It looks like the City of Yellowknife wants to shut down the summer water lines that pipes water through the Flats, the Old Town, and to Ndilo. Not cool.
That waterline has been running to the end of Latham Island since the first houses were built in Ndilo. That was in the 1960’s, and the City wants to shut it down? Shame on you.
Apparently, City staff spend a lot of time getting that water line running and maintaining it, so the staff is recommending to “shut ‘er down”, as Cowboy Joe would say.
In fact, city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett is an Old Town resident, and Cabin Radio quotes her as saying, “It’s been a little bit of a perk to myself and my neighbours, I get that. But it’s not sustainable.”
Well, no, it’s not a perk. People along that summer waterline only get unlimited water for three months and everybody else uses as much water as they want for the whole year. So, it’s not a perk unless it’s a perk for the rest of Yellowknife to get unlimited water year-round.
People on Yellowknife’s main water and sewer system can flush the toilet, have a shower, and do laundry any time they want. Many people with trucked water can’t do that, except in the summer.
One Old Town person said many houses she goes to have a sign in the bathroom that says “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” Others have, “flush toilet sparingly.”
So ya, that water line is not a perk. It allows people to consume water properly for a while. It allows people to shower more than once or twice a week and to do their laundry when they need to, instead of wearing dirty clothes for an extra week.
For some, it means they don’t need to go to a laundromat to do laundry. For others, it means being able to water their garden and lawn and to contribute to green spaces by watering the trees.
To boot another person said, “Look at the fires around us. Yet, the City wants to cut off the water line, which we would use to sprinkle our roofs and surrounding areas during a fire.”
We don’t give our consent!
Ndilo Chief Fred Sangris reminded me that when Michel Sikyea was on Band Council, he went to Dr Stanton because the city was charging for water. Michel said something like “white people started the gold mines and make lots of money from them. They ruined our water and we can’t drink from the lake anymore. Now you want to charge us for water that we always drank for free.”
The Town of Yellowknife began delivering free water to Ndilo for a while. Probably till Dr Stanton was no longer on City Council
Fred says that once again Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) is getting the shaft. He said, “First, they got the gold out of Giant Mine and we got the shaft. As a matter of fact, we got a shaft full of arsenic.” Eschia (take it easy, eh!)
He says the City sent YKDFN a letter informing them of their plan to discontinue the water line. The Band replied and explained their concerns.
“That’s their consultation I guess,” said Fred. “But today is not like when Giant Mine started. Today we use Free Prior and Informed Consent in everything. We have to consent for the City to proceed. And we don’t give our consent!” Whew.
So, why is Fred saying the Yellowknives Dene have to give their consent before the City can shut down the summer waterline? It’s because Canada signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP.) And so has the NWT. Article 19 of UNDRIP refers to Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
A United Nations website says, “Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) allows Indigenous Peoples to provide, withhold, or withdraw consent, at any point, regarding projects impacting their territories. FPIC allows Indigenous Peoples to engage in negotiations to shape the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects.”
Shutting off the taps to Ndilo is “impacting their territories,” so, it seems the City has to negotiate with the Yellowknives Dene about it.
Chief Sangris says “it’s not only drinking water; it’s everything else. The water line is key to growing our own food. We started gardening a few years ago, and people are really getting into it. Shutting off the taps would shut off our gardening.”
Fred says, “Many of our houses have small water tanks. If there are 6 or 7 people in a house, they can easily run out of water, and it costs $100 to fill the tank on a callout. So no, we do not consent to the City of Yellowknife shutting off the water line.”
I don’t know about you, but this is one issue I’m going to keep track of.