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.
Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs weren't surrounded by the towering pine trees and snow-capped mountains found in northern B.C., but they still found a feeling of familiarity while standing outside a traditional longhouse on Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario on Tuesday. The traditional chiefs met with Haudenosaunee Hereditary Chiefs to discuss common ground and spread awareness about their battle for land sovereignty back in B.C.
When Kevin McCleary and his wife cleared 160 acres of land to build their home in Pouce Coupe, B.C., two decades ago, they didn't expect a hydraulic fracturing gas well pad would be built less than half a kilometre from their front door. Now, McCleary says his family is bombarded by bright lights, foul smells and high-decibel industrial noise from the work site near the community, which is a few kilometres southeast of Dawson Creek in the province's northeast.
Wednesday was a historic day in Carcross, Yukon, as a new Land and Water Proclamation was delivered under the guidance of elders — one that offers a collaborative approach to managing the traditional territory of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. The proclamation is the foundation for protecting resources on traditional Carcross/Tagish land in what is now the Yukon and northern British Columbia.
The Liberal government will miss a target it set during the 2015 federal election campaign to lift all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations by March 2021 — in some cases by several years — according to a survey of communities by CBC News. More than a dozen First Nations said projects to end long-term drinking water advisories won't be completed by the promised deadline.
WSP won for its work in developing an innovative solution for safe water in remote communities. Like many remote communities, the people of the Tl’azt’en Nation in northern B.C. had no access to clean drinking water. Because conventional water treatment technology was unfeasible, WSP Canada and the RES’EAU-WaterNET partnered to develop a treatment system for organic material. The project delivered a full-scale plant that allowed a 14-year boil water advisory to be lifted. The system uses natural biological processes, is low in consumables, reduces chemical requirements, produces little waste and is simple for operators to use.
