 Canada Bureau
July 29, 2026
INDIGENOUS WATER RIGHTS IN FEDERAL FRESHWATER GOVERNANCE
Manitoba-based Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) works with Indigenous communities and all other levels of government across Canada to advance Indigenous rights, interests, and priorities across their lands, waters, and communities
“The current moment stands out as a potentially transformative opportunity to recognize Indigenous water rights and strengthen their implementation at the federal level. The imperative has never been more clear: increasingly common floods, droughts, and wildfires, as well as deteriorating water quality are impacting communities across the country, Indigenous nations are often disproportionately impacted. Indigenous peoples are resilient and know their watersheds best, yet they are often excluded from decision-making processes.”
–Submission to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development for its Study on Freshwater February 7, 2024
Indigenous Water Rights
Water is incredibly complex jurisdictionally, flowing across borders and through jurisdictions that do not align with watershed boundaries. In the face of this complexity, good water governance requires strong collaboration through intergovernmental leadership tables, shared decision-making mechanisms, and integrated data sets. Yet existing decision-making over water is fragmented and siloed. Federal and provincial governments make decisions about water without the processes in place to collaborate with Indigenous governments who are on the frontlines of combatting the ongoing water crisis and who hold inherent rights over the water on their territory.
WATERTODAY checked in with CIER’s Merrell-Ann Phare for updates on the 2024 document submitted on Indigenous Water Rights
Interview with Merrell-Ann Phare Co-Executive Director CIER
By Suzanne Forcese
Merrell-Ann Phare is a lawyer, writer, strategist, negotiator and relationship-builder who worked extensively in and with Indigenous organizations on environmental, land, water, and rights issues and for the last decade almost exclusively on collaborative water governance. She is currently serving her second consecutive term as Canadian Commissioner on the International Joint Commission.
She is a member of the Forum for Leadership on Water; a national water law and policy think tank.
As Chief Negotiator for the Government of the Northwest Territories, Ms. Phare led the negotiation of transboundary water agreements in the Mackenzie River Basin in 2016 and the creation of Thaidene Nene, a national, territorial, and indigenous protected area in the east arm of Great Slave Lake.
She is the author of the book “Denying the Source: the Crisis of First Nations Water Rights” and co-author of “Ethical Water”. She is a recipient of the Red Dot Foundation’s International Water Sheroes award and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
WT: Please give us an overview of CIER.
Phare: CIER is Canada’s first Indigenous-directed environmental non-profit charitable organization founded in 1995 by eight First Nation Chiefs from across Canada. They determined the need to build capacity within Indigenous Communities to manage their environmental challenges by creating their own institutions, and to partner with governments and other organizations. As a culturally diverse and collaborative organization, CIER supports Indigenous peoples in building sustainable communities and protects lands, waters and all living things.
Since 1995 CIER has worked on 450 projects with over 300 Indigenous nations across Canada while also reaching into the United States.
WT: You were legal counsel to the AFN as you co-developed Bill C61 (the precursor to Bill C37)
The following statement is from JFK Law (Aboriginal and Constitutional Law Firm)
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.
—By Clayton Leonard, Molly Churchill, Rayyan Esmail, June 16th, 2026
Regarding Indigenous Water Rights, please give us an overview of the 2024 Submission to The Standing Committee and Environment and Sustainable Development for its study on Freshwater, February, 2024.
- Why was the Submission created?
Phare: CIER is very interested in making sure people understand the impact on indigenous people, and the rest of Canada, resulting from the failure to affirm and implement indigenous water rights. Good water governance depends on indigenous governments being at the decision-making table to work with other governments to make the best decisions possible regarding the use, protection, and management of water. This is commonly stated of course but is stated as a problem that needs to be addressed. We wanted the Senate committee to understand that there are solutions that are already being implemented, there are good ideas, they just need to be considered and supported!
WT: What is the Collaborative Leadership Initiative?
Phare: The Collaborative Leadership Initiative (CLI) is a process developed by CIER to build collaboration on shared water challenges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous elected leaders and their administrations. We have designed and we facilitate the process. The goal is to build trust, strengthen relationships, and advance action towards true reconciliation. Our first 8 to 10 years have focused on water, but we are now focused on building collaborative governance tables that can address any issue of common concern between and non-indigenous governments.
WT: According to the document
"The current federal government has suggested that it is not going to require Indigenous nations to prove their rights in court. This means that Indigenous nations can propose to negotiate and enter into water governance agreements with Canada (and potentially other willing jurisdictions) without having to take legal action. This presents an opportunity to focus on implementing Indigenous water rights (and responsibilities), rather than solely proving that they exist."
In 2026 is this still the case?
Phare: This was a policy decision taken by the previous Prime Minister and I am unaware of whether or not the current government has a policy in place to avoid litigation and focus on negotiation. When it comes to water, if the current Bill C-37 First Nations Clean Water Act passes in its current form, it would go a long way towards improved water governance through the following recognition of jurisdiction that is in the Bill:
6 (1) For greater certainty, the inherent right of self-government recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 includes jurisdiction in relation to
(a) water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on, in and under First Nation lands; and
(b) water and source water in a protection zone that is adjacent to the First Nation lands of a First Nation, if the First Nation governing body, the Government of Canada and the government of the province or territory in which the protection zone is located have agreed on an approach to coordinate the application of the First Nation laws of that First zone.
(2) The jurisdiction includes
(a) legislative authority in relation to the matters referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) and the power to administer and enforce First Nation laws made under that legislative authority and to provide for dispute resolution mechanisms in those laws; and
(b) the ongoing development of First Nation laws based on the distinct traditions, customs and practices of First Nations.
WT: Pages 8, 9, and 10 of the document outline Changes in perspective; Challenges; Recommendations.
Are there any updates for 2026? Changes in perspective? challenges? Recommendations?
Phare: I still strongly support the recommendations set out on pages 9 and 10 as none of them have been implemented. Since the submission of these recommendations the Canada Water Agency has been engaging on a number of its initiatives but has not proceeded with initiatives of the type that CIER proposed, which is disappointing. Also, the Canada Water Act recommendation is a quick and effective fix that has not yet been considered, as far as I'm aware.
WT: Please share with our viewers the success of CLI in Manitoba and why this is a model for the rest of Canada.
Phare: The CLI has since been successfully extended to 4 other regions in Canada and so we have a solid basis for our view that municipal-First Nations-Metis water governance tables are possible and effective. It's complicated, of course, but the water challenges facing us because of climate change induced extreme weather events are also extremely difficult. Working together is the only way that we can find resilience given that these problems hit hardest at the ground level. Having these long overdue conversations that prevent us from working together is our main priority now. This is, in our view, the only way to build truly effective collaborative governance. And that's what's needed to solve these problems.
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