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

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau

What does the Liberal election platform promise on Indigenous issues? Here’s what we know

What does the Liberal election platform promise on Indigenous issues? Here’s what we know

In previous elections, the Liberals promised they’d end long-term boil-water advisories. Those are advisories that have been in place for more than a year and that warn residents to boil water for at least a minute before drinking it or using it to cook. Now, the Liberal Party is promising they’ll finish the job they didn’t get done in previous terms in Parliament. In the platform, they say they’ll make “any investments necessary to eliminate all remaining advisories.” That promise doesn’t specify that they’d have to be long-term drinking water advisories — which is something that appeals to one advocate.

A decade of broken promises: How Canada failed to meet its goal for protecting land and water

A decade of broken promises: How Canada failed to meet its goal for protecting land and water

Canadian politicians are great at making promises about protecting the environment. They’re not always great at keeping them. In 2010, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper’s government agreed to protect 17 per cent of Canada’s land and freshwater by 2020. At the time, just 9.6 per cent of Canada’s land and freshwater — collectively referred to as “terrestrial areas” — was protected, meaning it was safe from future development and had plans in place for safeguarding wildlife and ecosystems.

Indigenous leaders want ‘meaningful action’ from next gov’t. Here are the promises so far

Indigenous leaders want ‘meaningful action’ from next gov’t. Here are the promises so far

In 2015, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau promised to lift all long-term drinking-water advisories by March 2021. He admitted in December the deadline would be missed, but lifted more than 100 long-term drinking water advisories over five years. In March, Liberals committed to ending all advisories but did not set a new deadline. Roughly 50 long-term drinking-water advisories in 31 First Nations are still in place. In their platform, Conservatives say they will end long-term drinking water advisories by targeting high-risk water systems and work with Indigenous communities to find new approaches to provide clean drinking water in the long term. The NDP promises to fully fund the services and infrastructure for clean water in order to end water advisories. The party pledges to support Indigenous-led water management training programs and water system operations, and will fund on-reserve emergency management and prevention.

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