Nunavut needs auditor general’s help on drinking water

News that Canada’s auditor general is going to take a look at Nunavut’s drinking water should be welcome news to all Nunavummiut. To all Canadians, in fact.

Across the territory, there’s a lot that doesn’t seem to be going right with the supply of drinking water. At the same time, governments are pumping a lot of money into improvements to water and sewage infrastructure.

Nunavummiut learned this week the auditor general is going to do an audit of the management of Nunavut’s drinking water, expected to be published next year.

A little advice from the auditor general should help identify what changes need to be made as well as shine a light on the way public money is being spent.

Canada’s auditor general Karen Hogan is the independent officer of Parliament responsible for conducting audits and studies of federal and territorial public institutions.

You might recognize her name from such audits as this year’s review of the Family Services Department’s handling of children in care and last year’s Public Housing in Nunavut report that pointed to a lack of transparency in the territory’s plan to build 3,000 homes between 2022 and 2030.

Provinces have their own auditors general, but because Nunavut doesn’t have one, the federal official is responsible for reviewing territorial institutions and offering advice to the legislative assembly.

Governments sometimes bristle at auditor general reports because they frequently point out the shortcomings of governments or public institutions.

In recent years, there has been a litany of water problems in Nunavut. (The details are laid out in a story by reporter Nehaa Bimal about the upcoming auditor general’s report on page 7 of this week’s paper).

Water woes have been experienced by people in Arctic Bay, Baker Lake, Coral Harbour, Gjoa Haven, Iqaluit, Kugaaruk, Naujaat, Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, and Sanikiluaq.

In 2024, a Nunatsiaq News story reported only eight of Nunavut’s 25 water treatment plants had passed their most recent public health inspections without health or safety deficiencies.

Adverse conditions in Nunavut’s drinking water have ranged from short-term boil water advisories because of the risk of contamination due broken infrastructure to do not consume orders to states of emergency.

In some cases — such seawater getting into Kugaaruk’s water treatment plant or diesel fuel contaminating Iqaluit’s supply — the military has been called in to distribute bottled water or to use its specialized equipment normally used in disaster areas to purify water.

When you need the military to step in and provide clean drinking water in communities of 1,300 or 8,700, there’s a serious problem.

The federal government is spending a lot of money to improve Nunavut’s water infrastructure. The biggest, highest-profile project is the $214 million in funding then-prime minister Justin Trudeau announced to upgrade Iqaluit’s water infrastructure.

A 2023 Drinking Water Strategic Framework estimated the cost of addressing the territory’s water treatment needs at $605 million.

Everyone knows there’s a huge need to improve Nunavut’s drinking water supply. There’s a lot of money needed, and already a lot of money flowing.

That’s why the thoroughness of an auditor general’s review of the situation is good news for Nunavut.