An Ontario Community Is In Crisis After Their Water Supply Got Completely Cut Off

"It’s very dehumanizing to us, what we’re going through."
Contributor

Neskantaga is no stranger to troubles with water. The Ontario Indigenous community, 400 km north of Thunder Bay, has been under a boil advisory for almost 26 years.

Now, they have no water at all. After an oily substance was found floating in their treatment plant, the reserve had its entire supply shut off until test results could be returned, reports TB Newswatch.

Chief of Neskantaga Chris Moonias took to Twitter to reach out for answers. 

"I was told it may take up to 10 days before we get the test results back," he wrote.

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What do we do in the meantime? Do we wait? Do we call for an emergency evacuation?

Chris Moonias

“It’s very dehumanizing to us, what we’re going through,” Moonias told TB Newswatch.

“Water is a basic human right. How come we can’t have it? Are we expected to live like this for another 25 years?” he continued.

Neskantaga is home to approximately 300 people — all of whom now have to live without access to running water. 

Until results come back, residents will have to make do with bottled water or they will have to evacuate.

After almost 26 years under a boil advisory, Moonias want nothing more than a fix for his community.

  • Abby Neufeld was a writer at Narcity Canada. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Professional Communications at the University of Victoria. Her past work has been published in The Toronto Star, Bitch Media, Canadian Dimension, This Magazine, and more. In 2019, Abby co-founded The New Twenties, an environmentally-focused literary and arts magazine.

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