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 federal government's proposed new bill to set drinking water standards in First Nations is being met with mixed reactions. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu introduced Bill C-61 on Monday in the House of Commons. The proposed law is intended to protect fresh water sources, create minimum national drinking water and wastewater standards in First Nations, and provide sustainable funding for maintaining water quality.
A recent state of local emergency brought home the global implications of port growth and international trade from Prince Rupert and the severity was outlined in a Dec. 22 letter to the federal government by Jennifer Rice, North Coast MLA. “The city has demonstrated that immediate investment in the water distribution infrastructure is required as a failure would likely require the community to evacuate and completely shut down port operations,” the letter stated. “A failure of this magnitude would jeopardize all of the federal investment, the federal reputation for the Canadian port industry and national revenues.”
A project expected to help protect homeowners from flooding will receive over $32.7-million from the federal government. Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk, joined by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and Windsor’s Mayor, announced the funding on Wednesday morning at the Lou Romano Water Reclamation Plant in West Windsor.
