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 company behind a massive, multibillion-dollar green energy plan is asking Newfoundland and Labrador's top court to stop protestors from blocking access to its work sites on the Port au Port Peninsula. Lawyers for World Energy GH2 were in Supreme Court in Corner Brook on Thursday afternoon for a hastily called hearing. A group of protesters has been blocking an access road to one of World Energy's sites, on Newfoundland's west coast, for weeks.
A proposed settlement agreement worth nearly $8 billion has been reached in two national class action lawsuits launched against the federal government by First Nations living under drinking water advisories. The settlement, which is awaiting court approval, would offer $1.5 billion in compensation to individuals deprived of clean drinking water and modernize Canada's First Nations drinking water legislation.
Stephan Gurgurewicz, a self-described army brat who grew up at the Canadian Forces Valcartier Base, says he's glad to have some form of closure. His father was stationed at the base near Quebec City from 1976 until his retirement in 1980, when the family moved to the neighbouring town of Shannon. Both his parents died of cancer, his father in 2004, and his mother last January.
Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) is one of more than 55 First Nation communities in Canada under a long-term boil water advisory and has been for the last four years. On Thursday, the First Nation’s Chief and NDP MP Niki Ashton called on Ottawa to restore clean drinking water. TCN has said the Canadian government has failed to deliver on the promise of clean drinking water for their community. “We can no longer ignore it anymore. We have to fight for our people," said TCN Chief Doreen Spence. "We matter like all other Canadians." Spence said they are left with no choice but to bring the issue – a basic human right – to the United Nations.
