Crown owes duties to First Nations for lack of access to safe drinking water, says Federal Court – MLT Aikins
December 19, 2025
On December 5, 2025, the Federal Court released its decision in Shamattawa First Nation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 FC 1927 (Shamattawa). The decision represents important new developments in the law, as it is the first time a Canadian court has ruled that the federal Crown owes legal duties to First Nations in relation to accessing safe drinking water. It builds on Tataskweyak Cree Nation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 FC 1442 (Tataskweyak), a previous class action litigation regarding safe drinking water on reserves that ended in an $8-billion settlement, but was settled before the courts ruled on whether Canada owed First Nations legal duties.
Background and Summary
Shamattawa is a national class action brought by Shamattawa First Nation and Chief Jordna Hill on behalf of all status Indians who lived on reserve lands or modern treaty lands affected by a drinking water advisory from June 20, 2021, to present, as well as any First Nations affected by those advisories (the class members). This case is therefore distinct from Tataskweyak, which focused on drinking water advisories occurring between 1995 and 2021.
