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.
"When I hear the rain and I know it's going to be a big one, I come to check this," Peter Gleeson says, motioning toward the drainage system in the floor of his garage. "I have two permanent pumps, and four more." Gleeson is in the habit of preparing for the worst. He and his neighbours in Montreal's Mercier-Ouest neighbourhood have repeatedly dealt with flooding and sewer backups.
