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.
The City of Moncton says Jones Lake and the lake at Centennial Park are closed to recreational use until further notice because of high E. coli counts. The city issued a public advisory Wednesday, saying routine testing found high counts of the fecal bacteria. The lakes are closed for swimming, kayaking, canoeing and other recreational activities, and dogs should not be allowed to swim in or drink the water.
Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Honourable Daniel Allain, Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform and Her Worship Dawn Arnold, Mayor of the City of Moncton, announced a joint investment of more than $36.3 million to upgrade Moncton's municipal infrastructure and improve its climate resiliency.
Public Health officials have raised questions around whether some COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick went undetected in early 2021, after an apparent mismatch between the amount of COVID-19 appearing in wastewater and the province's own COVID-19 testing. The wastewater data shows four apparent spikes of COVID-19 in 2021: on Feb. 8, March 18, April 29 and June 28, all times when there were "minimal cases or positive tests" reported and PCR testing was widely offered. The wastewater testing is conducted by the City of Moncton, which has a partnership with Dalhousie University, and is provided to New Brunswick Public Health. CBC News obtained a copy of the test results, and discussion within the Department of Health about the results, through access to information.
