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Sudburians brave Nepahwin’s freezing water to raise awareness of First Nations water woes

Trudeau government has recently reneged on its promise to lift all boil-water advisories in First Nations communities by 2021

For the past month, Greater Sudbury’s Jordan Cheff has been taking dips in the freezing waters of Lake Nepahwin.

November and December might seem like an odd time to visit the beach, but it’s all part of Cheff’s initiative, Cold Water 4 Clean Water, which aims to raise awareness of the issue of FIrst Nations communities in Canada that are living without clean water.

The issue has been in the news lately, as the federal government says it will not meet a marquee pledge by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lift all boil-water advisories in First Nations communities by March 2021.

Indigenous Services Canada says at least 22 long-term water advisories in 10 First Nations communities will remain in place beyond that deadline, which was set following an ambitious 2015 Liberal election promise to lift them all within five years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into efforts to upgrade water systems and carry out on-site training, with supply chains snarled and construction put off as some reserves opted to restrict travel, the department said at an earlier briefing.

On Saturday morning, as a snowstorm just started to hit Greater Sudbury, nine other people joined Cheff in taking a dip at Nepahwin Beach in the South End, including Sudbury MPP Jamie West.

They all immersed themselves in the water in a small area at the beach where the two-inch-thick ice had been chopped away.

Cheff said he usually ends the Facebook livestreams of his freezing dips with the remark that the experience sure is uncomfortable, but “you know what’s more uncomfortable? Not having access to clean water for more than 25 years.”

He said there is “no excuse” for people living without clean water in a first world country like Canada.

“As humans, we have to do things that are extreme in order to gain attention,” Cheff added. “My aim was to raise awareness and get people’s attention.

“Having access to clean water here is a blessing. The fact that I can jump in every day without ending up with a rash or some sort of ailment afterwards is a really big deal. I definitely count myself blessed in that regard.

“The fact that I can come from here and go to a warm shower afterwards is a huge, huge privilege.”

While West said he was “freezing” after jumping in the lake (his hair and bathing suit had actually iced over), the reality is that it would take him maybe half an hour to warm back up, and he was planning to jump in a hot shower when he got back home.

“There’s so many communities that are under boil water advisories that don’t have clean water to drink or shower in,” he said. “We really have to change that.”

West received moral support at the event by his NDP colleagues, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas and Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes.

“I want everyone to know there are 34 First Nations in Ontario right now that cannot drink the water, that cannot have a clean shower,” said Gélinas, speaking at the event.

“If all of us know this, let’s push the government to fix this. When a mine opens in Northern Ontario, within a week, they have clean drinking water and a showe, but the FIrst Nations beside them don’t, some of them for 30 years.

“All of us can push them to fix this now, and send the bill to Mr. Trudeau. It has to be done now.”

You can watch the livestream of Saturday’s freezing dip below:


 

-With files from Canadian Press


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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