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.
Brandon City Council will introduce a bylaw to borrow $15 million for the final phase of upgrades to the municipal water treatment plant at its next meeting. In January, Premier Heather Stefanson announced that Brandon would be receiving a further $15 million from the province toward the project on top of the $38 million it had already provided.
Manitoba is unveiling a new water strategy that emphasizes conservation — and floats the idea of a new pricing system. The provincial Progressive Conservative government released a strategy on Tuesday that will, in broad strokes, guide Manitoba's actions to protect its water resources for years to come. The province said it will develop an action plan this winter to determine its future decisions. The strategy vows to "make every drop count" by valuing the province's water resources. "The focus needs to shift from supply-side management solutions to approaches that reduce how much water we use," the strategy reads.
The Manitoba government is willing to double its funding for a major expansion of CentrePort Canada in northwest Winnipeg to prevent it from being held up by a lack of federal cash. An estimated $60 million is required for water and sewer infrastructure to support the first phase of the inland shipping port's expansion project, CentrePort South. The province and City of Winnipeg previously committed $20 million each, conditional to a matching amount from Ottawa. But that hasn't come through "despite extensive provincial engagement," Premier Heather Stefanson said Friday.
