Office of Terry Sheehan
Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie
Left to right for photo: Batchewana First Nation Band Councillor Harvey Bell; Sault Ste. Marie Member of Parliament Terry Sheehan; Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers; Elder Sharon Hult, Elder Greg Agawa, and Edmund Dubois
News Release
MP Terry Sheehan announces $14.6 million for
Batchewana First Nation water treatment plant
(August 24, 2022 – Goulais Mission, ON) Member of Parliament for Sault Ste Marie and Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Minister of Labour Terry Sheehan is pleased to announce $14.6 million for Batchewana First Nation’s new Chi We Kwe Don Water Treatment Plant.
Funding of $14.6 million to Batchewana First Nation for the feasibility, design, and construction of the new water treatment plant will serve the community of Goulais Mission and 10 Point-of-Entry water systems for the Obajiwan community.
This new water treatment plant will be a new centre that will exceed the needs of providing clean and treated water to homes across Goulais Mission. This is the federal government’s commitment to ensure each Indigenous community has access to clean and safe drinking water. The new water treatment plant will ensure, for decades to come, access to clean water that is safe to consume.
Quote
“I would like to thank Chief Sayers, and Council for their advocacy and our work together for the Chi We Kwe Don Water Treatment Plant. I was pleased to work with our government on behalf of Batchewana on a Nation-to-Nation process for this much needed funding. Our government remains committed to ending water advisories, working with Indigenous Nations to progress and resolve health care issues, and work to establish infrastructure that will last decades and beyond.”
--Terry Sheehan, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour
Quick Facts
- The construction of the Chi We Kwe Don water treatment plant began in November 2020 and was completed in March 2022. Work on the Point-of-Entry systems is ongoing and anticipated to be completed in Fall 2022.
- The First Nation is working with the project team to incorporate additional automated features in the water plant to improve operations.
- The water plant is built to meet the 20-year potable water needs of the community, previously relying on wells containing elevated levels of uranium, are now connected to the water plant via the piped distribution system.
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Contact:
Sandra Paul
Office of Terry Sheehan
705-941-2900
Media Relations Office
Indigenous Services Canada
819-953-1160