Global News – Historic framework signed for First Nations-led Atlantic water authority. The federal government signed an agreement that will transfer responsibility for water and wastewater services from Indigenous Services Canada to the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority (AFNWA).
The First Nations-led water authority will act as a single utility provider for 15 Indigenous communities in the region, serving more than 4,500 households. This is the first framework of its kind in Canada.
The AFNWA was formally established in 2018 and more than a decade of planning and collaboration between Atlantic Indigenous chiefs, government and stakeholder groups, including the Atlantic Policy Congress. While 15 Indigenous communities have signed on to participate in the AFNWA, the authority confirmed seven more are on standby to join, and its model can be scaled to include every Indigenous community in Atlantic Canada.
The authority hopes to have its Indigenous-led management team assembled by April next year, with the centralized utility fully operational by 2022. Roughly $2.5 million in federal funding will kick-start its operations.