Our Infrastructure
On June 23, 2020, AFNWA and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Minister Marc Miller announced the signing of a framework agreement that lays the groundwork for the AFNWA to establish full autonomous operations by spring 2022. One important provision reads, the AFNWA and Canada would:
“Agree on a process that will provide for a long–term funding agreement with the AFNWA to provide water and wastewater services to Participating First Nation communities.”
To prepare for this long–term view, AFNWA is currently undertaking a comprehensive Asset Management Plan (AMP). An AMP provides a framework to document the current state of infrastructure assets in relation to levels of service, planned actions to ensure the assets are achieving performance expectations, and funding strategies to implement planned actions.
Long–term funding will allow the AFWNA to develop a 10–year Capital and Operations Budget, allowing participating First Nations the ability to move away from the year–by–year allocation process currently implemented by the federal government.
Asset Management Plans provide a common understanding of service, financial and resource challenges. The AMP also emphasizes the connection between organizational goals and the services provided by the organization. They are intended to be inclusive of all assets–related needs, such as infrastructure renewal, environmental and safety regulatory compliances, operational improvements, and growth to communities and their systems.
Once the AMP and 10–year budget is completed, it will become the basis of our funding requests to the federal government.