THUNDER BAY — The Liberals failed in their first attempt at getting a First Nations Clean Water Act passed, but Thunder Bay–Superior North MP Patty Hajdu has reasons to be optimistic about success this time around.
Hajdu, who was Indigenous Services minister when the ill-fated first bill was in the House, told Newswatch this week that some changes bode well for the new bill introduced last month by current Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty.
“Well, I would say that we have a majority (now), so that will be helpful,” said Hajdu, the jobs and families minister since May 2025.
“It was not helpful to see both NDP and Conservative opposition despite the pleading of the AFN (Assembly of First Nations) and other Indigenous partners in the last session, I suppose, when I was the minister of Indigenous Services. So that’s one thing.
“I think we’re going to be — very obviously, we’ll be listening to Indigenous partners. There’s opportunities to amend the bill, but we are anticipating much smoother sailing, a much more stable Parliament to be able to get this through.”
As well, she said, the new legislation “comes with a huge commitment of already-sourced money, well over $4.5 billion for the stability of funding that First Nations water systems need to rely on.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government announced $4.6 billion over five years in funding for First Nations’ water systems in mid-June along with the new bill.
“And thirdly,” Hajdu continued, “I really like the approach that Minister Gull-Masty is taking, which is about empowering the First Nations themselves to deliver this vital service to their communities by ensuring that there is obviously sufficiency of funding for the equipment (and) maintenance, but also the staffing and the training of water operators, and obviously the enabling legislation to make sure that the water that’s feeding their systems is clean.”
Bill C-37, the new First Nations Clean Water Act, was introduced in the House of Commons on June 16.
It is Ottawa’s first attempt at legislating basic standards for drinking water on First Nation lands since an earlier version died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025.
Neskantaga First Nation Chief Gary Quisess, whose community has been under a continuous boil-water advisory for decades, said he’ll believe there’s real change when he sees it.
He told Newswatch it’s difficult to believe the federal government because “they’ve been lying and not doing their fiduciary duties.”
