Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Department of Health

Health Department’s 3rd-party review of water crisis uncertain

Health Department’s 3rd-party review of water crisis uncertain

The CGS review pegs the start of the emergency at Oct. 12, 2021. It does not concern itself with the City of Iqaluit’s response to the initial reports of fuel-tainted water. DPRA reached out to 35 people to take part in the review. Nineteen responded. Of 13 current and former city officials who were asked to participate, five took part. The report does not identify who did or did not participate. It describes broken equipment and disagreements between the city and GN leading to delays in handling the crisis.

Boil water advisory issued for Alma

Boil water advisory issued for Alma

A boil water advisory has been issued for the village of Alma, about 79 kilometres south of Moncton, because of high levels of turbidity in the reservoir. "These levels exceed the New Brunswick maximum acceptable concentrations," a notice issued by the local government on Wednesday morning says. Recent heavy rainfall caused the problem, according to chief administrative officer Hanna Downey — a drastic change from last weekend when the village almost ran out of water and had to urge residents to conserve as much as possible.

St. Stephen's boil-water advisory to remain until end of week at least

St. Stephen's boil-water advisory to remain until end of week at least

The boil-water advisory in St. Stephen will remain until at least the end of the week after the town administration underestimated the amount of time it would take to get test results on its water supply, according to a statement the town released Wednesday. "It is with our apologies that we now say that the earliest we may receive the results from the bacterial growth tests will be the end of the week," said Wednesday's statement. 

Boil water advisory issued for Georgetown, P.E.I.

Boil water advisory issued for Georgetown, P.E.I.

The provincial government has issued a precautionary boil water advisory for Georgetown. The Department of Health said Georgetown is reactivating its water system Monday. As a precautionary measure, residents are asked to bring their water to a rolling boil for two minutes before drinking or cooking. Residents are advised there may be some water discoloration. If that is the case, they should let the water run for a few minutes before using it.

Expert questions GN claim no long-term health problems will stem from Iqaluit water crisis

Expert questions GN claim no long-term health problems will stem from Iqaluit water crisis

Water test results released by the Department of Health do not conclusively say whether or not toxic compounds made it to Iqaluit’s taps when the city’s drinking water was contaminated with diesel fuel last October, say some experts. The uncertainty revolves around what was - and wasn’t - tested for, as well as whether the tests picked up minuscule amounts of potentially dangerous compounds, says Rosa Galvez, a Laval University environmental engineering professor.

Nunavut sees 5-year high for water advisories in 2021

Nunavut sees 5-year high for water advisories in 2021

Nunavut communities have seen a five-year high of water advisories in 2021, without counting Iqaluit’s ongoing water emergency. As of Friday, about a month before the year’s end, 14 water advisories had been issued in seven communities outside of the capital city this year, more than tripling the four advisories issued in 2017. Nunavut’s MP Lori Idlout spoke about the lack of clean water in Indigenous communities across Canada on Thursday. “We Indigenous people can no longer be discounted or written off in hopes that we disappear,” she said in Inuktitut in the House of Commons. “I know I have to keep repeating ‘clean water for all indigenous communities,'” Idlout said. “This is not the first time and I will repeat it again.”

Fredericton company supplying COVID-19 test chemicals detects virus at home office

Fredericton company supplying COVID-19 test chemicals detects virus at home office

LuminUltra Technologies Ltd., the Fredericton-based company assisting in the production of millions of COVID-19 tests, detected coronavirus at its headquarters in the city's downtown last week. Using an environmental test developed in house, LuminUltra staff detected "a trace amount of SARS-CoV-2 on a surface in a common area" on July 16, communications director Jessica Stutt said in an emailed statement to CBC. "We immediately informed the Department of Health and have been following their guidance; all employees that have been in the area have been advised to self-isolate," Stutt said in the Friday email. "At this time no employees are symptomatic of COVID-19."

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