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.
The Resort Village of Cochin is receiving funding for the rehabilitation of their breakwater, a structure that protects against erosion, maintains fish spawning area, and allows for free movement of water between lake systems. It also provides a scenic community-centred area for public gathering and fishing. Once completed, these improvements will rehabilitate the existing breakwater.
Canada's environment minister is denying the Saskatchewan government's allegations that federal scientists purposely trespassed on private farmland and were testing water samples for nitrates or nutrients related to farm runoff. On Sunday, Saskatchewan Minister Responsible for the Water Security Agency Jeremy Cockrill posted a public letter to federal Minister for Environment and Climate Change Canada Steven Guilbeault.
The Government of Saskatchewan amended its provincial trespassing act ahead of its ongoing dispute with the federal government. The amendment changes the definition of a “person” within the Trespass to Property Act to include “the Crown, in the right of Canada.” “There’s references to various persons, and all that this order in council does is it says that person can include an agent, essentially the Crown in the right of Canada,” Martin Olszynski, a law professor at the University of Calgary, said.
The Saskatchewan government is accusing federal government employees of trespassing when taking water samples in Saskatchewan. The allegation prompted a public letter from Saskatchewan's minister responsible for water security to his counterpart in Ottawa. On Saturday, Saskatchewan's cabinet approved an order in council tweaking the province's trespassing laws, the Trespass to Property Act 2022, "to add a new section regarding the Act and state that 'person' includes the Crown in right of Canada."
