“DO NOT CONSUME”: The Terrifying Tale of a River Turned Toxic
Water Shortage in Iqaluit
Towards the end of October, Iqaluit, Nunavut announced that the city was in a state of emergency due to fuel found in water samples. Not only were residents unable to drink tap water since the contamination was discovered, but daily water uses ranging from hand washing to equipment sterilization at hospitals were also negatively impacted.
It would be heedless to think of Iqaluit’s water crisis as independent from Canada’s long history of environmental racism. Environmental racism can be understood as policies and actions regarding issues that target racialized communities and put them in danger. In Iqaluit’s case, it is where toxic waste is dumped. In Canada, environmental racism disproportionately affects Indigenous communities and is a deliberate act of racism, as exemplified by the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project, where a pipeline is being installed throughout British Columbia to transport gas.
Communities such as the Wet’suwet’en have been protesting against this pipeline’s construction. Installing the pipeline so close to Indigenous communities could be hazardous to their health as gas is being transported past them every day. The mere construction of the pipeline also encroaches on their land rights.
Despite these concerns, construction on the pipeline was not halted. If you visit the Coastal GasLink website, you will be greeted with the quote, “Health and safety is our number one value.”
It is important to note that while the world has slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work on building the pipeline continues.
This is just one example of environmental racism in Canada, amongst numerous others. Environmental racism is so prominent in Canada that there is even an Ontario region nicknamed “Chemical Valley” near Sarnia, which houses 40% of the country’s chemical industry. A 2017 study by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario found that the pollution from Chemical Valley disproportionately affects the Aamjiwnaang community.
While these examples are fairly recent, environmental racism in Canada is by no means a recent issue and has been prevalent since the first colonial settlements. The present situation of environmental racism in Canada brings us back to the water shortage in Iqaluit.
Since Iqaluit’s water has been declared contaminated, the Canadian Armed Forces have arrived on site to deliver clean drinking water. They have also set up equipment for what CTV News terms ‘reverse osmosis water purification’.
The challenge, however, is that Canada’s water purification units have been previously used in warmer climates. Running these units in Iqaluit in late October will prove a new challenge, one that Canada’s water purification team says they are up for.
Additionally, according to Nunavut News, a water monitoring system has been installed through which residents can now access filtered water for daily use. The monitoring system is said to provide real-time detection of concentrations of different hydrocarbons in the water, notifying the water treatment plant operators when necessary.
Quick action is necessary for a crisis such as Iqaluit’s water shortage, but the question still lingers: has the damage already been done? CTV News reports that Nunavut’s chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, has told residents that the health risks for those who consumed the contaminated tap water are very low. Nunavut News confirms that the government of Nunavut will publicly present the data they have collected thus far at an unspecified future date.
The concern continues to persist however as Patterson updates residents that they may still smell fuel in their water, even though the city has dealt with the contaminated tank. Nunavut News reports that the “do not consume” order still remains, so using tap water to drink or cook with is unsafe. However, the water may now be used for laundry, cleaning, bathing, and dish washing. According to Nunavut News, the current hydrocarbon levels detected in Iqaluit’s tap water do not pose long-term health risks.
The repercussions of Iqaluit’s only hospital being shut down due to the inability to properly wash hands and sterilize equipment are also being felt. As The Globe and Mail reports, the mother of resident Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster was sent on a flight to Ottawa after requiring an emergency procedure that would have otherwise been available at Iqaluit’s Qikiqtani General Hospital.
While the damage has been done and temporary solutions have been provided, more is required from the Canadian government to cover the cost of what needs to be repaired. NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, has called on the federal government to cover the $180 million required to permanently solve Iqaluit’s water problem. Singh pointed out that for years, Nunavut has received a lack of funding from the federal government, and their current water crisis is a result of this negligence.
After careful investigation, the city of Iqaluit has been able to trace its water contamination back to an underground tank that had not been upgraded since 1962. Reports have indicated that residents could have begun smelling fuel in their drinking water as early as October 2nd.
According to CTV News, Singh urged the federal government to imagine how they would have immediately stepped in and fixed the issue, no matter the cost, if the water had been contaminated in Vancouver or Toronto. Singh suggested the government apply the same urgency and care to Iqaluit. Due to the long history of environmental racism in Canada, there is no quick fix to the issue. However, Ecojustice.ca describes a few initiatives on their website that could help position the country to better support its Indigenous communities and prevent more crises from occurring in the future.
These include calling on the federal government to update the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, making it more suitable to today’s modern age, as well as passing Bill C-230, which is in the consideration stage as of June 2021 according to the Canadian Parliament website. Passing Bill C-230 would mean that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change in Canada would be required to plan and develop a national strategy to remedy the harms caused by environmental racism.
The residents of Iqaluit have not been able to drink tap water for a month. I encourage us as citizens of Toronto at the University of Toronto to think about what Singh proposed: how would the same issue be handled if it occurred here in our major city? I encourage readers to explore the internet for sources, such as Ecojustice.ca, to learn what we can do to educate ourselves and listen to the communities affected by environmental racism. What we can do to work towards the end goal of dismantling the injustices ever-present in Canada.
https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/43-2/C-230
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/jagmeet-singh-calls-on-federal-government-to-pay-180m-cost-of -iqaluit-water-crisis-1.5668091
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-in-iqaluit-nunavuts-only-hospital-feels-the-ripp le-effects-of-the/
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/military-arrives-in-iqaluit-to-set-up-reverse-osmosis-water-purifi cation-1.5636361