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

developers

Province acts on 'medieval villages' in northern Ontario after months of 'limited response'

Province acts on 'medieval villages' in northern Ontario after months of 'limited response'

The provincial government is taking action against "medieval villages" being planned in the northern Ontario wilderness. It has ordered the developers working in unincorporated townships to show they are following the rules by the end of the year. More than a year after first hearing concerns about these off-grid communities popping up in the Temiskaming district, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing issued an information bulletin on Nov. 30. It lays out existing laws and policies around planning, building, sewage disposal and water use that need to be followed in unorganized areas outside of municipal boundaries. In a letter obtained by CBC, the ministry further requests specific information from the Boreal Forest Medieval Villages corporation that has so far developed four of these villages in the north, and gives the corporation until Dec. 30 to reply.

Developers' ability to build in Okotoks to end without water solution, town warns

Developers' ability to build in Okotoks to end without water solution, town warns

Located on the edge of southern Alberta's foothills and close to Calgary, the community of Okotoks has been a popular destination for people seeking a small-town feel not far from the big city. But the town, located roughly 47 kilometres south of Calgary, now estimates it only has nine years of development left before continued issues around getting a new water source force developers to put down their shovels.

Egan: 'The capital of Canada and we're fighting for clean water'

Egan: 'The capital of Canada and we're fighting for clean water'

“Each time there’s construction, there’s contamination,” said Crosby, pointing to projects like the Montfort’s expanded parking garage or the new Shepherds of Good Hope building. He counts perhaps 10 spikes in the past 15 years, leading to a need to “shock” his water system with cleansing chemicals. “We shocked it so often that it corroded the fittings on the pressure tank.” Over the years, there have been vibrations strong enough to rattle dishes and knock a connecting pipe off the septic system. “This has always been a concern,” said Parent, a retired public servant. “It raises the spectre of our wells drying out. With all this development, the danger becomes increasingly more serious.”

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