After 5 years, Oneida still has no clean water. Why a class action settlement could be a 'relief'

A First Nation south of London, Ont., says compensation from the federal government in a class action settlement will be a relief for members who haven't had clean drinking water in years. 

After a years-long court battle, Ottawa opened the First Nations drinking water settlement process in 2022, offering compensation up to $8 billion to First Nations that have suffered for long periods under drinking water advisories. 

It compensates those affected by a lack of clean drinking water in First Nation communities across the country for at least a year, between Nov. 20,1995, and June 20, 2021. The settlement deal covers 142,000 individuals from 258 First Nations who could be compensated, along with 120 First Nations communities.

The deadline to apply was Thursday. 

It made for a busy week at Oneida Nation of the Thames, which has been under a boil water advisory since 2019.

"It was a quite a hectic day in our political office," said Sherry Monastyrski, CEO of Oneida Nation of the Thames, describing Thursday's deadline as people gathered to fill out forms. 

The settlement acknowledges the experiences of those who faced boil water advisories, said Monastyrski, and shows the federal government finally heard Oneida. 

"Being able to have a recognized compensation allows for some sort of relief in a sense that our voices were heard —that we're being taken seriously — and that there is going to be a solution at the end of the day to fix this boil water advisory."

She estimates it will be approximately $3,000 of compensation for claimants, based on the length of the water boil advisory. 

"It's going to mean a lot to individuals that they get a little bit of compensation," said Joel Abram, Grand Chief of the at the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, who lives in Oneida Nation of the Thames. 

"We've had bad water for a long time and it's also resulted in real health effects for people too, like causing lesions and other types of skin conditions," said Abram.

The First Nation secured $43 million in federal funding last March to bring treated drinking water to the community by September 2025.

Abram said the community has positive outlook after receiving a firm commitment from Ottawa to extend the Lake Huron water line to Oneida. He believes a fresh water supply will also bring opportunities for economic development to the First Nation, he said. 

The water lines coming to Oneida however, are not going to be as life-changing to the community as they had initially thought, Monastyrski said.