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.
Two University of Lethbridge researchers have been appointed to the Canada Research Chair to help with their expertise in water and agriculture. Dr. Jean-Denys Hamel and Dr. Steve Wiseman were both appointed by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry Wednesday. Dr. Hamel, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, has been appointed a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Organofluorine Chemistry and Catalysis.
Investment supports BioAlert Solutions, a growing Canadian cleantech company, and will help Canada minimize the risks of pathogens in industrial and commercial water systems. Canada's cleantech entrepreneurs are proving their power to take on today's environmental challenges. Working in partnership with innovative companies, the Government of Canada is supporting the growth of a greener economy. Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Élisabeth Brière, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke, announced an investment of $900,000 in Sherbrooke-based BioAlert Solutions through Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). This is the first SDTC investment in BioAlert and part of a partnership that will help the company advance its water safety monitoring technology to minimize the risks and costs associated with Legionella contamination.
