Miles Morrisseau
ICT
Canada’s auditor general has issued a scathing report on the failure of the Canadian government’s Indigenous Services Canada department to meet ongoing and current crises for First Nations and other Indigenous peoples.
Among the problems detailed by Auditor General Karen Hogan are the federal government’s inability to meet its commitments to provide critical services to First Nations communities including long standing “boil water alerts” and “access to emergency services” as First Nations face increasing risk from wildfire and flooding threats.
“Our audits of Indigenous programs and services have underscored persistent barriers to equitable outcomes, including fragmented program delivery and a passive, siloed approach to supporting First Nations,” Hogan concluded.
Hogan has been with the department for almost 20 years and was appointed to the auditor general’s position in 2020 by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2020. She is now halfway through her 10-year mandate.
Ongoing problems remain unresolved, she concluded.
“Over the past two decades, successive audits have highlighted the government’s challenges related to maintaining access to safe drinking water in remote First Nations communities,” she said. “While our audits have noted progress on this pressing issue, sustained attention remains necessary to resolve the most problematic situations, for example, where boil water advisories have been in place for decades.”
Hogan also called on Canada to live up to its promises for reconciliation.
“The time is now to put words into action, whether that is to affirm that the rights of all Indigenous women, girls and 2-spirit and gender diverse people. More broadly, it is important to prioritize helping those who have fallen furthest behind as a way to advance reconciliation efforts in Canada.”
The Assembly of First Nations, the representative body for the majority of First Nations communities in the country, supports the report’s findings.
“The pace of progress is too slow on critical programs that are essential to the safety and well-being of our people,” AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in a statement. “Too many of our communities still don’t have safe drinking water – for some, it’s been more than a decade.”
She continued, “After consecutive summers of dangerous wildfires, the Auditor General found that fewer First Nations have emergency services agreements in place than in 2022. These are just two examples where we need urgent action. We agree with the Auditor General’s observation that a key to breaking barriers to progress is to bolster support for First Nations capacity.”
The report follows up on ISC’s progress in implementing recommendations made in six audits completed from 2015 to 2022. The audits covered a range of programs important to the health and well-being of First Nations communities, including programs providing access to primary health care, emergency management services, and safe drinking water.
The AG’s report states the department “had made unsatisfactory progress” in implementing the actions to address 53 percent (18 of 34) of the recommendations. Despite an 84 percent increase in the department’s spending on programs since the 2019–2020 fiscal year, significant challenges remained in improving services and program outcomes for First Nations communities.
“For instance, as early as 2005, we identified concerns with drinking water quality in First Nations communities,” the report states. “Although the number of drinking water advisories has diminished since our 2021 audit of access to safe drinking water in First Nations communities, we are greatly concerned that nine long-term advisories have remained in effect for a decade or longer.”
Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty, Cree, who was elected to Parliament for the first time earlier this year and is the first First Nations person to head up the department, responded to the report by stating that work needs to be done.
“The Auditor General’s follow-up report is clear: there is real progress, and there is work we must accelerate,” said Gull-Masty. “These are not abstract programs. Health care, education, emergency response, and clean water are essential services — the bedrock of safe, thriving communities — and they are central to our shared path toward equity and reconciliation.”
The Chiefs of Ontario, which represents First Nations in Canada’s largest province, called for action to fix a broken system.
“First Nations do not need more reports confirming what we already know, we need real action and accountability,” said Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict. “The federal government’s inability to implement its own recommendations shows that the system is broken. First Nations must define priorities, control funding, and deliver programs based on their own laws, values, and knowledge systems. Canada’s current service delivery model has failed to support this approach, and it’s time to move to a model by First Nations for First Nations.”
In addition to long-standing issues such as safe water, health care and education, the growing threats to communities from increased wildfires and flooding was highlighted in the report.
“In our 2013 report on emergency management on reserves and again in our 2022 report on emergency management in First Nations communities, we recommended that the department establish agreements to ensure that all First Nations communities across the country have access to emergency services,” the report stated. “Timely, coordinated responses to events such as wildfires and floods are essential to mitigate disruption to peoples’ lives and damage to critical infrastructure. In this follow-up audit, however, we found that fewer agreements were in place than in 2022.”
The national chief said the response to the auditor general’s report must be led by First Nations.
“The Government of Canada has legal and moral obligations to First Nations, and we look forward to seeing more involvement of First Nations in the running, planning, and design of programs to avoid the pitfalls of the past,” said Woodhouse Nepinak. “Investing in First Nations is an investment in our shared future. We urge the Government of Canada to ensure that investments for First Nations and initiatives with First Nations are prioritized in the upcoming budget. Together, we can move forward faster.”
Indigenous Services Minister Gull-Masty is offering to take direction from the report and is promising to have a plan of action by spring.
“I see this audit as a guidepost in strengthening service delivery and informing collaborative approaches,” Gull-Masty said. “My department and I will present an action report in spring of 2026 to lay out the path forward.”