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

low-income seniors

City widens eligibility for tax and water credit program

City widens eligibility for tax and water credit program

Thunder Bay’s city council has voted to loosen eligibility rules for the city’s property tax and water credit program, removing a rule that barred people whose accounts were in arrears from applying. The program is open to seniors and people with disabilities living on low incomes. In a report, city staff said the restriction on those in arrears “has been identified as a barrier” that could prevent those most in need from accessing support. Over 500 people take advantage of the program, receiving tax credits of $400 and water credits of $200.

Tie vote at City Hall defeats motion to explore water utility rebate for all low-income residents

Tie vote at City Hall defeats motion to explore water utility rebate for all low-income residents

Another attempt to put a rebate program in place for all low-income households in Regina has failed thanks to a tie vote at executive committee this week. “I’m very frustrated,” Coun. Andrew Stevens (Ward 3) said in an interview Thursday. “It’s going to be increasingly more difficult for us to have credibility when it comes to community wellness, to talk about poverty, anti-poverty initiatives, when we decided on several occasions not to use the levers at our disposal to address these concerns.”

Follow us