By Canadian Press

NDP commits to $1.8 billion for clean drinking water for Indigenous communities

Oct 5, 2019 | 12:34 PM

GRASSY NARROWS, Ont. — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he would ensure every Indigenous community has clean drinking water, with a $1.8 billion price tag.

He says it is a firm commitment to remedy an injustice.

There are currently 56 long-term boil water advisories on reserves across the country.

Singh points to an estimate from the parliamentary budget office that $1.8 billion is the minimum capital investment to meet First Nations’ drinking water needs.

The NDP leader was in Grassy Narrows, a northern Ontario First Nation that has been dealing for decades with mercury poisoning from contaminated water.

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Singh said an NDP government would immediately spend $19 million to fund a mercury poisoning treatment centre in the community.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2019.

The Canadian Press