First Nations Clean Water Act

This bill, the First Nations Clean Water Act, sets out new federal rules for drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on First Nation lands. It formally recognizes that First Nations' inherent right to self-government includes jurisdiction over water, source water, drinking water and wastewater on their lands, meaning First Nations can make their own laws in this area, and those laws generally take priority over conflicting federal regulations (though certain existing environmental statutes, like the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act, still take precedence in case of conflict). First Nations can also delegate this authority to provinces, territories or other bodies if they choose.

The bill establishes minimum standards that must apply on First Nation lands unless a First Nation chooses otherwise: drinking water quality must meet national guidelines or provincial/territorial standards, water quantity must meet community needs, and wastewater effluent must meet federal or provincial standards. It requires the government to consult and cooperate with First Nations on developing detailed regulations, a funding-needs framework, and a new First Nations-led Water Commission that will support monitoring, advice and reporting on water issues. The government commits to making "best efforts" to fund water services adequately, predictably and comparably to services in non-Indigenous communities, and to honour its obligations under the 2021 settlement agreement on long-term drinking water advisories.

The bill also creates mechanisms for source water protection, including "protection zones" that can straddle First Nation and provincial/territorial jurisdiction, and allows various agreements between First Nations, the federal government, and provincial, territorial or municipal governments. It requires annual reporting to Parliament on consultation results and a full five-year review of how the Act is working. The Act would come into force one year after receiving royal assent.

This bill affirms First Nations jurisdiction over water services on First Nation lands, sets minimum drinking water and wastewater standards, creates a federal regulatory regime, and establishes a First Nations-led water commission.

• First Nation law-making power — First Nation governing bodies can make, publish and enforce their own laws on water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure; these laws prevail over most federal statutes and regulations in case of conflict, except for specified provisions (including the Access to Information Act, Canadian Human Rights Act, Privacy Act, and this Act's own sections 5, 7-9 and 14-16).
• Governor in Council regulations — Cabinet, on the Minister's recommendation, may make regulations covering water service management, source water protection, operator certification, inspections, emergency planning, permits/licences, enforcement (including creating offences punishable by indictment or summary conviction with unspecified penalties), insurance requirements, and minimum standards — with most details left to future regulation rather than set in the Act itself.
• Minister's discretionary powers — the Minister of Indigenous Services may define "protection zones" by regulation, may (at a First Nation's request) make enforcement regulations for laws applying in those zones, may enter agreements with First Nations, provinces, territories or municipalities on funding, source water protection and enforcement, and may share insurance-related data with First Nations.
• Delegation authority — a First Nation governing body may delegate all or part of its jurisdiction, including law-making and enforcement, to a provincial or territorial government, a public body, or a not-for-profit corporation, with that party's consent.
• First Nations Water Commission — the Minister must develop, with First Nations, terms of reference for a new not-for-profit corporation under the *Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act*, led by First Nations, with mandatory annual and special reporting to the Minister (tabled in Parliament) and optional functions such as monitoring, legal advice coordination, and policy recommendations.
• Immunity provisions — First Nation employees, hired persons, and the Crown are protected from damages claims for good-faith acts in providing water services, with Crown immunity conditional on the government having made "best efforts" to provide adequate funding; no specific penalty ceiling or liability cap is stated elsewhere in the Act.
• Oversight mechanisms — the Act requires annual reports from the Minister and from the Commission (tabled in Parliament but not subject to a vote), and a five-year review of the Act's operation with a report tabled before the sixth anniversary of the review section coming into force; there is no sunset clause, and the Act itself comes into force one year after royal assent.