First Nations leaders want drinking water bill within 100 days of Parliament's return

First Nations leaders are urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to tackle a number key priorities in the first 100 days of Canada's new Parliament.

"All these priorities are in line with Prime Minister Carney's stated priorities, namely: economic development, housing, infrastructure and continued progress on reconciliation," Sen. Paul Prosper, who represents Nova Scotia, said in Ottawa on Monday.

Prosper's requests are supported by chiefs across Nova Scotia and Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse, who appeared at the news conference by video.

"Canada Strong cannot be successful without the full participation of First Nations people across this beautiful country," Woodhouse said, referencing a Liberal slogan from the last election campaign.

The new session of Parliament begins on May 26.

The leaders say they want the newly elected federal government to invest in Indigenous prosperity by settling outstanding land claims disputes and introducing legislation that would increase financing for Indigenous projects.

Prosper also wants the federal government to invest in Indigenous-led housing projects — the leaders say that Indigenous people make up only five per cent of people in Canada, but account for 35 per cent of the homeless population.

When Carney outlined his housing plan during the campaign, he said his government would provide $6 billion in grants that would be earmarked for quickly building "deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, Indigenous housing and shelters."

Carney told the AFN in late April that he would help with financing initiatives and bring infrastructure in Indigenous communities up to date. He also said he's committed to the implementation of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples federally.

The First Nations leaders also want Indigenous Services Canada to strike agreements with Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaw chiefs on disability payments and information sharing.

In December 2023, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu introduced Bill C-61, setting drinking water standards in First Nations communities.

The legislation would have protected fresh water sources, created minimum national drinking water and wastewater standards and delivered sustainable funding for maintaining water quality.

It pledged to lay the foundation for a new First Nations-led water institution to support communities — the First Nations Water Commission.

The bill failed to make it through Parliament and First Nations leaders want the bill, or equivalent legislation, reintroduced when the House of Commons returns.

Carney told the AFN he would do that, along with taking working toward a governance model that would ensure First Nations can maintain and develop their infrastructure.

In March 2024, two Mi'kmaw fishermen were detained by Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officers for fishing for baby eels after the closure of the season.

The men said they were stripped of their footwear and phones, put into a DFO vehicle and dropped off at around 1 a.m. at a gas station more than five hours from their home communities.

Former federal fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier ordered an external review of the incident last summer.

Prosper, who is also the former chief of the Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw Nation, and the other First Nations leaders say that while Mi'kmaw members of the review panel were announced in March, the investigation has yet to start. They want the process to set up the probe completed within 100 days of Parliament's return.

The group also wants DFO's mandate to be adjusted to ensure it accounts for "Indigenous fisheries laws and management structures."