OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will introduce clean drinking water legislation in the spring, delaying a bill that had been promised for this fall.

Carney promised to revive the legislation during an address to the Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa on Tuesday, saying he will host a joint meeting with federal, provincial, territorial and First Nations leaders early in the new year and that co-ordination on water solutions will be a key agenda item.

Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty said in July she would reintroduce legislation to ensure First Nations’ right to clean drinking water this fall, despite calls from Alberta and Ontario for Ottawa to scrap the bill altogether.

The Ontario and Alberta environment ministers sent a letter to the

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