These entrepreneurs are using their canned water to improve access to safe drinking water for Indigenous communities

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

Part of Tyson Wesley and Natasha Commanda's inspiration for FN Clean Water, a company that sells fresh spring water from the Eastern Ontario Highlands, was purely business. One-fifth of the water Canadians drink comes in bottles, according to the most recent data from Statistics Canada — but none of the companies that sell this water are Indigenous-owned or -operated.
'The ability to buy water is everywhere, it's so accessible. But there's not really an Indigenous presence in that marketplace,' Mr. Wesley says. 'So, we decided to start a water company but do it a little differently by using cans that are recyclable.'
But FN Clean Water, which launched in 2022, was also personal. Wesley is Cree and grew up in Kashechewan First Nation, an isolated community in Northern Ontario on the west coast of James Bay. He has clear memories of what it was like to live without access to clean water.
In 2003, the community had been placed under a boil-water advisory, and two years later, then Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs David Ramsay ordered almost 1,000 residents of the Kashechewan reserve to evacuate because their drinking water had elevated levels of E. coli. Mr. Wesley remembers the water that came out of the taps changing colour, and that people who bathing with that water were left with lesions and other skin issues.
'We had a water crisis for quite a while before the government really reacted to the situation that we were in,' he says. 'It was a really dramatic experience not being able to drink water from your tap and it's still an ongoing issue. I look at my cousin right now, who's close to his mid 20s, and he doesn't drink water out of the tap, even in cities. It takes quite a while to break out of that psychological habit.'
His is one of many Indigenous communities who have had to adapt to living with unsafe, undrinkable and unusable water. Despite Canada having a bounty of freshwater reserves – the country ranks third in the world – over 600 First Nations communities have had to live without safe drinking water, a violation of the United Nations recognized rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.
'Canadians take water for granted everywhere they go in the country, it's such a convenience. Our goal of gaining a presence in the retail market is to tell a different story, to educate Canadians about First Nations issues,' Wesley says. That's why the tagline on every can of FN Clean Water is, Everyone Deserves It.
While he and Commanda are broadening the reach of their brand, which can currently be found in several Ottawa-area locations including the Indigenous-owned Beandigen Cafe and the boutique at the National Art Gallery, they have also partnered with Water First to support the charitable organization's efforts to bring clean drinking water in sustainable and long-term way to Indigenous communities.
Water First works in partnership with Indigenous communities and offers education and training for water treatment, long-term resource management and school programming to show students pathways to careers in water science. Because the organization's work is community led, it's important for donor partners to align with the priorities and needs of the communities Water First works with.
'Our team connects with businesses to learn more about their work and interests and ensure that our goals and priorities align,' says Sarah Jayne Kendall, director of community engagement for the not-for-profit. 'Water First is the second component to our story. Our partners, participants and communities are the first. We have a responsibility to ensure that we do this appropriately, So being as clear as possible about how supporters can directly impact this shared work is critical to how we operate as an organization.'
FN Clean Water dedicates a portion of its annual proceeds to the organization. To date, Wesley and Commanda's start-up has been able to donate $1,000 to Water First.
'I think educating people on Water First is also our intent,' he says. 'We're a for-profit company. But when people email us to say, 'Hey, can we donate money to your company?' we try to redirect them to Water First.'
This form of funding is an effective way to support a charity. In fact, Kendall says the organization appreciates the support in all its forms.
'Some [donors] offer a portion of their proceeds. Some have teamed up on social media campaigns with us. Others have made multi-year grants to support programming in the future. We rely on all of this,' she says. 'It's all creative, it's all innovative, and it ends up reaching people in different ways. From my perspective, it always goes back to raising awareness. Without that awareness, we're not going to raise the funds. And it's critical to raise that awareness, because this is an ongoing crisis in Canada.'
One in a regular series of stories. To read more, visit our Indigenous Enterprises section. If you have suggestions for future stories, reach out to [e-mail].