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.
Streicker says the priority is to ensure that the site is secure, and that water treatment continues. He said the territorial government immediately hired a contractor who then had the water treatment facilities back up and running "basically within 24 hours." "The team has moved very quickly and the reports I'm getting are that things are in hand," Streicker said Monday morning.
“It’s definitely a concern expressed by community members seeing changes in water, traditional foods and changes in their health. “More data and information is necessary to answer these questions… but there are toxic sludge and tailings ponds here… these leak into the watershed,” said Lepine. Last summer, APTN News reported on a story where Keepers of the Water, an Indigenous environmental group, raised alarm over the proposed dumping of treated tailings pond water from the Alberta oil industry into the Athabasca River.
A woman whose husband saw a "wall of water rushing toward them" as the pair fled a massive torrent released from a North Vancouver dam is suing Metro Vancouver's regional district for negligence. The notice of civil claim filed by Chihiro Nakamura nearly two years after the incident says she and her husband were sitting on a rock in a shallow part of the Capilano River below the Cleveland Dam when they heard a rushing sound.
The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking more information as it investigates the potential impact of Canadian environmental regulations on U.S. shipping companies operating in the Great Lakes. Nearly two years ago, the Lake Carriers’ Association filed a complaint with the commission that Canadian rules for ballast water would harm their operations. The trade association wanted to slap a $300,000 fee on any Canadian vessel entering a U.S. port. Ballast water helps ships balance their loads. But it can also transfer invasive species between water bodies. The commission wants more information on how the finalized Canadian regulations might affect U.S. ships.
Towedo, along with other First Nation chiefs at the ceremony, made reference to the mine being a steward of the land, ensuring it protects water and other natural resources. The mine will relocate tailings from a former tailings site for the McLeod-Mosher and Hardrock Mine. The movement of the tailings is slated to actually improve water quality in neighbouring Kenogamisis Lake, and reduce the amount of arsenic in Barton Bay and the Central Basin.
Rebecca Zagozewski, executive director of the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, said she has seen contractors save on costs when building water treatment plants on reserves by using obsolete parts and failing to include maintenance manuals, ventilation or chemical rooms, and bathrooms. “Engineering companies will put in their bids obviously as low as they can go,” said Zagozewski.
