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

environmental group

Health Canada downplayed scientific concerns about risks of toxic pesticide that causes birth defects

Health Canada downplayed scientific concerns about risks of toxic pesticide that causes birth defects

Canada's pesticide regulator repeatedly ignored red flags raised by its own scientists about the health risks posed by the pesticide chlorpyrifos, stalling a review of the pesticide for close to 20 years, documents obtained by the environmental group Ecojustice reveal. All the while, health concerns raised here at home and worldwide about the pesticide were never publicly shared. Commonly used on crops like wheat, in greenhouses and to kill mosquitoes, chlorpyrifos harms the nervous system and can cause brain defects in children. People are typically exposed by consuming contaminated food residue or water. Canadian farmers used on average 360,000 kilograms of the pesticide each year between 2008 and 2016, and a 2017 federal Canadian health survey found traces of chlorpyrifos on 99 per cent of foods sampled.

Windsor city council to discuss Capital Power proposal for 2 natural gas turbines

Windsor city council to discuss Capital Power proposal for 2 natural gas turbines

Shukin said power lines "can only carry a certain amount of power" and the IESO giving the green light on the turbines means the lines had room to transmit more power. He said Capital Power has done studies on "noise, air quality, storm-water management, natural environment, heritage, and socio-economic factors." Shukin said the company is "committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2045" and the turbines, which can be partially powered by hydrogen, support that objective. 

'No need to rush' on wind farm impact assessment, says environmental group

'No need to rush' on wind farm impact assessment, says environmental group

An environmental group on Newfoundland's west coast says it supports a proposed wind-to-hydrogen project for the Port au Port Peninsula in principle but doesn't want the impact assessment or consultation process rushed for what could be a precedent-setting project for the province. Katie Temple, the executive director of the Western Environment Centre of Newfoundland, said while the World Energy GH2 proposal could help reduce reduce fossil fuel dependence, the process seems to be "happening very quickly," given the provincial moratorium on wind development in the province was lifted just in April.

Stuff we 'flush down the toilet' ending up in Toronto Harbour, environmental group warns

Stuff we 'flush down the toilet' ending up in Toronto Harbour, environmental group warns

An environmental group is sounding the alarm about the city's main sewage and stormwater system after finding trash like condoms, sanitary wipes and tampons floating in Toronto harbour last month. Mark Mattson, an environmental lawyer and the founder of Swim Drink Fish — a volunteer group working to create swimmable, drinkable, and fishable water for everyone — told CBC Toronto he went to Ontario Place to check out the quality of the water the day after a large storm on July 24.

Environmental group calls for tighter rules around ship dumping

Environmental group calls for tighter rules around ship dumping

As the cruise-ship season starts to ramp up along the West Coast, an environmental group is calling on the federal government to tighten its rules and raise minimum standards around vessels dumping sewage and other waste in protected marine areas. World Wildlife Fund Canada said in a report this week that all types of ships operating in Canadian waters generate — and potentially dump — 147 billion litres of operational waste each year, the equivalent of 59,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Lachine environmental group wants to reduce microplastics entering our waters

Lachine environmental group wants to reduce microplastics entering our waters

Textiles are the largest known source of microplastic pollution in the world's oceans — making up around 35 percent of microfibres released into the waters. Every time you wash your clothes, tiny fibres are released into the waste water. These fibres then travel into lakes, oceans and marine organisms. And while most of it becomes fragmented from wastewater treatments, a large volume still escapes and the long term effects of that are still largely unknown.

Allowing Rocky Mountain coal lease transfers during debate sends wrong signal: environmental group

Allowing Rocky Mountain coal lease transfers during debate sends wrong signal: environmental group

An environmental group says an exchange of coal exploration lease applications in Alberta's Rocky Mountains suggests mining companies expect to be able to go ahead with their plans despite a provincial debate on the industry's future. "They wouldn't be buying those lease applications if they didn't think they could do something with them down the road," said Katie Morrison of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Research finds fishing gear a major source of ocean microplastics in Atlantic Canada

Research finds fishing gear a major source of ocean microplastics in Atlantic Canada

Two years ago, researchers collected microplastics from pristine surface waters at three nearshore locations in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, finding tiny and unrecognizable fragments, threads and fibres in every trawl. Chemical analysis has now identified the synthetic polymers that made up those miniscule pieces of plastic and confirmed what was expected: the microplastics were shed from easily recognized sources. "Fishing gear, fishing rope, fragments of nets and particles that would come from that kind of activity, that is a big source of microplastics," said Ariel Smith, the coastal and marine team lead for Coastal Action, the environmental group that is leading a three-year Atlantic Canadian microplastics research project.

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