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 First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is calling on the federal government to fund First Nations infrastructure projects the same way it funds municipal and provincial projects to fulfill its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. A news release from FNFA says this relationship would be rooted in “partnership rather than paternalism.”
Manitoba's infrastructure minister overruled the advice of his own department to approve a highway access he was warned could increase collisions. A recent briefing note provided to Doyle Piwniuk stressed that adding a new entrance onto 18th Street in the southwest corner of Brandon — one of the city's busiest roads, also known as Highway 10 — would increase the likelihood of accidents and may degrade a wetland. The proposed access also features turning lanes that would be shorter than standard policy.
