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.
A major fuel spill is causing major concerns for residents just south of Quesnel city limits. According to the Lhtako Dene Nation 110,000 litres of fuel may have spilled underground from the Lhtako Gas and Convenience Store from December 2020 until June 2022 when the leak was discovered. The details of the spill only came public in early April 2023 after a news release was issued by the nation.
Synthetic chemicals called PFASTrusted Source (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are used in a variety of products, including cosmetics, cleaning productsTrusted Source, and nonstick cookware. Because many PFAS do not break down in landfills and can contaminate sources of drinking water for both humans and animals, they are considered harmful to the environmentTrusted Source. Additionally, exposure to PFAS has been linked to various health concerns.
Since flood waters hit the Northwest Territories communities of Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River, 10 reports of fuel spills have been reported on the territory's spill database, some on residential properties. It's left people wondering what that means for wildlife in the area and whether homes are actually safe to return to. Beth Hudson, a Fort Simpson resident, told CBC last week that there isn't clear information about environmental impact.
You don’t have to be in the health field to appreciate the overwhelming evidence that supports the benefits of adding fluoride into public drinking water. In 2011, Calgary’s city council decided to discontinue fluoridating Calgary’s drinking water. This act came in direct opposition to all prominent health bodies’ recommendations. There are over 70 years of research on fluoridating drinking water, and yet in Calgary, we still have an ongoing debate that is doing nothing but increasing the number of (very preventable) dental cavities in our population.
