Building is only the first step

The Star reports on an investigation into the Kashechewan water crisis. And it looks like the crisis was caused by a view that once the new water treatment plant was built in 1996, everything else would take care of itself:

(Ontario's chief drinking water inspector) said providing clean water would have been "doable" at the plant, if not for a number of critical issues outlined in his report. They include:
- Use of sub-standard chemicals to disinfect water that are barred from use in Ontario-run facilities.
- Cross-connections between pipes carrying clean water and raw sewage.
- No mandatory facility inspections.
- No manuals on site to help under-trained water operators understand how to do their jobs.

And how did all that happen?

The results of their three-day investigation of the $3.6 million plant were presented to band members and federal Indian Affairs officials in a closed session earlier this week. (Chief Leo) Friday said he wasn't surprised by the results.

"We couldn't do everything we were supposed to have done because we never had enough money, including for sending the guys for training," he said in an interview yesterday. Friday would be happy to have the recommendations in the report implemented "if they can do it with the amount of money they can get."

While it's well and good for the federal government to have promised added money to First Nations, the bigger issue lies in the details which have yet to be negotiated. All the capital funding in the world won't help if First Nations lack both sufficient operational funds and sufficiently-trained employees to keep facilities running properly.

Unfortunately, that's both the part of the equation that requires constant attention, and the one that seems most easily forgotten. And even in the wake of both a public crisis and the promises made at this week's summit, it doesn't look like that issue has been dealt with seriously either for Kashechewan itself (where repairs to the water system are again on hold for lack of funding) or for First Nations generally.