Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

annual report

50-year international partnership on Great Lakes makes progress, but challenges lie ahead

50-year international partnership on Great Lakes makes progress, but challenges lie ahead

It's been 50 years since Canada and the U.S. signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, meant to restore and protect the Great Lakes, and a new report is showing what's changed over that time and what challenges are ahead. According the the annual report, the Great Lakes overall assessment is "fair" with an "unchanging" trend, which is due to the "tremendous progress to restore and protect the Great Lakes" over the last few decades. The evaluation is based on a set of indicators officials watch.

De Beers pleads guilty to failing to report mercury monitoring results at Victor mine

De Beers pleads guilty to failing to report mercury monitoring results at Victor mine

In a resolution to a years-long dispute, De Beers Canada has plead guilty to one count of failing to report annual mercury monitoring results for the G2 station at Victor mine in 2014 as required under the mine’s Certificate of Approval. De Beers was not charged with failing to take samples, monitoring or for polluting the environment. The open-pit diamond mine operated by De Beers Canada Inc. is located upstream from the Attawapiskat First Nation. Beginning in 2008, the project pumped water from the open pit into the Granny Creek water system which flows into the Attawapiskat River, triggering a rise in the mercury level in the water and the fish populations.

Increase in litter washing up on Canadian shorelines following the pandemic

Increase in litter washing up on Canadian shorelines following the pandemic

The annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup’s (GCSC) 2020 report has revealed an increase in single-use plastic food and beverage litter found on Canadian coasts — nearly doubling the amount recorded in 2019. Single-use food plastic takes up 26.6 per cent of all waste collected in this year’s program, while it only made up 15.3 per cent of the 2019 report.

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