Alexander First Nation members now eligible for water advisory compensation

by Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – Alexander First Nation has been newly added to a list of First Nations eligible for compensation for having a drinking water advisory that lasted at least a year from Nov. 20, 1995 to June 20, 2021. 

The advisory on the Alexander 134B reserve, a 3.4-hectare land 36 km northwest of Barrhead, lasted more than four years — from June 16, 2017 to June 20, 2021.

Members of the newly added First Nations, which also include the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band and Skin Tyee First Nation in British Columbia, Dakota Plains Wahpeton Nation in Manitoba and Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation in Ontario, have until Sept. 17 to submit their compensation claims. 

To qualify for compensation, an applicant must be a First Nations member and have lived on an impacted First Nation’s reserve. 

Those born prior to Nov. 20, 1995 have to have lived on an affected reserve between Nov. 20, 2013 and June 20, 2021. Those born after have no such restriction. 

Individual compensation, which began in August 2023, ranges from $1,300 to $2,000 per year, depending on the water advisory’s severity and whether the applicant lived on a remote reserve. 

Claimants who submit incomplete information will receive a letter notifying them that information is missing, which they have 90 days to respond to. If there’s no response, they receive another letter with an additional 90 days for response. 

If a claim is rejected, applicants have 60 days to appeal. 

Eligible First Nations each receive a $500,000 base payment, plus 50 per cent of each band member’s individual compensation in recurring payments. 

In December 2021, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench (now Court of King’s Bench) reached a $8-billion settlement in class action lawsuits the Curve Lake First Nation and Neskantaga First Nation filed against the federal government in 2019, and Tataskweyak Cree Nation filed soon after in provincial court.

The settlement seeks to redress the “considerable hardships” First Nations members faced due to “being deprived of safe drinking water, [which] have seriously harmed both individuals and their communities.”

It consists primarily of $1.8 billion in payments towards impacted individuals and First Nations, as well as more $6 billion dedicated towards building or upgrading on-reserve water infrastructure. 

The agreement sets aside $50 million in additional compensation for people with specific injuries attributable to a lack of clean drinking, including digestive and breathing difficulty, liver issues, cancers and mental health, among others. The specific amount of compensation per person will be determined once all claims are processed. 

There are more than two dozen First Nations in Alberta eligible for compensation. 

The initial claims period closed March 8, but six First Nations, including the Louis Bull 138B reserve in Maskwacis, were added to the eligibility list two weeks later, with deadlines ranging from March 28 to April 17. 

Members of newly added First Nations, including those who lived on Alexander 134B, can submit a claim at www.firstnationsdrinkingwater.ca.