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.
Line 5 transports crude oil through the heart of the Great Lakes, an invaluable cultural resource for residents and visitors to the region who benefit from the connection with the water and the land. The pipeline has already leaked 29 times, spilling over 4.5 million litres of oil and putting 84 percent of North America’s surface freshwater at risk. And yet, Canada continues to prioritize the ongoing operation of the pipeline over this critical global freshwater system.
A coalition of environmental activists called on President Joe Biden to weigh in on the ongoing fight to decommission Line 5, Canadian oil company Enbridge's aging oil and gas pipeline in Michigan's Great Lakes. The coalition, which includes groups like Clean Water Action, Oil and Water Don't Mix, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and the National Wildlife Federation, says it delivered more than 33,000 petition signatures to U.S. Sen. Gary Peters requesting that he pass them on to Biden. The coalition says they also plan on delivering the signatures to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and the White House.
