Bill S-11 explained in plain English
An Act respecting the safety of drinking water on first nation lands
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-11, the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, proposes to create federal regulations for drinking water and wastewater safety on First Nations lands.
This bill, titled the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, proposes to establish regulations for the safety of drinking water and wastewater on First Nations lands. It aims to address health and safety concerns by allowing the government to create rules regarding water treatment, distribution, and waste disposal. These regulations can be adapted to align with provincial standards while considering the unique circumstances of First Nations. The bill also includes provisions for enforcement, liability, and the creation of new legal frameworks where existing laws are insufficient.
- Establishes the short title 'Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act'.
- Defines key terms such as 'drinking water', 'drinking water system', 'first nation', 'first nation lands', 'Minister', 'provincial body', 'provincial official', and 'waste water system'.
- Allows the Governor in Council to make regulations governing the provision of drinking water and the disposal of wastewater on First Nations lands.
- Specifies the types of regulations that can be made, including those related to operator training, source protection, system design and maintenance, water quality standards, and waste disposal.
- Grants powers through regulations, such as specifying applicable systems, conferring powers on persons or bodies, requiring agreements for system management, setting fees and interest rates, establishing offenses and penalties, and allowing for searches and audits.
- Includes provisions for limiting liability, providing defenses, and granting immunities to those acting under the regulations.
- Allows for the amendment of the schedule to add or remove aboriginal bodies and their associated lands.
- Provides that the Act comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
- First Nations communities and their residents.
- The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
- The Minister of Health.
- Provincial governments, officials, and bodies.
- Aboriginal bodies party to land claims or self-government agreements.
- Operators of drinking water and wastewater systems on First Nations lands.
- Persons or bodies exercising powers or performing duties under the regulations.
- The Governor in Council.
- Right of First Nations residents to access safe drinking water.
- Obligations for operators of drinking water and wastewater systems.
- Potential obligation for First Nations to enter into agreements for system management.
- Obligations for persons or bodies exercising powers or performing duties under the regulations.
- Potential rights related to aboriginal and treaty rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, as they relate to the regulations.
- The provisions of this Act come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
- Regulations may fix fees for the use of drinking water or wastewater systems.
- Regulations may fix the rate of interest on amounts owing.
- Regulations may establish administrative monetary penalties.
- Moneys collected provincially are not considered Indian moneys or public money.
- No payment may be made from parliamentary appropriations to satisfy certain claims.
- Regulations may specify offenses punishable on summary conviction.
- Fines or terms of imprisonment may be set for contraventions of regulations.
- Administrative monetary penalties may be established.
- Power to seize and detain things found in the exercise of compliance verification.
- Power to apply for a warrant to conduct a search.
- Remediation orders may be made where standards are not met.
- Emergency measures may be implemented for water contamination.
- Penalties may apply for breach of obligations by persons or bodies exercising powers under the regulations.
- Fines for contraventions of regulations cannot exceed those imposed by provincial law for similar offenses outside First Nations lands.
- The specific 'first nations' and 'first nation lands' that will be subject to regulations under subsection 2(2) are not detailed in the bill text, only that they will be described in regulations.
- The details of the regulations themselves, including specific standards, requirements, and penalties, are not provided in the bill text, as they are to be developed.
- The extent to which the regulations may abrogate or derogate from aboriginal and treaty rights is a subject that regulations will prescribe.
- The specific date or dates for the Act's commencement are not yet determined, as they will be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
The definition of 'first nation' in this bill may refer to bands as defined in the Indian Act, and 'first nation lands' may refer to lands subject to the Indian Act.
Source: Section 2(1)
The definition of 'first nation' in this bill may refer to bands whose land disposition is subject to the First Nations Land Management Act, and 'first nation lands' may refer to such lands.
Source: Section 2(1)
This Act does not apply to instruments made by provincial officials or bodies under provincial law incorporated by reference in the regulations created by this bill.
Source: Section 7
Provincial officials or bodies exercising powers under regulations made by this bill are not considered federal boards, commissions, or tribunals for the purposes of the Federal Courts Act.
Source: Section 8(1)
Limits on liability, defenses, and immunities under this Act apply to federal ministers or employees acting under the regulations, in addition to provincial law standards.
Source: Section 10(1)
Fees, charges, fines, or other payments collected under the regulations are not considered public money for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act.
Source: Section 9
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textThe official summary published alongside the bill, shown exactly as written.
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
A legislative summary is currently being prepared for this bill by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of the Library of Parliament. Meanwhile, the following executive summary is available. On 26 May 2010, the Leader of the Government in the Senate introduced Bill S-11, An Act respecting the safety of drinking water on first nation lands (Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act) in the Senate and it was given first reading. Bill S-11 addresses health and safety issues on reserve lands and certain other lands by providing for regulations to govern drinking water and waste water treatment in first nations communities. Among other things, it • provides First Nation communities with drinking water and wastewater standards comparable to provincial or territorial standards off reserves; • establishes a common base to evaluate the effectiveness of the operation, design and maintenance of water and wastewater systems; and • allows for regional flexibility, as federal regulations could vary from province to province and territory to territory.
This is the official summary published by the Parliament of Canada, shown verbatim. Not legal advice. PoliticalData.ca did not write or edit this text.
View on LEGISinfoParliamentary Process
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We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
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No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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