On June 16, 2026, Canada re-introduced the First Nations Clean Water Act as Bill C-37. This modified version of what was Bill C-61, first introduced in late 2023 and which later died on the Order Paper with the calling of the 2025 federal election, retains many of the promising aspects of Bill C-61 that were the result of sustained First Nations advocacy. At the same time, it leaves some of the shortcomings of Bill C-61 in place, while arguably rolling back some of the advances reflected in Bill C-61. Unlike the process that led to the tabling of Bill C-61, there was no widespread First Nations engagement or consultation prior to the tabling of Bill C-37.
This bill was introduced just weeks after Canada filed written arguments with the Federal Court of Appeal in the Shamattawa proceedings denying that Canada has any legal duties to ensure safe drinking water for First Nations individuals on reserves. It is hard to square this legal position with the statement in Bill C-37 that it is “the policy of the Government of Canada to further the progressive realization, for individuals on First Nation lands, of the human right to safe drinking water.” The position taken by Canada in the Shamattawa appeal also appears inconsistent with the Attorney General of Canada’s Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples,[1] which states the directive’s core objectives include advancing reconciliation, recognizing rights, and upholding the honour of the Crown throughout the litigation process. It is hard to understand how this blatant moral contradiction – affirming Canada’s policy of implementing a human right to safe drinking water on the one hand, while denying in court any legal obligations to ensure access to safe drinking water on the other – is consistent with the Honour of the Crown.
Below, we highlight what we see as important advances reflected in Bill C-37, as well as its shortcomings. We then provide further background on the process that led to the tabling of Bill C-37 on June 16, 2026. While Bill C-37 is a step back from the progress made in 2024 when the House Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs made amendments to strengthen Bill C-61, it nonetheless remains an important starting point for First Nations to assert control over their water resources and to finally fill a longstanding regulatory gap: ensuring First Nations benefit from legislated drinking water standards.
Highlights of the Bill
Many of the important elements of Bill C-61, including some that were added by the House Committee, remain in Bill C-37:
- Ownership of Water and Affirmation of First Nations’ Constitutionally-Protected Inherent Right of Self-Government over Water: Bill C-37 confirms that First Nation lands include the water and source water “on, in and under” reserve lands (cl. 2(1)). It also recognizes that the inherent right to self-government is recognized and affirmed by s. 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and includes jurisdiction in relation to water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on, in and under First Nations lands (cl. 6(1)(a)). This language recognizes that this right is constitutionally protected, not just a statutory grant of authority. The implications of this recognition are significant: should this bill become law, Canada will be bound to interpret this right broadly and to act diligently to implement it.[2]
- Minimum standards for Water Quantity and Quality: The minimum standards for drinking water quantity, water quality, and wastewater effluent remain in Bill C-37 (cls. 14–16). While these standards have shortcomings, it is important that legislated standards are present to ensure that First Nations have reliable access to clean and safe drinking water along with a sufficient supply of water to meet their needs. If this bill becomes law, this will be the first time in Canadian history that First Nation residents on reserve can rely on legislatively-mandated drinking water standards.
- Free, Prior and Informed Consent: A provision added by the committee to ensure that all government decisions under the Act must be “guided” by the principle of free, prior and informed consent has remained in Bill C-37 (cl. 5(3)). This supplements other provisions requiring decisions to be guided by the principle that First Nations are to have reliable access to water services on First Nation lands and the principle of substantive equality (cls. 5(1)–(2)).
Remaining Shortcomings
Bill C-37 also leaves many of the shortcomings we first identified in 2024 regarding Bill C-61 unaddressed:
- Incomplete Recognition of Water Quantity: Like Bill C-61, Bill C-37 states that First Nations must have enough water to meet their “drinking, cooking, sanitation, hygiene, safety, fire protection and emergency management needs”, excluding the need for water for economic purposes and the exercise of Aboriginal rights (cl. 15).
- Source Water Protection is Largely Discretionary: There are still no provisions which require Canada to engage in source water protection, giving the government the choice of whether to make agreements or regulations for the protection of source waters (cls. 25(1)(a), 19(1)(b)).
- Source Water Protection is Vulnerable to Provincial and Federal Agreement: The recognition of First Nations jurisdiction in relation to source water in protection zones remains contingent on agreements with the federal and provincial or territorial governments (cl. 6(1)(b)).
- Funding: The Bill does not guarantee sufficient funding to First Nations, only requiring the Government of Canada to make “best efforts” to provide sufficient funding (cls. 30–32). It remains to be seen whether Canada will attempt to use this as a loophole to get around ensuring that First Nations have access to clean and safe drinking water. From our perspective, if Bill C-67 becomes law, Canada will bound by the honour of the Crown to make such efforts, and will be obligated to negotiate related funding agreements honourably. Negotiating honourably means Canada must:
- refrain from attempting “to coerce or unilaterally impose an outcome” or adopting an “intransigent attitude;”
- avoid taking advantage of an imbalance in its relationship with a First Nation negotiating party, including by imposing terms favourable to Canada without first genuinely negotiating; and
- arriving at the negotiating table with an open mind and an intention to engage in genuine negotiations with the goal of entering an agreement.[3]
Rollback of Progress
The version of the First Nations Clean Water Act that Canada re-introduced (Bill C-67) is not the same as the version that was amended by the House Committee in 2024 (Bill C-61). Some of the positive aspects of Bill C-61, including progress made through the committee amendments, has arguably been rolled back:
- Potential Weaking of Recognition of a Human Right to Safe Drinking Water: In 2024, after criticism from many First Nations, Bill C-61 was amended to recognize and affirm “a human right of every individual on First Nations land to have access to clean and safe drinking water in accordance with this Act”. However, in Bill C-37 this recognition has been replaced by a declaration that it is Canada’s policy “to further the progressive realization, for individuals on First Nation lands, of the human right to safe drinking water” (cl. 3). This change may indicate that Canada is more interested in lip service about safe drinking water than recognizing a legally enforceable human right to safe drinking water. At the same time as Canada is declaring its policy to further the progressive implementation of the human right to safe drinking water, it is fighting in court to overturn a decision finding that Canada owes a duty to provide First Nations with access to safe drinking water. That said, a recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice suggests that the legislated recognition of this “policy” would amount to an adoption into domestic law of Canada’s international obligations set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and that at the very least, these obligations must influence interpretation of Canada’s legal duties owed under the Charter.[4]
- Restriction on Jurisdiction Over Protection Zones: Bill C-61 recognized that the inherent right of self-government includes jurisdiction in relation to water and source water in a protection zone if a First Nation governing body has reached a coordination agreement with the federal and provincial or territorial governments. However, Bill C-37 limits this jurisdiction to protection zones adjacent to First Nation lands (cl. 6(1)(b)), even though the quality of water in a First Nation may be affected by contamination taking place in areas that are not directly adjacent to them.
- Removal of Co-Development and Consent Requirements: In 2024, many amendments were made to ensure that First Nations are involved when the government makes decisions affecting them. Bill C-37 removes or waters down many of these amendments. For example, the requirement that regulations must “be co-developed” has been replaced with a requirement that the regulations “reflect co-development” (cl. 20(1)). It also removes a requirement that the Minister obtains the consent of a First Nation before unilaterally imposing water standards.
- Weakening of Language: The House Committee added language to Bill C-61 to require that Canada’s “best efforts” to provide funding must meaningfully reflect consultations and cooperation with First Nations. Bill C-37 removes the word meaningfully” (cls. 30–31). Bill C-37 also removes the word “meaningfully” from the statement that the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples “must be meaningfully recognized and implemented (cl. 4(c)).
Finally, we note that the removal of a clause confirming that the legislation does not diminish or infringe on the constitutional rights of First Nations is not as concerning as might appear at first glance. This is because the federal Interpretation Act includes a non-derogation clause which applies to all federal legislation (s. 8.3(2)).
Next Steps
The House of Commons’ last scheduled sitting day in the spring will be on June 19. 2026. When the House returns on September 21, 2026, the next step will be for MPs to debate and vote on the Bill at second reading, followed by the committee process. With Bill C-61, the Committee heard evidence from chiefs and representatives of many First Nations and amended the Bill to address some of the shortcomings they identified. The extent to which engagement and consultation with First Nations will inform the legislative process for Bill C-37 remains to be seen.
Further Background
In September 2021, Canada agreed to settle class action lawsuits brought by First Nations for Canada’s failure to provide access to safe and clean drinking water to First Nation communities. Canada agreed to make all reasonable efforts to repeal the existing Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, and to develop and introduce replacement legislation in consultation with the First Nations. The replacement legislation was required to ensure sustainable water and wastewater systems, create a transparent approach to building, improving, and providing drinking water and wastewater services, confirm adequate and sustainable funding, and support the voluntary assumption of water and wastewater infrastructure by First Nations.
In December 2023, Canada introduced Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act, which was designed to meet these objectives and go further by recognizing that First Nations’ constitutionally-recognized inherent right to self-government includes jurisdiction in relation to water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on, in and under First Nation lands. In January 2024, JFK Law wrote a blog post which outlined some of the highlights and shortcomings of the Bill.
In June 2024, JFK’s Clayton Leonard appeared before the House Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs and emphasized the need for a recognition of the right to safe drinking water. The House Committee made amendments to the Bill which addressed some of its shortcomings, including the recognition of a human right to access clean and safe drinking water.
Bill C-61 died on the Order Paper in March 2025, when Prime Minister Mark Carney called an early federal election.
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[1] Department of Justice Canada, The Attorney General of Canada’s Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples (Ottawa: DOJ, 2018), online: <https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/ijr-dja/dclip-dlcpa/litigation-litiges.pdf>.
[2] See Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, 2024 SCC 5 (CanLII), at paras 65-66 for the Supreme Court of Canada’s discussion of what such legislative recognition entails in the context of jurisdiction relating to child and family services.
[3] Quebec (Attorney General) v. Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, 2024 SCC 39 (CanLII), at paras 190-192.
[4] The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Named Respondents and Persons Unknown, 2026 ONSC 2971, esp. at paras 109, 126. This decision discusses in part the legal implications of Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act, SC 2019, c29 , which “codifies Canada’s commitment to housing as a fundamental human right and recommitted Canada to the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as defined in the ICESCR”: para 126.