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.
Panama has announced the closure of a controversial copper mine after the Supreme Court ruled that a 20-year concession granted to a Canadian firm to operate it was unconstitutional. The decision has been welcomed by environmentalists who said the open-pit mine threatened water supplies. Cobre Panamá is located in a biodiverse jungle area on Panama's Atlantic coast. The government's renewal of its contract with First Quantum Minerals had triggered mass protests.
The company said it faced a “challenging and disappointing first quarter” this year, in which copper production declined. It also faced scrutiny from the Yukon government regarding its water treatment plans and owed royalty payments to the Selkirk First Nation, Yukon’s energy and mines minister John Streicker said in an interview. In a statement on May 13, Minto Metals chief executive Chris Stewart said the decision to cease operations was “extremely difficult,” but the company was acting responsibly to avoid “any damage” to the environment.
