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

efficiencies

Water rate hike too high: Brockville council

Water rate hike too high: Brockville council

A proposed water rate increase of 14 per cent is too high, city councillors said Tuesday, asking staff to find efficiencies in the water and sewer budgets. After a lengthy presentation on the water and wastewater budgets, council unanimously approved a motion to refer the vote on those budgets to the Jan. 10 meeting, hoping staff can find a way to reduce the rate increase by five per cent. Coun. Jeff Earle, who introduced the referral motion, said he is not asking for cuts, but efficiencies. He does not know what savings can be achieved, but he challenged staffers to try.

'This was our utility': Alectra will stop handling Hamilton water bills

'This was our utility': Alectra will stop handling Hamilton water bills

Hamilton city councillors say Alectra Utilities has blindsided them after the massive utility says it's too busy to continue delivering local water bills. The utility, which formed in 2017 when Horizon Utilities merged with four others, says it has too large an area to cover and too much to do to keep handling water billing, city staff said last week. So, even though Hamilton will pay Alectra $5.6 million this year to deliver water bills, Alectra says it can't do it after the contract expires in December 2024.

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