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.
Releasing treated oilsands tailings into the environment isn't the only solution being considered to clean up the massive toxic ponds in northern Alberta, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says. Guilbeault said Wednesday that even though his government is developing regulations on how the tailings could be drained into the Athabasca River, other solutions are under review.
Releasing treated oilsands tailings into the environment isn't the only solution being considered to clean up the massive toxic ponds in northern Alberta, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says. Guilbeault said Wednesday that even though his government is developing regulations on how the tailings could be drained into the Athabasca River, other solutions are under review.
A United Nations body that monitors some of the world's greatest natural glories is in Canada again to assess government responses to ongoing threats to the country's largest national park, including plans to release treated oilsands tailings into its watershed. In a series of meetings beginning Thursday, UNESCO investigators are to determine whether Wood Buffalo National Park should be on the list of World Heritage Sites In Danger— a move the agency has already deemed "likely."
A suspected anthrax outbreak at Wood Buffalo National Park has been confirmed. Samples sent to a lab early last week came back positive on Thursday said Parks Canada in a news release the same day, confirming the presence of anthrax in at least one dead bison at the park. Bison will usually contract the disease from contaminated soil while wallowing in dust baths. Spores develop in hotter temperatures and fluctuating water levels. Cooler temperatures will kill the spores and slow the outbreak.
Canada's largest national park is now so threatened by upstream development and divided governance that it likely meets the criteria to be placed on the list of World Heritage sites in danger. UNESCO released the draft finding on Alberta's Wood Buffalo National Park this week. The agency has been concerned about the park— the world's second-largest freshwater delta — since 2017, when it found 15 of 17 of the parks' ecological benchmarks were deteriorating.
