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.
By this time of year, the so-called ‘wet coast’ of Canada should be blustery, wet and cold — some would even say miserable. Vancouver should be living up to its reputation as “Raincouver.” Fall colours, along with the downpours, should be in full swing. But coastal British Columbia has not had significant rain since July. The leaves on the trees are yellow and orange — and hanging by a thread because they’re completely dried out.
Severe thunderstorms and summer go hand-in-hand on the Prairies. And it's not your imagination that such weather events have been getting increasingly catastrophic over the past decade. In the prairies, the last few years have been marked by severe storms. Calgary alone has seen hail, funnel clouds and lightning strikes, with downpours that turned roads into rivers and stranded motorists in their cars.
Heavy downpours and strong winds are causing power outages and toppling trees and branches in some areas of southern New Brunswick. As of Tuesday evening, N.B. Power was reporting more than 4,000 power outages, with about half of those in the Kennebecasis Valley in southwestern New Brunswick and about 1,000 outages in the Moncton area. Roads in the Rothesay and Quispamsis area were littered with large branches, and heavy rain and hail continued to pelt the area.
