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

hydroelectric dam

Fishery shut because Nova Scotia Power using all the water, Gaspereau fishermen say

Fishery shut because Nova Scotia Power using all the water, Gaspereau fishermen say

Peter Croft, a director of the Gaspereau Squarenet Fishermen’s Association, said that the low water levels are caused by a combination of Nova Scotia Power’s operation of a hydroelectric dam upstream and a combination of low snowfall during the winter and little spring rain. “In the fall and winter (Nova Scotia Power) actually drains the lakes fairly low, generating power,” said Croft. “What they hope for is to recoup water by snowmelt or heavy rains before we fish in the spring. They did all the draining this year but then we didn’t get enough water back (from rain and snowmelt).”

Low Gatineau River water levels leave some out to dry

Low Gatineau River water levels leave some out to dry

People who live and play along the Gatineau River between Chelsea and Low, Que., say they've been left high and dry after Hydro-Québec lowered water levels. The change was needed to work on the hydroelectric dam in Chelsea — with rocks now emerging from the river like miniature islands. Heather Horak relies on the river for her seasonal home's water and hauls essential supplies using a pontoon boat.

Supreme Court sides with Lac Seul First Nation over flooding compensation

Supreme Court sides with Lac Seul First Nation over flooding compensation

The Lac Seul First Nation of northern Ontario has won a key round in its long fight to be properly compensated for the flooding of its lands caused by construction of a dam. In an 8-1 ruling Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada set aside a $30-million award and sent the matter back to the Federal Court for reassessment. A hydroelectric dam to supply power to Winnipeg was built in 1929 under an agreement between Canada, Ontario and Manitoba.

St. Lawrence water levels could wash away more than $1B

St. Lawrence water levels could wash away more than $1B

Rising water levels in the St. Lawrence Seaway could cost the economy more than $1 billion, shippers and port operators say. A new study from the Chamber of Marine Commerce warns that opening the floodgates further at a dam in Cornwall, Ont., would wash away between $1 billion and $1.75 billion in revenue for businesses on both sides of the border. A board of control recently increased the flow at the Moses Saunders Dam — the only control point on the St. Lawrence Seaway, which includes the Great Lakes — to allow 10,400 cubic metres of water per second out of Lake Ontario.

Amnesty uses World Water Day to highlight environmental racism in Canada

Amnesty uses World Water Day to highlight environmental racism in Canada

“Far too often, governments in Canada have demonstrated that they place little value on the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples and the revitalization of their cultures and traditions,” Tara Scurr, business and human rights campaigner with Amnesty International Canada, said in a statement Thursday.

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