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.
The N.W.T.'s environment minister says he only learned about a spill of nearly six million litres of water from a Suncor oilsands sediment pond into the Athabasca River when he received a call from the Globe and Mail. It's the second time the Alberta government has failed to notify the territory of a spill that could impact northern waters. It comes just weeks after news broke that Imperial Oil's Kearl mine had been leaking contaminated water for months.
Opposition Green MLA Lynne Lund has asked the province to commit to an interim moratorium on large holding ponds used for irrigation. Lund raised the issue in the legislature Tuesday, saying she'd become aware of a new water holding pond for agriculture being built in Queens County. She said she's been told the pond will require several wells to fill it, arguing it will have the same effect as a high capacity well.
Eabametoong First Nation, an Ojibway community that sits about 360 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, passed a band council resolution declaring a state of emergency Friday after water test results showed levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) between 122 to 182 per cent above Health Canada safety standards.
Yesno said residents are also reporting a foul smell coming from the community's tap water.
