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

Laval

Laval residents can use water but told not to consume it as advisory still in effect

Laval residents can use water but told not to consume it as advisory still in effect

Laval residents in the Ste-Dorothée district can now use their tap water but officials warned Thursday it still isn’t safe to drink, even if boiled. City officials first put out a notice on Tuesday, telling residents not to use their tap water at all. The advisory was issued after firefighters extinguished a blaze in the area and contaminants were found in the water. City officials suspect one of the products used to extinguish the blaze entered the local water supply for a brief amount of time.

Residents of Sainte-Dorothée in Laval warned not to use water

Residents of Sainte-Dorothée in Laval warned not to use water

The Sainte-Dorothée district in Laval, Que., is currently under a notice of non-use of water due to water quality concerns. Citizens are permitted to use their toilets and flush, but other water use is restricted until further notice. The notice of non-use of water is issued when water consumption poses a health risk, and the water system contains contaminants that cannot be removed by boiling, the city says on its website. 

The governments of Canada and Quebec invest in stormwater upgrades in Laval

The governments of Canada and Quebec invest in stormwater upgrades in Laval

Today, Annie Koutrakis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Vimy, and Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy, Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism, Minister responsible for the Laval region and Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Sainte-Rose, on behalf of Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs, announced a joint investment of more than $24 million to support a new stormwater network in Laval. This project aims to control recurring sewer backups in the vicinity of Monty and Cyrano streets. In particular, the funding will be used to separate the sewer networks by adding new storm pipes and to put in place new measures for the treatment of the quality of rainwater.

Laval investigates after men wearing camouflage caught draining wetland

Laval investigates after men wearing camouflage caught draining wetland

Officials in Laval, Que., working with police, have launched an investigation after green space advocates captured video of what appears to be camouflage-clad men covertly draining a patch of wetland over the weekend. It's still not known why the men allegedly dragged large pipes, a pump and hoses into a wooded sector near Saint-Elzéar Boulevard West, but Laval's deputy mayor, Stéphane Boyer, says it certainly won't lead to any construction permits being issued — if that was their plan.

Investigation reveals dangerous lead levels in some Quebec drinking water

Investigation reveals dangerous lead levels in some Quebec drinking water

Thousands of Quebecers could be getting misleading information about lead contamination in the water coming out of their taps because the province uses a sampling method that underestimates the true level of exposure, Global News has found through surveys and 84 tests of residential drinking water conducted in five cities across the province. The revelations are based on a collaborative investigation by a team of two dozen journalists from Concordia University’s Institute for Investigative Journalism, Global News and Le Devoir. The journalists fanned out across the province to knock on hundreds of doors, taking water samples for testing that revealed lead levels often higher than city workers had told residents.

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