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

Government of Nunavut

Government of Nunavut tables $338-million capital budget

Government of Nunavut tables $338-million capital budget

Water and wastewater treatment "Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental of community life," said Joanasie. "As communities grow and regulations change, so do the demands on our existing, aging infrastructure." A total of $31 million is being put toward improvements in water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in seven communities. The project allocations are as follows: $187,000 to design a water treatment plant to replace the current pump house in Arctic Bay. $2,091,000 for the construction of a new water treatment plant in Grise Fiord. $698,000 for construction work to complete upgrades to the water intake in Kugluktuk. $188,000 to begin design of a new water treatment plant in Pond Inlet. $275,000 to proceed with the design of a wastewater treatment plant to adequately treat both piped and trucked wastewater in Resolute Bay. $188,000 to begin design on a new water treatment plant in Sanikiluaq. $450,000 to begin design work on upgrades and new sewage lagoon to treat wastewater in Sanikiluaq.

Canada and Nunavut invest in water and wastewater treatment for northern communities

Canada and Nunavut invest in water and wastewater treatment for northern communities

Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Federal Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable David Joanasie, Minister for Community and Government Services for the Government of Nunavut, announced funding to support the planning of improved water and wastewater treatment in six Nunavut communities.

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.

Should there be a public inquiry into Iqaluit's water crisis? The GN doesn't think so

Should there be a public inquiry into Iqaluit's water crisis? The GN doesn't think so

On the campaign trail ahead of Nunavut's territorial election, Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone took aim at the territorial government's response to Iqaluit's water crisis. "I'd like to ask all my fellow Iqalummiut, MLAs, candidates, to join me in supporting the creation of a special standing committee with the objective of reviewing the government's roles and responsibilities and overall response to the water crisis that we're all in," he said at an all-candidates forum at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre on Oct. 18.

Report casts doubt on City of Iqaluit’s water contamination theory

Report casts doubt on City of Iqaluit’s water contamination theory

Iqaluit’s water emergency is over, but it’s still going to take months of work to safeguard the city’s water treatment plant from possible future contamination, according to a risk assessment prepared by a consultancy firm hired by the Government of Nunavut. The territorial government hired Wood Environmental and Infrastructure Solutions in late October to review work done by the city’s hired consultancy firm, WSP Canada, after fuel contaminated the city’s water late last year. The six-page report, prepared by Wood, was obtained by Nunatsiaq News through Nunavut’s access to information law.

Maintenance led to new water tank contamination, City of Iqaluit says

Maintenance led to new water tank contamination, City of Iqaluit says

The City of Iqaluit’s new water quality monitoring station detected measurable amounts of hydrocarbons in one of the city’s treated water tanks on Dec. 16, six days after the Government of Nunavut lifted its do-not-drink order. The city disclosed the incident in a Thursday news release that also outlines its work to ensure municipal water is safe to drink, following an eight-week emergency caused by fuel contamination of the water supply.

Iqalummiut get a break on November water bills

Iqalummiut get a break on November water bills

Iqalummiut will not have to pay their water bills for the month of November as city councillors voted in favour of providing a 100 per cent rebate due to the water emergency. The move will cost the City of Iqaluit approximately $1.7 million, money council hopes the Government of Nunavut will cover. The Government of Nunavut had imposed a do-not-consume water advisory from Oct. 12 to Dec. 10 due to fuel contamination in the city’s water supply.

City recreation staff no longer assigned to water emergency

City recreation staff no longer assigned to water emergency

The City of Iqaluit’s recreation staff are back at the Iqaluit Aquatic Centre and the gym is open after they were reassigned on Dec. 1 to help with the water emergency. It remains unclear when the city will make other moves to return to normalcy, following a water emergency that lasted nearly two months, caused by the discovery of diesel fuel in the city’s water system. During that time, Iqalummiut were under a do-not-consume water advisory due to fuel contamination. On Dec. 10, the Government of Nunavut lifted that advisory.

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.”

Iqaluit is repairing and upgrading its water system but you still can't drink from it

Iqaluit is repairing and upgrading its water system but you still can't drink from it

Work continues to repair and upgrade Iqaluit's water treatment plant but the do-not-consume order remains in place for now. Earlier Monday, the government of Nunavut issued a reminder to Iqaluit residents not to use their tap water for drinking or cooking, following the discovery of fuel in the city's water system in October. The majority of the contamination was in the north tank, one of two tanks in the water plant.

Feds should pay to overhaul Iqaluit water infrastructure, Singh says

Feds should pay to overhaul Iqaluit water infrastructure, Singh says

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced in Iqaluit on Tuesday his party intends to push the federal government to spend $180 million to address Iqaluit’s water emergency. “In any major [Canadian] city, if there was a problem with the water, if there were hydrocarbons in the water, what would the federal government do?” Singh said at a news conference at the Iqaluit public library. “They would act immediately to fix the problem.”

Iqaluit's water crisis has cost the city $1.5 million so far

Iqaluit's water crisis has cost the city $1.5 million so far

Iqaluit's water crisis has so far cost the municipality more than $1.5 million. And this is only the start. City councillors will hold a special meeting on Friday to formalize a request for assistance from the Government of Nunavut to help cover the cost. The meeting's agenda includes a breakdown of the costs incurred so far.

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