Hon. Renée Dupuis: Honourable senators, it seems increasingly clear that the COVID-19 pandemic that has been going on for a more than a year and a half has heightened inequalities around the world, including here at home.

On the eve of International Human Rights Day, I want to acknowledge the fact that human rights now have a key place in sustainable development.

Many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 make that very clear. For instance, goal 3 seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Goal 6 is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Goal 10 seeks to reduce inequality, and goal 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Access to safe drinking water for Canada’s Indigenous communities is an ongoing issue and one of the most dire examples of inequality and systemic discrimination. This is clearly illustrated by the number of drinking water advisories still in effect on Indigenous reserves and the water contamination problems recently uncovered in Nunavut’s Inuit communities. The amount of work required to make up lost ground and eliminate these inequalities is of direct concern to us.

Dear colleagues, we are committed to having this government collaborate with Indigenous communities to establish a specific schedule and provide adequate funding for the infrastructure required to supply this essential service for all Indigenous communities, as a matter of rights, equality, justice and solidarity. We must send a message that the future of Indigenous communities and the health and well-being of their members are of the utmost importance to us.