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.
Vice President Kamala Harris called climate change an “immediate” and “urgent” crisis Monday as she detailed more than $1 billion in federal spending to respond to disasters such as deadly flooding in Kentucky and wildfires ravaging her home state of California. On a visit to Miami, Harris announced a series of grants being made available to states to help communities across the nation prepare for and respond to climate−related disasters.
The Trudeau government can say, if re-elected, that it’s pouring massive amounts of taxpayer money into Indigenous issues. What Canadians can’t be sure of is to what extent this new spending will improve the lives of Canada’s 1.7 million First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. In her April budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, announced a “historic new investment of over $18 billion over the next five years to improve the quality of life and create new opportunities for people living in Indigenous communities.” Spending this fiscal year will be $24.5 billion — 87% above what her budget described as the “historical growth rate” for Indigenous issues. That’s a reference to the 2% annual increase in base funding set by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien in 1995.
