ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES—Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring Township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking. The water distribution system on Oneida territory — operated by the community with regulatory oversight from Indigenous Services Canada — has failed to meet provincial standards dating back to 2006, according to a Toronto Star/Ryerson School of Journalism investigation, as part of a national collaboration of nine universities and 10 media outlets, including Concordia University’s Institute of Investigative Journalism. Further, 18 years of water quality testing across Oneida First Nation sometimes shows striking levels of dangerous pathogens such as E.coli flowing from residential taps. Upstream, the nearby city of London dumps millions of litres of raw sewage into the Thames River that serves as the community’s water source. Yet Onedia has received none of the federal government’s high-profile funding for bringing safe, clean drinking water to Indigenous communities.“When it comes to my kids drinking the water, I’m afraid,” says George, a 55-year-old with eight grandchildren. “I’ve got brand-new babies in this world and I shudder at the legacy that we’re leaving for them.”On the other side of the gravel road, the township of Southwold draws its water from Lake Erie and is fed by a treatment system that received a $176-million upgrade last year.That system stops right at Oneida’s borders, right by George’s home.“All Canadians should be really concerned that there’s this division of systems between the haves and the have- ...
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