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.
Sault Ste. Marie wants to be the home for a new federal government agency that could create at least 100 full-time jobs in the community. The city is making the case that it would be the ideal location for the new Canada Water Agency, which would improve freshwater management across the country. Kathleen Heymans, the city's business development manager, said the agency would expand on existing expertise built around freshwater management in Sault Ste. Marie.
Now, he works as a lecturer at UBCO, where his work is focused on Indigenous water rights and customary laws. On Jan. 26, Sam was one of the keynote speakers at a workshop designed “to bring together diverse stakeholders to discuss and improve understanding of Aboriginal water rights in British Columbia,” according to the event page. The objective of the three-hour workshop was to raise awareness around the implications of Aboriginal title and rights as they relate to water in B.C., within the Syilx People’s unceded territory.
Amid the challenges of a global pandemic, an early-stage researcher at McGill University has been recognized for his innovative work to remove microplastics during water treatment, ensuring safe drinking water and helping to combat the growing environmental problem of microplastic accumulation in aquatic ecosystems, soils and surface waters. The breakthrough work has earned Mathieu Lapointe the Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — Postdoctoral, awarded by Mitacs, a national innovation organization that fosters growth by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
