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 recent federal budget pledged $650 million over 10 years to support monitoring, assessment and restoration work related to fresh water across the country, including the Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe. Also on the table was $22.6 million over three years to better support co-ordination of efforts to protect freshwater across Canada. There was also $85.1 million over five years for the creation of the Canada Water Agency.
