Sol Mamakwa’s bill for safe drinking water for all Ontarians has passed second reading in Queen’s Park.
The Kiiwetinoong MPP is pleased the legislation is moving forward and calls it a good first step but notes a lot of work remains before all First Nations have clear tap water.
Mamakwa stresses this issue shouldn’t be up for debate stressing today there’s 16 boil water advisories in the riding of Kiiwetinoong.
Fourteen are considered long-term, anything over a year and two are listed as short-term.
Mamakwa notes says, “Right now the standards that are there don’t apply on-reserve. I think we have to understand there are young adults in Ontario who have never known what it’s like to be able to drink from the water tap and it’s important that we acknowledge that.”
The NDP’s Indigenous and Treaty Reconciliation critic stresses the government can’t sit on this bill and let it wither away and must push it through to committee for debate.
“If they sit on it and don’t send it to committee, that means that they don’t want to be part of the solution on doing this. As Ontarians we want to be able to have individuals, children, elders, community members to be able to have access to these same standards.”
Mamakwa believes his bill can quickly go through committee and back to MPP’s for a final vote.
“A couple of weeks ago they passed a bill, which was the three days of paid sick days, they did it in two or three hours. In committee meetings to pass legislation they did it in as quick as a week.”
Mamakwa stresses at the end of the day if the government doesn’t act, the support he received in the first two readings won’t mean anything.
The local MPP talks about what is contained in his bill below:
