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

cost of water

The Catch: Current issues in Canadian water infrastructure

The Catch: Current issues in Canadian water infrastructure

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode. Toronto-based journalist Andrew Reeves discusses a piece he wrote for Great Lakes Now about the history and current issues in Canadian water infrastructure. Similarly to the United States, Canada’s water system saw a substantial drop in funding in the decades after World War II. However, in 2000, when a drinking water tragedy hit the city of Walkerton, Ontario, officials took action and began to invest in infrastructure and safety.

Water is priceless, but not free: How much should it cost?

Water is priceless, but not free: How much should it cost?

No Canadian pays for water – not citizens, farmers or industry. Under NAFTA first – and now the USMCA – if the government starts selling water, it becomes an exportable product, which is widely recognized as a very bad idea. What does cost money is the use of water infrastructure: things such as pipes, testing and labour. Large industrial users are charged more than residents for the privilege, but the amount collected from commercial water bottlers in Ontario has long been criticized as ridiculously low. Until 2017, the administrative fee was just $3.71 for every million litres. The provincial government now charges $503.71 for that amount.

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