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 province says it recently concluded almost four weeks of online public consultations aimed at gathering input on design concepts for future public spaces and parkland at the site. The results of those consultations and previous public engagement events will be shared in 2023. Public access to the waterfront has been a major source of conflict to this point and the push to privatize a large portion of Ontario Place has those opposed sounding the alarm along the lake even louder.
Alberta is proposing two new plans to monitor water quality on the North Saskatchewan, Battle and Upper Athabasca rivers. Environment Minister Jason Nixon said Tuesday at a press conference in Edmonton the province will establish clear objectives to monitor and maintain water quality after public consultations. "This level of oversight helps us better understand the cumulative effects of various activities on the landscape which is essential to making informed decisions in the future about land and water management and resource development," Nixon said.
