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

Environment and Natural Resources

Environment Canada resuming water monitoring in Mackenzie River Basin, still no consultation with Northern leaders

Environment Canada resuming water monitoring in Mackenzie River Basin, still no consultation with Northern leaders

Dene National Chief Norman Yakeleya said that the issue of water safety, especially flowing from the oil sands, has been a concern for as long as he has been Chief. In a tele-press conference Yakeleya told media that he is “befuddled as to why an essential service, such as monitoring the quality of the water coming from the oil sands production fields, was suspended.” He said that water is essential for drinking, for fish, for the animals, and “for the sake of all people in the Northwest Territories.”

Suspected toxic leak triggers water licence application for N.W.T. well-site cleanup

Suspected toxic leak triggers water licence application for N.W.T. well-site cleanup

The company responsible for cleaning up a defunct natural gas field near Fort Liard, N.W.T., says it will apply for a water licence after the territory's environmental regulator found chloride from the site is causing damage to the surrounding environment. In a June 5 letter to Paramount Resources, Environment and Natural Resources water resource officer Sonja Martin-Elson said that an inspection conducted last summer at the shuttered Pointed Mountain site found the company was in violation of the territory's Waters Act.

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