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.
Taralee Beardy never thought she would see her community get a safer source of water, but a national $8 billion drinking water class-action settlement affecting First Nations is set to change that. Beardy, the chief of Tataskweyak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba, says the construction of a new 40-kilometre pipeline and water treatment plant for her community is set to begin next spring, meaning Tataskweyak's six-year boil water advisory will be coming to an end.
The Ross River Dena Council is doubling down on work to establish an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area, according to the First Nation's chief. "It's a pretty important area that we need to conserve to protect our interests for future generations," Dylan Loblaw told CBC News. "We need to have that balance." According to a funding proposal to the Canada Nature Fund, the First Nation wants to protect roughly 41,000 square-kilometres in central-east Yukon. The proposed area would extend from the Pelly River valley to the Selwyn-Mackenzie Mountains along the continental divide. The First Nation's group trapline — used by community members for generations — comprises a significant portion.
Thousands of people who have been affected by years-long drinking water advisories could see compensation, after courts approved an $8-billion class-action settlement in what one chief called a "historic moment" for First Nations in Canada. Canada's Federal Court and Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench issued a joint decision Wednesday approving the settlement in two national class-action lawsuits launched against the federal government by First Nations living under drinking water advisories.
After more than two decades without clean drinking water, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation on the Ontario-Manitoba border is celebrating the opening of a water treatment facility and the end of water advisories for the community. Despite drawing water from the same source as the City of Winnipeg, Shoal Lake 40 has never had a centralized water treatment facility. Construction of the new $33-million water treatment facility and system started in 2019.
The chief of the First Nation in Northern Ontario that has suffered through the country’s longest continuous boil water advisory is hopeful that water coming out of the taps in the homes of Neskantaga will be safe to drink sometime in early 2021. The question now is: Even if public health and First Nation officials pronounce the water safe to drink, will anyone trust in the purity of what comes out of their taps?
Water is flowing through the taps once again in Big Grassy River First Nation after three months without consistent, potable water. However, the current water is untreated and coming directly from Lake of the Woods as the community waits for repairs to the water filtration system. The result is that community members have had to go to the beach to collect water for basic sanitation needs, and buildings have been shuttered and the school remains closed to students until a running, drinkable water service is restored.
