Water, Water Everywhere by Susan L.

  "And not a drop to drink."
  There are over 100 Indigenous communities in this wealthy, water rich country who have been on boiled water advisories for decades.
  The provincial government just admitted to overpaying civil employees to the tune of seventy million dollars. Part of that mess is many aren't being paid. All because of a computerized paycheque system that has failed miserably. I shudder to think how much the program cost in the first place.
  Billions of dollars were wasted on the long gun registry which was cancelled after floundering around for years. Those who break the law won't register their guns so it was a pointless exercise to get handguns off the streets.
  The federal government spent millions on fireworks and a bunch of other celebratory geegaws on New Years Eve to launch the year of Canada's 150th birthday.
  Admission to Federal parks is free this year. Most of those are way up north and only accessible by those who can afford a trip. I'd gladly give up my free entrance for a child to have fresh drinking water.
  A freshwater well can be dug for around ten to fifteen thousand dollars. I don't know how much a water treatment plant costs but I am sure it's a fraction of the squandered dollars the government keeps wasting. There's also the option of installing water treatment systems in each house. UV light kills a heck of a lot of bugs in the water.
  The inquest into Missing and Murdered Indigenous women keeps being delayed, postponed, and patronized by quaint platitudes of "doing it right". Having a blond haired, blue-eyed woman in charge of this inquest somehow doesn't seem right. Why isn't someone who has first hand knowledge of Indigenous culture leading the way?
  So. While Canada celebrates its 150th, Indigenous people are mourning 150 years of oppression.
  While I support helping refugees, I am also asking our government to step up, right the wrongs, and rescue the families living in abject poverty and despair without delay! I am asking the government to build adequate sewage and water treatment plants for those who have waited far too long to get a glass of water from the tap.
  Let's not wait another hundred and fifty years to do the right thing.
  "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Gal 5:13