Water crisis in Nunavut's capital likely won't be resolved for another 3 years: MLA

From treatment issues to car wash bans, accessing clean drinking water has remained a struggle in Iqaluit with one MLA saying a resolution is likely still years away.

Adam Arreak Lightstone, member of the legislative assembly of Nunavut for Iqaluit-Manirajak, spoke to CTV's Your Morning on Wednesday to discuss some of the ongoing issues facing the territory's capital.

It comes after the Iqaluit government announced in late May that its ban on using city-treated water for car washes remained in effect as part of an effort to be "water wise" and conserve the local water supply.

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In April, the city of about 7,700 people, as of the 2016 census, said its water treatment plant would return to service after shutting down due to fuel contamination.

Although the federal government last year announced $214 million to fix the city's water infrastructure, Lightstone says it will still take time for that project to finish.

"So we're looking at likely three years until our water crisis is resolved," he said.

The city declared a state of emergency in August 2022 due to a water shortage that resulted from a lack of precipitation that summer.

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Lightstone, who resigned as a cabinet minister last year over an integrity commissioner report, said the water issue has also affected housing, with the city unable to develop land for large residential buildings until it is confident that the water system won't be put under more undue stress.

"Iqaluit is not just facing a water crisis but also a housing crisis and there is a tremendous amount of homeless, near homeless and overcrowding here in Iqaluit — and the situation is only going to worsen until we get this water crisis issue resolved," Lightstone said, adding it's undeniable that the water issues are also connected to climate change.

Watch the full interview with Adam Arreak Lightstone at the top of the article. With files from The Canadian Press.