 “incredibly thoughtful legislation that was co-drafted with First Nations people.”
Gull-Masty promised last summer that the new bill would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water. She initially promised to introduce the legislation in the fall but failed to do so.
Some First Nations leaders, including Debassige, said they were not consulted on the new legislation.
The House of Commons is expected to rise by the end of this week for the summer break, which means the legislation likely won’t be debated or voted on until the fall.
