B.C.’s Ryan Reynolds makes donation to support clean water for Indigenous communities

Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds has made a donation to support a program that brings clean water to Indigenous communities.

Reynolds and his wife, actress Blake Lively, donated $500,000 to Water First Education and Training Inc. The charity trains Indigenous youth and adults to become water operators and environmental water science technicians.

In a message on social media, Reynolds said Canada is home to 20 per cent of Earth’s freshwater, and that there’s “no acceptable reason” for some Indigenous communities to be without safe and clean water.

The couple is among a list of celebrities who’ve opened their wallets to support Ukrainian refugees, and gave to Red Cross Canada in the fall toward flood recovery in British Columbia.

Late last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is still committed to ending all long-term drinking water advisories that exist on First Nations land, but did not provide a timeline for those efforts.

A government website estimated in December that there are 42 such advisories in 30 different communities in the country, something Trudeau called “unacceptable.”

Canada’s home to 20% of earth’s freshwater. There’s no acceptable reason Indigenous communities don’t have access to clean, safe water.?Check out @waterfirstngo https://t.co/0N5Y6PUO9q

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 24, 2022