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

human health

How to bring Black and Indigenous voices into the climate discussion

How to bring Black and Indigenous voices into the climate discussion

Q: Black and Indigenous people are often the ones most affected by climate change, and yet they're not necessarily at the table in negotiations for solutions. How do we change that? A: We live in the most multicultural country in the world, we have the entire world within our borders. So that gives us access to a plethora of knowledge. But the issue that we tend to have is, when we invite people to the table to have discussions, it's in a very Western framework. We have a one-hour meeting where we're going to discuss X, Y, Z. But a lot of cultures don't work that way. There are a lot of Indigenous cultures that need to meet and spend weeks building relationships and having meals together without talking about business, and then slowly bring up business here and there.

WINNIPEG VOTES: Bokhari promises to start testing water for asbestos

WINNIPEG VOTES: Bokhari promises to start testing water for asbestos

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Rana Bokhari says she will start testing the city’s water for asbestos if elected mayor this fall. Bokhari would also lobby the federal government to include Winnipeg’s water pipe system in their upcoming infrastructure review. “We have not tested Winnipeg’s water for asbestos fibres since 1995,” Bokhari said in a Monday news release. “As research into the issue of asbestos in water pipes and the possibly detrimental effect on human health has continued for the past 30 years, it’s become increasingly obvious that we are ignoring a major potential health hazard in our water system.”

What are Canada's Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations?

What are Canada's Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations?

To conserve fish and their habitat and human health from harmful substances from pulp and paper mills, the government of Canada has introduced Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations that were created under the Fisheries Act in 1971 in Canada to control deposits of harmful substances in water frequented by fish. Today, in this article, we will learn about these regulations. To improve water quality, conserve fish, fish habitat, and fisheries resources’ usage, the government of Canada has designed Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations (PPER). Elements of Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations: The regulations put a limit on the suspended solids and maximum quantities of biochemical oxygen that can be deposited by pulp and paper mills into water frequented by fish under prescribed conditions. The regulations prohibit any effluent deposits which can be acutely deadly to fish. To identify effluents impacts on fish and fish habitats, these regulations include requirements for mills to host environmental effects monitoring.

Engineering Panel Explores Solutions for Indigenous Communities Struggling to Access Clean Water

Engineering Panel Explores Solutions for Indigenous Communities Struggling to Access Clean Water

Clean, safe water is critical to human health, food production and more, yet access to this cherished resource remains a challenge for many Indigenous communities in Canada. Water advisories continue to be a common occurrence for these communities and an all-too-regular reminder of the different standards that exist in the country for public infrastructure. “More often than not, boil-water advisories are put on due to a lack of confidence in the system. Frequently, short-term ones are because there was a break in the line, the line depressurized and some contaminates may have been introduced into the distribution system,” explains Ryan Dunbar, president of SOAR Professional Services, a consulting firm focused on Indigenous employment and community development. The company was launched as a limited partnership with Dillon Consulting Limited.

Saskatchewan's plan to build small nuclear reactors draws mixed reactions

Saskatchewan's plan to build small nuclear reactors draws mixed reactions

Saskatchewan's push to build small nuclear reactors in the province is drawing mixed reactions from academics and environmental groups, with some touting the clean energy potential while others say it's a threat to human safety. On Monday the province, along with representatives from Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick, released the strategic plan for expanding nuclear power by building small modular reactors (SMR). The report said the nuclear reactors are safe, reliable and a source of "zero-emission energy."

Iqaluit’s water crisis unveils a bigger problem: There’s no recycling in the Arctic

Iqaluit’s water crisis unveils a bigger problem: There’s no recycling in the Arctic

A week-long water crisis that has left residents of Nunavut's capital city Iqaluit without drinking water is also exposing a chronic problem for many northern communities: It's almost impossible to safely get rid of garbage. Close to 750,000 plastic water bottles have flooded the city in recent days after city staff last week found fuel in Iqaluit's water supply. While a coalition of businesses has since teamed up to ship the empty bottles back, most of the city's trash never returns south.

SCRD declares Stage 4 water restrictions

SCRD declares Stage 4 water restrictions

Following weeks of hot and dry weather and ongoing high water use, Stage 4 water restrictions are in effect for the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) until further notice. The severe water conservation regulations, banning all outdoor use of drinking water, came into effect at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 10. The restrictions apply to those on the Chapman water system, which includes the District of Sechelt, Roberts Creek, Halfmoon Bay and parts of Elphinstone. A $500 fine applies to anyone found not complying. As of Aug. 9, the SCRD had issued 57 warnings and four fines since Stage 1 began in May. “Under these drought conditions, water use priorities focus on water for human health, firefighting and environmental flow requirements,” an Aug. 10 SCRD press release said.

Resident concerned by Roundup use near Guelph Lake

Resident concerned by Roundup use near Guelph Lake

A Guelph resident is concerned about the use of the herbicide Roundup near Guelph Lake after speaking to a worker applying the chemical in the area. Jesse Merrill explained he was driving back from dropping his son off at sailing camp for the day on Tuesday when he spotted a man spraying something on plants growing on the causeway crossing the lake. Through what Merrill termed “a very civil conversation,” he learned the chemical was Roundup and the worker was contracted by the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA).

The Government of Canada releases its final decision on the Laurentia Project: Port of Quebec Deep-Water Wharf - Beauport Sector

The Government of Canada releases its final decision on the Laurentia Project: Port of Quebec Deep-Water Wharf - Beauport Sector

The Government of Canada is committed to developing Canada's marine transportation sector and creating good middle-class jobs, while recognizing that a strong economy and a clean environment must go hand in hand. Following a thorough and rigorous environmental assessment, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada's (the Agency's) Environmental Assessment Report concluded that the Laurentia Project: Port of Quebec Deep-Water Wharf – Beauport Sector was likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects to fish and fish habitat, air quality and human health, socio-economic conditions, and the current use of lands and resources for traditional purposed by Indigenous peoples.

Health Canada knew about contaminated water for 2 years before Mississippi Mills residents informed

Health Canada knew about contaminated water for 2 years before Mississippi Mills residents informed

Many government agencies knew about the suspicious well water in Ramsay Meadows, a small subdivision halfway between Almonte and Carleton Place. But none of those agencies told the residents. The 49 homes stand across the street from the National Research Council’s national fire lab, which does research on firefighting. In late 2013, the lab bosses learned that their firefighting chemicals had contaminated their property’s groundwater, probably in the late 1900s.

Canadian Arctic awash in microplastics, study finds

Canadian Arctic awash in microplastics, study finds

In the first large-scale survey of its kind in the region, researchers sampled more than 30 locations across the eastern Arctic and Hudson Bay and were able to detect microplastics nearly everywhere they looked, including in surface waters, marine sediments and in the guts of zooplankton – the tiny, floating organisms that occupy the base of the Arctic food chain. And while the long-term effects of the materials on the environment and on human health remain largely unknown, the results suggest widespread exposure is becoming inescapable, even for people living in the most remote areas of the globe.

Plastic particles in drinking water present 'low' risk - WHO

Plastic particles in drinking water present 'low' risk - WHO

Microplastics contained in drinking water pose a “low” risk to human health at current levels, but more research is needed to reassure consumers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
Studies over the past year on plastic particles detected in tap and bottled water have sparked public concerns but the limited data appears reassuring, the U.N. agency said its first report on potential health risks associated with ingestion.

UBC fined $1.2M for releasing ammonia into Fraser River tributary

UBC fined $1.2M for releasing ammonia into Fraser River tributary

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued hefty fines to the University of British Columbia and CIMCO Refrigeration for releasing ammonia-laden water into a tributary of the Fraser River in Vancouver. According to a written statement, UBC was fined $1.2 million and CIMCO $800,000 stemming from a complaint about an ammonia odour at an outfall ditch connected to Booming Ground Creek in Pacific Spirit Regional Park on Sept. 12, 2014. The ministry says UBC and CIMCO were fixing the refrigeration system at Thunderbird Arena at the university's Vancouver campus when they purged residual ammonia vapours from the system into a storm drain that flowed into a ditch and then the creek. 

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