Man ‘shocked’ by First Nations water crisis running across Canada to raise awareness.
According to a Government of Canada website, there are more than 100 long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations communities across Canada.
Hasan Syed hopes that through his efforts he can help ensure every community in Canada has access to safe drinking water.
‘I always viewed Canada as a safe haven’ Syed moved with his family to Canada from Pakistan when he was 10 years old, and he has firsthand experience of not having access to clean water.
That’s why, in his last year of studying nursing, Syed was shocked to learn that people struggle to access clean drinking water across Canada as well.
"I always viewed Canada as a safe haven, a developed nation for all," said Syed.
The discovery ignited a passion in Syed, and he felt compelled to do something about it.
Challenged by run Syed started his journey in April and planned the run to last 150 days to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday, but the journey is more difficult that he imagined.
Syed will be speaking about his journey at Wesley United Church in Regina at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday.
With files from CBC Radio’s Morning Edition

Official ground-breaking ceremony for upgrades to Shawinigan’s drinking water infrastructure.
Julie Boulet, Quebec Minister of Tourism, Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region and Member of the National Assembly for Laviolette, Pierre Giguère, Member of the National Assembly for Saint-Maurice, and Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan, participated in the official ground-breaking ceremony marking the continuation of work to upgrade the City’s drinking water infrastructure.
This investment in water infrastructure will allow the City of Shawinigan to ensure better water management, a healthier environment and improved public services for residents."
Julie Boulet, Quebec Minister of Tourism, Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region and Member of the National Assembly for Laviolette, on behalf of Martin Coiteux, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Minister of Public Security and Minister Responsible for the Montréal Region "The Government of Quebec is proud to support water projects, such as the one starting today, that improve public services at the municipal level.
Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan Quick Facts To meet the requirements of the Quebec Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, the City of Shawinigan is starting the construction of two new water treatment plants this year, one for water drawn from Lac des Piles and the other for water from Lac à la Pêche.
The project to upgrade the drinking water infrastructure also includes modifying the water supply system to connect the Saint-Georges and Lac-à-la-Tortue sectors to the Lac à la Pêche water supply system.
The Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
Under the 2017‒2027 Quebec Infrastructure Plan, the Quebec Department of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy will invest a total of $15 billion in infrastructure thanks to $7 billion in government financial support.
Related links For more information on City of Shawinigan’s drinking water infrastructure upgrades: www.shawinigan.ca/miseauxnormes.
For more information on the Government of Canada’s $180 billion-plus infrastructure plan in Budget 2017: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-02-en.html Federal investments in Quebec infrastructure projects: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/index-eng.html Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/prog/programs-infc-summary-eng.html#bcf-mic Building Canada Fund‒Quebec: http://www.mamot.gouv.qc.ca/infrastructures/programmes-daide-financiere/fonds-chantiers-canada-quebec-fccq/ 2017‒2027 Quebec Infrastructure Plan: https://www.tresor.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/PDF/budget_depenses/17-18/infrastructuresPubliquesQuebec.pdf SOURCE Infrastructure Canada For further information: Contacts: Brook Simpson, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-219-0149; Marie-Ève Pelletier, Director of Communications and Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Minister of Public Security and Minister Responsible for the Montreal Region, 418-691-2050; Patrick Soucy, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Tourism and Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region and MNA for Laviolette, 418-528-8063; François St-Onge, Director, Communications Unit, City of Shawinigan, 819-536-7200; For information: Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, E-mail: infc.media.infc@canada.ca, Twitter: @INFC_eng, Website: Infrastructure Canada; Pierre-Luc Lévesque, Communications Branch, Department of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy and Department of Public Security, 418-691-2015, ext.

Official ground-breaking ceremony for upgrades to Shawinigan’s drinking water infrastructure.
Julie Boulet, Quebec Minister of Tourism, Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region and Member of the National Assembly for Laviolette, Pierre Giguère, Member of the National Assembly for Saint-Maurice, and Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan, participated in the official ground-breaking ceremony marking the continuation of work to upgrade the City’s drinking water infrastructure.
This investment in water infrastructure will allow the City of Shawinigan to ensure better water management, a healthier environment and improved public services for residents."
Julie Boulet, Quebec Minister of Tourism, Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region and Member of the National Assembly for Laviolette, on behalf of Martin Coiteux, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Minister of Public Security and Minister Responsible for the Montréal Region "The Government of Quebec is proud to support water projects, such as the one starting today, that improve public services at the municipal level.
Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan Quick Facts To meet the requirements of the Quebec Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, the City of Shawinigan is starting the construction of two new water treatment plants this year, one for water drawn from Lac des Piles and the other for water from Lac à la Pêche.
The project to upgrade the drinking water infrastructure also includes modifying the water supply system to connect the Saint-Georges and Lac-à-la-Tortue sectors to the Lac à la Pêche water supply system.
The Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
Under the 2017‒2027 Quebec Infrastructure Plan, the Quebec Department of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy will invest a total of $15 billion in infrastructure thanks to $7 billion in government financial support.
Related links For more information on City of Shawinigan’s drinking water infrastructure upgrades: www.shawinigan.ca/miseauxnormes.
For more information on the Government of Canada’s $180 billion-plus infrastructure plan in Budget 2017: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-02-en.html Federal investments in Quebec infrastructure projects: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/index-eng.html Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/prog/programs-infc-summary-eng.html#bcf-mic Building Canada Fund‒Quebec: http://www.mamot.gouv.qc.ca/infrastructures/programmes-daide-financiere/fonds-chantiers-canada-quebec-fccq/ 2017‒2027 Quebec Infrastructure Plan: https://www.tresor.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/PDF/budget_depenses/17-18/infrastructuresPubliquesQuebec.pdf SOURCE Infrastructure Canada For further information: Contacts: Brook Simpson, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-219-0149; Marie-Ève Pelletier, Director of Communications and Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Minister of Public Security and Minister Responsible for the Montreal Region, 418-691-2050; Patrick Soucy, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Tourism and Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region and MNA for Laviolette, 418-528-8063; François St-Onge, Director, Communications Unit, City of Shawinigan, 819-536-7200; For information: Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, E-mail: infc.media.infc@canada.ca, Twitter: @INFC_eng, Website: Infrastructure Canada; Pierre-Luc Lévesque, Communications Branch, Department of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy and Department of Public Security, 418-691-2015, ext.

Construction begins on Canadian Capital Regional District’s wastewater treatment project.
Construction gets underway in April on the redesigned McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Township of Esquimalt.
The $385 million project is being funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia and the CRD.
"The Government of Canada recognizes that we need a solid partnership with all orders of government to support the infrastructure that will prepare us for the future and create the good, well-paying jobs to help the middle class grow and prosper today," said Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
"Investing in this Capital Regional District wastewater treatment solution is an investment in our environment and, in the longer term, the jobs and livelihoods of those working in British Columbia’s aquaculture industries."
This is the first of three integrated projects totalling an estimated $765 million to put in place a modern, efficient wastewater treatment system for the CRD’s core area.
The Wastewater Treatment Project includes: The McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, which will provide tertiary treatment to the core area’s wastewater and includes a pipeline from Ogden Point to McLoughlin Point and a new marine outfall for treated water into the Juan de Fuca Strait; A Residuals Treatment Facility at the Hartland Landfill, which will turn residual solids into "Class A" biosolids; and A conveyance system, which will carry wastewater from across the core area to the treatment plant, and residual solids to the Residuals Treatment Facility.
Once all project components are completed by the end of 2020, CRD residents and businesses will have a modern wastewater treatment solution that is environmentally sensitive to the surrounding marine ecosystem, and will serve their needs well into the future.

Canada has overtaken the United States as the top North American supplier of pork to China, as farmers and meat packers in both nations battle for lucrative shares of the biggest global market. Canada’s pork sales to China, after a sharp rise last year, exceeded those of the United States in the first quarter of 2017. That’s only happened a handful of times in two decades, according to US and Canadian government data. Rising affluence is driving China’s voracious appetite for pork, including parts of the pig – feet, elbows, innards – which command little value in most countries. At the same time, tightened environmental standards in China have forced farm closures and boosted demand for cheaper imports. That’s a bonanza for Canadian farmers, who have almost completely removed the growth drug ractopamine from their pigs’ diet – largely because it is banned in China, which consumes half the world’s pork. US exports to China are limited because only about half of the nation’s herd has been weaned off the drug, according to US hog producers, meat packers and animal feed dealers. But major US-based firms are now moving to produce more ractopamine-free hogs – including the three biggest pork producers. The ascension of Canada’s pork exports underscores the power of the gargantuan Chinese market to influence agricultural practices and profits in supplier countries worldwide. As recently as 2013,…

A group of Grade 7 students in Calgary is calling on all levels of government to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday by giving First Nations communities across the country the gift of clean water.
Denise Hammond and her humanities classmates at Ian Bazalgette junior high school have spent almost the entire school year researching, writing letters to government officials and fundraising for their cause, which they’re calling the Clean Water Birthday Project.
WATCH: New report says federal government not doing enough to address First Nations water crisis “Our mission is to try to get awareness out about the more than 100 First Nations communities in Canada that do not have access to clean drinking water,” Hammond said.
It’s already been going on for some places more than 20 years, so we’re hoping that if we get enough awareness out there that the government will actually take action and get it resolved by the end of 2017.” Getting the project started It all started after Hammond showed her students two short documentaries highlighting the lack of access to clean water on First Nations.
They wrote the exact same thing to everyone, and it was pretty off topic,” Jordan Milligan, one of the students involved, said.
“I think what’s going to happen is [the kids are] going to look differently at bad situations,” Winslow added.
READ MORE: Many First Nations communities without access to clean drinking water Hammond admits her students have been discouraged at times, but that despite the failures, the kids continue to work towards their goal.
Like someone sharing our stuff on Facebook, or getting 10 more people clicking one of our links – these are still successes,” Hammond said.
So we can try.” Hope for the future The school year is almost over for the students, but their teacher is planning on keeping the project going.
“I hope [people] consider that others don’t have clean drinking water, and do something about it.

Government of Canada Improving Water Infrastructure at Enoch Cree Nation.
Today, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, on behalf of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, joined Chief Billy Morin of Enoch Cree Nation at a sod turning ceremony to announce construction on a project that will connect Enoch Cree Nation to the City of Edmonton’s water system and ensure the growing community has access to safe and reliable drinking water now and into the future.
The project includes construction of a new water supply line and a new water reservoir and pumphouse to provide a sustainable drinking water supply.
Working in partnership with Enoch Cree Nation, our government is supporting sustainable solutions to address water infrastructure on-reserve while ensuring water system operators have the training they need to succeed."
In addition to bringing clean water to our core village, this expansion will support business development and create partnerships with the County of Parkland."
Quick Facts The Enoch Cree Nation’s old water treatment plant will remain in service to provide the community with a source of non-potable water for uses such as fighting grass fires.
Budget 2016 is providing $1.8 billion over five years to significantly improve on-reserve water and wastewater infrastructure, ensure proper facility operation, maintenance, and support the training of water system operators, in addition to $141.7 million over five years to improve drinking water monitoring and testing on reserve.
Committing investments over five years allows for long-term planning to improve on-reserve water and wastewater systems.
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Canada is winning market share in China because U.S. packers and feed mills won’t remove ractopamine from feed, says American economist Canadian pork will keep going through the front door to China while U.S. pork sneaks through back doors left open by Canada and the European Union, says a leading American hog market analyst.
“They’ll be a long-time buyer.” As well, he urged Canadian hog farmers to examine why they aren’t receiving a premium over the average North American price because Canada is becoming the hub for offshore pork sales.
However, Canada has gone almost entirely racto-free, so its sales to China have been booming.
In 2016 China vaulted to become the second biggest buyer of Canadian pork by volume at 313,915 tonnes.
That leaves the U.S. to backfill the customers that Canada and the EU are now ignoring in order to meet Chinese demand, Hayes said.
The booming Chinese demand for pork imports will continue for at least a year and probably 18 months, he said.
Whether it will continue beyond that depends on the choices Chinese hog farmers make about relocating to Manchuria in northern China.
If they don’t move and production doesn’t boom in Manchuria to make up for slumping production in the central and southern regions, then China will probably remain a major pork buyer.
China has been importing about 250,000 tonnes per month.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Hayes.

Will Canada End Its Stanley Cup Drought?
Well, It’s Not Impossible.
It’s been a cold, agonizing quarter-century for hockey fans in the Great White North.
So the more cracks Canadian teams can take at the Cup, the better their country’s odds of winning.
The playoffs aren’t totally a crapshoot, though — better teams still have a greater chance of winning.
(And yep, Edmonton wound up taking the prize.)
The late ’80s were a golden era for Canada’s Cup chances; Canadian teams haven’t combined for even half those odds in a single postseason since 2006.
This year, the five Canadian playoff squads’ probabilities add up to a mere 17 percent — only a little over half what we expected earlier when we naively assumed that every playoff team had an equal shot at Lord Stanley’s Mug.
According to SRS, the best Canadian team — Connor McDavid’s Oilers — ranks a distant sixth in the league, with a rating that translates to a mere 5 percent chance of winning the Cup.
But for now, Canadian hopes of ending the Stanley Cup drought are once again resting on a handful of decent-but-not-great clubs.

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, FEBRUARY 6, 2017 — On January 27, 2017, the Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) was proud to host an announcement of the first large project to receive funding under its Advancing Water Technologies (AWT) program.
GE Water & Process Technologies (GE) will work with the University of Guelph (U of G) along with McMaster University, to test new ways to reduce energy consumption while at the same time generating energy from the wastewater treatment process and utilizing beneficial resources from wastewater.
"The consumption of energy in wastewater treatment is substantial," said Glenn Vicevic, Product Management Executive, GE Water & Process Technologies.
By working with SOWC and the Universities of Guelph and McMaster on this pilot, we are gathering critical data to improve energy recovery and bring new technology to market."
Lloyd Longfield, Member of Parliament for Guelph made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
"Canada is committed to investing in clean energy technology producers because clean technologies – such as those that will result from this sub-project – have the potential to advance the way communities manage their resources, consume energy and improve quality of life" said MP Longfield.
This part of the project will be led by McMaster University researcher Younggy Kim and will include the development of a numerical model simulation and includes a full scale pilot installation at a facility in London, Ontario for validation.
The AWT investment includes nearly $600,000 through both the U of G and McMaster projects.
GE will invest $900,000 for the project.
SOWC’s Advancing Water Technologies program, which supports collaborative, industry-led technology development projects, is funded by FedDev Ontario through a $12-million contribution announced by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2016.