Ahousaht hasn’t had clean water since Friday and its local member of B.C.’s Legislative Assembly is flabbergasted that the province hasn’t stepped in to help out yet.
Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser said he has been trying to convince B.C.’s Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness Naomi Yamamoto to shed some support onto the remote First Nation since Monday. He said the ministry did not get back to him until Tuesday afternoon and advised him the issue was a federal one under the umbrella of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, which was an answer he did not find adequate.
“It’s not like INAC has a team to respond to anything. INAC is almost a concept…It’s an amorphous ministry in Ottawa. They don’t have boots on the ground,” he said.
“It may well be on reserve, which may well be a federal authority, but the province has to deal with this as an emergency. They should not be trying to figure out whose jurisdiction this is. They should just help and, once the dust is settled, they can figure out who’s going to pay the bill. That’s just being good government and taking care of people in the province whether they’re on reserve or not.”
He added Ahousaht deserves better than to see their current crisis slip through jurisdictional cracks and noted the community played a heroic role during the rescue efforts of the Leviathan II tragedy in October 2015.
“I think back to how Ahousaht responded to an emergency when the Leviathan II sank. I never ever heard anything from Ahousaht saying well that’s a federal responsibility, or that’s a whatever, they just did it. They came to the assistance of those that needed it,” he said.
“Whatever role the province can play, I want them to do it. I don’t want them to be passive observers. Ahousaht weren’t passive observers when a tragedy struck in the region with the Leviathan II sinking. They didn’t question whose authority or whose jurisdiction it was. They just did it and that’s what the province should do.”
He suggested the province should send a barge en route to the community with a water truck.
“It’s great having volunteers provide bottled water but there’s a larger water need too,” he said. “There’s costs associated with this. This is an urgent situation and I think the province should step up and make sure that water is supplied. It’s essential.”
He said he has been in touch with Ahousaht several times a day and hopes the province will act to resolve the issue in short order.
“I want to see people back in the community for Christmas and that everybody can have that time of year with family without having to worry about having potable drinking water,” he said.
“My hope is that the community can be brought back together again, which will only happen if they get this water line back in place or there could be a temporary fix that could be put in place.”
In an emailed response to the Westerly News, Minister Yamamoto said the province is playing a supporting role in the federal government’s efforts.
“The lead agencies for this are the federal government through Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and the First Nations Health Authority,” she wrote.
“The Province continues to offer support to the Ahousaht First Nation in a coordinating role. It’s important to note that the community has enough water on site for one year and this was not declared as an emergency.”
She said EMBC supported Ahousaht’s members by helping to set up a warming centre in Tofino to welcome evacuees, as well as providing executive level coordination and ongoing monitoring of the situation.
“EMBC senior staff have been in contact with the community to ensure there are no unmet needs,” she wrote.
