b'HOUSING, INFRASTRUCTURE, EMERGENCY SERVICESIt is estimated that in six years over halfThe first steps towards First NationsWhich leads to the second water and of the worlds population will reside inhaving the ability to adapt have alreadywastewater implication of the climate water-stressed areas.3 been taken, and we are hard at workcrisis for First Nations nationhood:What does the climate crisis mean fortrying to repeal and replace brutal andclimate-resilient and adaptable critical First Nations Nationhood in the contextdangerous water laws forced on us withoutinfrastructure cannot be negotiable, ever. of water? consultation. Operations and maintenanceAnd the time to invest in that critical policy reform is moving forward hopinginfrastructure is now. It is very unlikely In my view it means three inter-relatedto unlock hundreds of millions of long- that these investments will get easier to things for us as First Nations rebuildingoverdue dollars to give First Nations thebuild or cheaper.and standing up our laws, our societiesresources they need to maintain theirIn the wake of superstorms, of and our communities. critical infrastructure. We are working totornadoes in Denendeh (Elders informed First, it means that we have to be capableimprove First Nations ability to respondme that this is utterly unprecedented), of climate-related adaptation as Nations.to and manage emergencies. of islands literally being levelled and From the perspective of the AFNThe next steps are more complicated.of increasing water scarcity that will Housing, Infrastructure and EmergencyThere has never been a functionalimpact food security, First Nations Management Services Sector, this meansnational First Nations infrastructurecannot allow their critical infrastructure that we need to prioritize resilient andassessment. The last major analysis ofneeds to go unmet. For clarity, as adaptable infrastructure investment, andour water and wastewater infrastructure,stated by the federal government in this investment must be maintained bycompleted in 2011, is out of date andtheir National Strategy for Critical functional operations and maintenancewas poorly done, not consideringInfrastructure: Critical infrastructure funding. A brand new car will breakunderground infrastructure like pipesrefers to processes, systems, facilities, down shortly without oil changes soand conduit, for example. The time hastechnologies, networks, assets and services too with infrastructure. come for all of us, as Nations, to assessessential to the health, safety, security or what we have, what we might need, andeconomic well-being of Canadians and what it is going to actually cost to getthe effective functioning of government. 3 A Map of the Future of Water, March 13, 2019, those needs met. Without the knowledgeCritical infrastructure can be standalone or interconnected and interdependent Jay Famigliettiof what we have, how can we ever hopewithin and across provinces, territories and https://trend.pewtrusts.org/en/archive/spring-2019/ to build and maintain what we need?a-map-of-the-future-of-water national borders.www.afn.ca 87'