No running water… or no brave politicians?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/09/2011 (4807 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A story in last Saturday’s Free Press posed the following: Manitoba’s three party leaders all agree a massive health and social crisis exists in the North because of the lack of running water… the question is, what are they prepared to do about it?

Here’s what our readers would do about it.

Please show us some other homes, too, in particular the chief’s home. But, I doubt lack of running water caused garbage to pile up outside, or the weeds/grasses to grow, or the house not painted/maintained. They appear to have power and a satellite dish. One has to examine the entire system — why have these people stay on reserves in this day and age? Surely somehow we can get them running water.

— worldboy79

Not one of these politicians has the political will to do what needs to be done. These FN communities need to be moved closer to urban areas with services. Many of these communities have no road, which means no economic development. No economic development means more poverty.

How can we think about putting band-aids on a problem that requires a long-term economic solution? Because it takes real political guts to deal with these issues and hard decisions have to be made

— Chileanmafia1

Don’t judge about the graffiti or the garbage. Seems most people, probably ones comfortably sitting in their fully plumbed homes, are saying they don’t deserve running water because they haven’t kept their homes up to the commenter’s standards. Just shut up and give them running water and plumbing, and let them deal with those other issues separately. In 2011 there is no reason why all homes in Canada shouldn’t have plumbing.

— NWO Ikwe

In 2011 there is no reason why all families in Canada shouldn’t have a car. Will you agree to provide me with one, make sure it always drives and has a tank full of gas? You may as well also build me a garage for it and send someone to wash it and clean out my garbage once a week or so as I am a bit busy trying to convince my wife that we need more than just one child and that creation process is just so time-consuming.

— JC6

My neighbour raised her children with no running water in their home. They hauled every single ounce of water they used. Their home was clean, their children clean and healthy. There was no garbage or sewage in their yard. I think education is they key to healthy living. That, and the will to do the work required to maintain a healthy home.

— roadrunner1

People are fed up with paying to keep wilderness ghettoes open. For all the billions that get spent every year on ANAC, conditions on reserves just get worse. You can spend all the money you want trying to get that old Ford Pinto running again but at the end of the day you’ve still just got a Ford Pinto.

— Grubfoot

The house pictured in this article could be on Magnus, Pritchard, or Alfred in the North End of Winnipeg. I’m pretty sure there’s running water in the North End. Does running water prevent garbage from blowing around? Does it prevent graffiti? Does access to fresh, clean water prevent houses from falling apart? If there was running water on this reserve, nothing would change except that they would have water. There are far deeper social issues here. When will our politicians grow a set and tell it like it is?

— just sayn

To address those who doubt the chief’s house looks this way, it kind of does. Sure, he may have a nicer truck, and his family might be seen making more trips to the city than the rest of us, but his sons still haul water for their mother, same as the rest of the council.

I’m hoping more training in carpentry and plumbing WILL become available here. It’s a place where the cost of simple building materials is staggering, and the specialized materials needed for DIY home improvement simply are not available (believe me, I’ve tried, and will continue to try). But I have hope for my community, and I will not run off to the city. I’ll stay here and try to help make it better.

— MrEmm