Standing beside Assembly of First Nations National (AFN) Chief Phil Fontaine, Buzz Hargrove, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union boss, had harsh words for the federal government during an impromptu press conference at the Braeburn Lodge on Wednesday morning.

"It's a disgrace," said Hargrove of the poor water quality in the village of Little Salmon-Carmacks, which, for the past five years, has been under a boil water advisory.

"Basic rights such as clean drinking water should not be left to the private sector or non-governmental organizations ... nowhere else in the country would anybody condone this."

Fog causing poor visibility prevented a plane carrying Fontaine and Hargrove from landing in Carmacks. The flight from Whitehorse was diverted to the airstrip at Braeburn, about 90 kilometres north of the capital.

The pair had planned to tour the village of Little Salmon-Carmacks and celebrate the work done to date by CAW volunteer workers to improve the quality of well water in the community.

"I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to all the CAW volunteers who came to Little Salmon-Carmacks to work on improving water quality in the community," said Fontaine.

This summer, a half-dozen CAW members donated their time and expertise to repair 27 of 57 wells in the community that provide drinking water to 320 people.

Eddie Skookum, chief of the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation, who drove in from Carmacks to meet Hargrove and Fontaine, also expressed his thanks.

"After repeated, unsuccessful efforts to get Indian and Northern Affairs to look at the issue, we welcomed the CAW volunteers' support and assistance," said Skookum. "Safe, clean drinking water should be a right, not a privilege in this country."

The Little Salmon Carmacks chief added that preparations are being made to welcome the CAW crew next summer to complete the other wells.

"And there are other communities that need this help also," he said, adding local community members were learning alongside the CAW volunteers with the goal of assisting others with similar problems.

The relationship between the union and the AFN began last February after CAW donated $50,000 toward the AFN's Make Poverty History for First Nations campaign.

The Carmacks well-repair project was the first of three joint initiatives that included building a wheelchair ramp at the Native Canadian Centre in Toronto and renovating a Vancouver building to serve as a women's drop-in centre in that city's Downtown Eastside.

"We're a social union; our commitment goes beyond our members and our families," said Hargrove. "When I started talking to Phil Fontaine, I was appalled to realize we had a developing world in our own country called first nation communities."

Hargrove also took aim at the Prime Minister as their respective visits to the region coincided yesterday.

"We want to show the world that the Canadian government is not living up to its obligations to first nations people," said Hargrove.

"Harper has been up north the last several days and not one word from him about the suffering of communities like Little-Salmon Carmacks, so we're trying to embarrass the government into doing the work."

At 65, Hargrove is preparing to retire from his leadership of the CAW.