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 city of Hamilton has resumed cleaning Chedoke Creek and, despite a request, won't consult the local Haudenosaunee community, on whose traditional lands the creek sits, before the dredging begins again. The dredging of the creek after a spill of 24 billion litres of sewage and stormwater into the water was planned to begin Aug. 22. It was paused to allow for consultation with the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) on how it may impact treaty rights and the environment.
The First Nation has long been among the most vocal critics of plans to build a proposed road that would connect the Ring of Fire mineral deposit to the highway networks and manufacturing might of Ontario’s south. Now, they’re working to start a sturgeon stewardship program in an effort to protect the fish from proposed development. Even with the most optimistic of estimates, shovels for the proposed Ring of Fire project are years away from going into the ground, but people in Neskantaga First Nation feel a growing sense of urgency.
The Lac Seul First Nation of northern Ontario has won a key round in its long fight to be properly compensated for the flooding of its lands caused by construction of a dam. In an 8-1 ruling Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada set aside a $30-million award and sent the matter back to the Federal Court for reassessment. A hydroelectric dam to supply power to Winnipeg was built in 1929 under an agreement between Canada, Ontario and Manitoba.
