Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
A joint investment of more than $1.7 million dollars to support two green projects in Saskatchewan has been announced. According to a release, Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan and CanNor on behalf of Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and Saskatchewan’s Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross new funding will support upgrades to the Danielson Provincial Park sewage lagoon to ensure it complies with regulatory requirements.
Canada, the USA, China and United Kingdom are the largest foreign owners of Australian water. A new report, released by the Australian Tax Office (ATO), will show that foreign ownership of water increased by 0.3 per cent in the year to June 2022. It shows that Canada holds 2.1 per cent of all Australian water entitlements, the USA 1.8 per cent, with China and the United Kingdom each holding 0.8 per cent.
In a city of pinstripes and partisan power brokers, Mike Allison sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s in the wrong place — and he knows it. “I shouldn’t be here,” the denim-clad Indigenous elder suddenly says, fighting tears beneath the brim of his trademark cowboy hat. “I should be out on the land, working with my kids, teaching them values. I should be teaching them kids how to work with the environment, not fight for it.”
The agency that mediates disputes between Canada and the United States over shared waters is pleading with the federal Liberals to join an investigation into contamination from British Columbia coal mines before the Americans move on their own. In a May 13 letter, the International Joint Commission asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to commit Canada to collaborating with the U.S. on studying and finding a solution to selenium from Teck Resource’s Elk Valley mines that ends up in rivers and lakes south of the border.
Using salt to clear icy roads may be an effective winter safety measure, but excess salty meltwater can wreak havoc on freshwater ecosystems and drinking water resources. In a new study, researchers show current water quality guidelines in North America and Europe are not enough to prevent dangerous levels of salinization. The findings were published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in China and one each from Canada and Germany, has found data from the Chinese Mars rover Zhurong over its first 60 sols, showing evidence of wind erosion and possibly impacts from water erosion, as well. In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, they discuss what they have found thus far.
A new report has been released by the International Joint Commission (IJC) for public review as part of the ongoing debate over Plan 2014, a controversial regulation plan to manage water levels on Lake Ontario. The phase-one report, the first of two to be released later, makes six recommendations on the road to helping better prepare for crisis high-water levels along Lake Ontario shorelines that wreaked havoc in 2017, 2019 and in early 2020.
From roads and buildings, to water systems – strong infrastructure is key to building stronger communities. Investments in safer and more efficient water services helps keep our communities healthy, green and sustainable. That is why the Government of Canada is investing over $2.2 million to upgrade the water supply infrastructure in two rural New Brunswick communities through the Green Infrastructure Stream (GIS). As Canada moves toward a strong recovery, these projects will help communities remain great places to live, work and play, and ensure long-term infrastructure performance.
Following in the footsteps of Autumn Peltier, Canada’s Chief Water Commissioner who is leading the way for future generations, the OPSEU/SEFPO Indigenous Circle’s Water Campaign Committee is looking for youth to express their concerns over the ongoing water crisis in Ontario and across Canada. Are you between the ages of 4-25 years old? Do you like to draw and express yourself through artistic medium? Then, this contest is for you!
The first flood map of its kind demonstrates how low-lying areas of some of Canada’s major cities could become flooded within the next 80 years. The maps were developed by Slobodan Simonovic, engineering professor emeritus and flood-control expert at Western University. Spanning the entire country, they predict flood activity over the next 80 years based on various climate change scenarios caused by global warming. “[This] was the continuation of our interest in understanding better what are the impacts of climate change on natural disasters in general,” Simonovic told CTV News Channel on Sunday. “My part of the project was to look at how flooding will be affected by climate change.”
While Canada and the United States continue to renegotiate an international water sharing agreement, the Regional District of East Kootenay is advocating for consistent water levels on Lake Koocanusa during the summer months. The Columbia River Treaty, a decades-old water sharing and flood management agreement, is currently in the process of being modernized between the two countries, and one of the local sticking points is inconsistent water levels at the Koocanusa reservoir.
Signed in 1961 and ratified in 1964, the Columbia River Treaty is a transboundary water management agreement between Canada and the United States. The treaty optimizes both flood management and power generation through co-ordinated operations of dams, rivers, and reservoirs on both sides of the border. What led to the treaty? In 1948, before there were any dams along the Columbia River, there was a disastrous flood that devastated the former city of Vanport, Oregon. The floodwaters completely destroyed the infrastructure and killed 15 people, when the 200-foot-long railroad berm holding back the river collapsed. As well as the growing demand for power in the Pacific Northwest on both sides of the border, the impetus for the Columbia River Treaty was the flood and the growing need for electricity.
The debate between drinking tap water or bottled water seems to be endless. In most parts of the United States and Canada, it’s safe to drink tap water from public water systems. Tap water that’s been properly filtered is equally safe as bottled water and provides you with essential minerals you may not get from bottled water. Even though it’s usually safe to drink tap water, it’s still a good idea to keep an eye out for local water advisories in your area. Situations like a broken water line or equipment failure at the water treatment plant can lead to temporary contamination.
Canadian politicians are great at making promises about protecting the environment. They’re not always great at keeping them. In 2010, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper’s government agreed to protect 17 per cent of Canada’s land and freshwater by 2020. At the time, just 9.6 per cent of Canada’s land and freshwater — collectively referred to as “terrestrial areas” — was protected, meaning it was safe from future development and had plans in place for safeguarding wildlife and ecosystems.
Due to climate change, rising sea levels combined with high tidal cycles and storm surges have led to an increased risk of flooding. To combat this, Moncton partnered with the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance to implement rain gardens throughout the city. Rain gardens not only help remove pollutants from stormwater but also help increase stormwater capacity and reduce the overall flood risk. These kinds of solutions are extremely beneficial for Atlantic Canada where the risk of flooding is higher than the rest of the country.
As climate scientists release new evidence pointing to the possible “collapse” of the Gulf Stream, experts are warning that its disappearance would usher in a “calamitous climate catastrophe” not just for Canadians living on the east coast, but for hundreds of millions more people worldwide. The warning comes amid a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, which found evidence of the Gulf Stream losing “stability” over the course of the last century. Should the stream continue to lose strength and eventually collapse, the study’s author warned of “severe impacts on the global climate system.”
An aging pipeline that carries oil along the bottom of the ecologically sensitive and turbulent Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet, is in such a state of disrepair it could burst at any moment and cause catastrophic damage to the Great Lakes, environmentalists warn. Line 5, a 1,000-kilometre-long pipeline owned by Calgary-based Enbridge, carries up to 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids a day from Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ont., where it is shipped to other refineries in Ontario and Quebec.
Investments in local infrastructure by the governments of Canada and Manitoba during this extraordinary time stimulate the economy and address the needs of communities as they recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Investments in modern and reliable water and waste-water infrastructure foster healthy and resilient communities, protect the environment, and support sustainable development and growth.
The Lac Seul First Nation of northern Ontario has won a key round in its long fight to be properly compensated for the flooding of its lands caused by construction of a dam. In an 8-1 ruling Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada set aside a $30-million award and sent the matter back to the Federal Court for reassessment. A hydroelectric dam to supply power to Winnipeg was built in 1929 under an agreement between Canada, Ontario and Manitoba.
The governments of Canada and Quebec are taking decisive action to create jobs and stimulate the economy while meeting the essential infrastructure needs of communities. Both governments are committed to providing modern and effective water infrastructure throughout the province. Today, Élisabeth Brière, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, along with André Lamontagne, Minister Responsible for the Centre-du-Québec Region, accompanied by Sébastien Schneeberger, Member of National Assembly for Drummond-Bois-Francs, and Alain Carrier, Mayor of Drummondville, announced more than $32.2 million in funding for the construction of a water treatment plant in Drummondville.
