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

plastic pollution

Why Peterborough residents should drink tap water rather than bottled water

Why Peterborough residents should drink tap water rather than bottled water

Drinking water, for many Peterborough residents, comes from the tap. The source of this tap water is our treasured Otonabee river. But many people get their drinking water from grocery and convenience stores. In 2022, according to Statista, it was forecast that Canadians spent $6.09 billion dollars on bottled water. Bottled water is a major environmental issue related to climate change and plastic pollution. In 2023, we witness stressors regarding the rising cost of living, news about our environment, and research that indicates even our bodies contain microplastics.

Canada's single-use plastic ban faces its first legal test

Canada's single-use plastic ban faces its first legal test

Canada's single-use plastic regulations face their first legal test today as the plastics lobby and the federal government head to court. A federal court judge will hear arguments from lawyers on all sides from Tuesday to Thursday in Toronto. The federal judge, who is not expected to deliver a ruling for months, must consider whether Ottawa was justified when it listed plastic products as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Make your Christmas sweater less ugly for the environment

Make your Christmas sweater less ugly for the environment

Canadians are fanatics when it comes to fun, garish, loud, ugly Christmas sweaters. We’re so spirited, we’re sure we started the global holiday fashion trend and even rope our pets into participating. But bright comical jumpers festooned with reindeer, polar bears or penguins have a dark side when it comes to plastic pollution, particularly for ocean ecosystems.

The Government of Canada supports Nova Scotia organizations in keeping water clean and protecting key ecosystems

The Government of Canada supports Nova Scotia organizations in keeping water clean and protecting key ecosystems

Saint Mary's University and Atlantic Water Network will lead a project to create an online community-based Water Monitoring Knowledge Hub that will provide up-to-date, centralized information on creating and maintaining freshwater monitoring programs. This project will focus on both priority ecosystems: the Wolastoq/Saint John River watershed and the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence watershed.


The Government of Canada supports New Brunswick organizations in keeping water clean and protecting key ecosystems

The Government of Canada supports New Brunswick organizations in keeping water clean and protecting key ecosystems

From addressing water quality to plastic pollution, the Government of Canada is working with Canadians across the country to keep water safe, clean and well-managed, now and for future generations. Today, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, Jenica Atwin, on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, announced $440,000 in funding for three new projects to directly address water-quality issues in the Wolastoq/Saint John River watershed. The funding comes from the Atlantic Ecosystems Initiatives, which aims to improve the health, productivity, and sustainability of priority ecosystems in Atlantic Canada.

Canada backs global plastics treaty at UN assembly

Canada backs global plastics treaty at UN assembly

Canada is throwing its support behind a push for a global treaty that could do for plastic pollution what the Paris agreement is slowly doing for greenhouse gas emissions. A resolution is set to be voted on Wednesday at the United Nations Environment Assembly meeting in Kenya, calling for a legally binding agreement to cut plastic waste by curbing demand and improving both the reuse and recycling of plastics. The resolution is intended to kick-start a wider negotiation to develop a treaty that addresses plastic pollution from production and design right through to waste management. The hope is that it will be ready for signatures the next time UNEA meets in 2024.

Industrial plastic is spilling into Great Lakes, and no one's regulating it, experts warn

Industrial plastic is spilling into Great Lakes, and no one's regulating it, experts warn

As the people of Toronto flocked to the Lake Ontario waterfront to swim, paddle and generally escape pandemic isolation, Chelsea Rochman's students at the University of Toronto were throwing plastic bottles with GPS trackers into the water. The research team's goal is to track trash that ends up in the lake, to figure out where it accumulates in the water and where it's coming from in the first place. Using information from the tracking bottles, they chose spots to put in Seabins — stationary cleaning machines that suck in water all day and trap any garbage and debris — at marinas along the waterfront. They are emptied daily, and the debris collected in them is examined to ferret out what kinds of trash is getting into the lake.

Canada and Ontario mark 50th anniversary of Great Lakes Agreement by signing ninth agreement

Canada and Ontario mark 50th anniversary of Great Lakes Agreement by signing ninth agreement

The Great Lakes are a treasured resource that are integral to the health and well-being of millions of Canadians. Canada and Ontario are committed to strong, ongoing collaboration with their partners to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Today, the Governments of Canada and Ontario announced that they have signed the new Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health, which sets out specific actions each government will take to protect and restore the Great Lakes, such as preventing toxic and nuisance algae, improving wastewater and stormwater management, reducing plastic pollution and excess road salt, restoring native species and habitats, and increasing resilience to climate change.

Refreshing Canada’s definition of the blue economy

Refreshing Canada’s definition of the blue economy

In Canada and around the world, “building back better” has become the overarching focus of COVID-19 recovery. Eager to be included in this rebuilding process, Canada’s freshwater and ocean sectors have begun to define ambitious visions for the future, linking environmental priorities with job creation and economic growth.

Activist honoured at first meeting of Great Lakes Guardians' Council

Activist honoured at first meeting of Great Lakes Guardians' Council

Ontario's government is working to protect what matters most by identifying priorities for action to help protect the water quality and ecosystems of the Great Lakes and other waterways as part of its commitment in the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan. Today, Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and Grand Council Chief Glen Hare co-chaired the Great Lakes Guardian Council, which includes leaders from across Ontario including municipalities, First Nations and Métis communities, environmental organizations, and the science community, to discuss challenges and opportunities around the Great Lakes.

B.C. MP hopes Parliament passes private member's bill on plastic pollution

B.C. MP hopes Parliament passes private member's bill on plastic pollution

A Vancouver Island MP is hoping the federal government will pass his private member's motion that would create legislation to keep plastic pollution out of Canadian waters. "People are counting on elected officials and their leaders to ... demonstrate their commitment to future generations [by] protecting our environment and ensuring that we don't leave them a pile of garbage for them to clean up," said Gord Johns, MP for Courtenay-Alberni.

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