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.
In light of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Canada Day message urging us to reflect on our relationship with Canada’s Indigenous people, I’ve been reflecting on why his government can’t get clean water to every Indigenous reserve in Canada, despite spending $24.5 billion on Indigenous issues this year. The lack of clean water on reserves means the people living on them have far higher rates of infections and disease than other Canadians.
