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.
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
“It’s not just wildlife. These are important areas for our headwaters, the drinking water that supports ourselves, our industries and our natural ecosystems,” Feagan said. It’s those waters that have the attention of officials with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Southern Alberta Chapter (CPAWS). “We want to make sure that trout populations are healthy, but we want to make sure the water itself is healthy,” said executive director Katie Morrison.
The B.C. government claims it protects nearly 20 per cent of the province's land base as sanctuaries for biodiversity, but a new report says it has abused a key designation to “falsely inflate” its progress. The report, which was jointly produced between the environmental law group Ecojustice and the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, examined Old Growth Management Areas, Wildlife Habitat Areas, and Wildland Zones. Together, they account for nearly all of what the province claims as “other conserved” areas, a designation B.C. uses more than any other province in Canada.
An environmental group says an exchange of coal exploration lease applications in Alberta's Rocky Mountains suggests mining companies expect to be able to go ahead with their plans despite a provincial debate on the industry's future. "They wouldn't be buying those lease applications if they didn't think they could do something with them down the road," said Katie Morrison of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
