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 Nova Scotia government has not notified some landowners of potential contamination on their properties from historical gold mines, despite being required to do so by provincial regulations. Gold mines that operated in Nova Scotia dating back to the 1800s left a legacy of contamination, most notably from arsenic and mercury. In many cases, the original source of the contamination is on one property, but the material flowed — often through water — to surrounding properties over time.
The British Columbia government has not effectively overseen the safety of the 1,900 dams it regulates, says the auditor general. Michael Pickup said the Ministry of Forests, Land, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development has not adequately verified or enforced dam owners' compliance with key safety requirements. "So I'm trying to balance making sure that it's clear to people that we're not suggesting, you know, dams are unsafe," Pickup told a news conference Tuesday.
An incident last summer where water was drawn for irrigation from the Dunk River in central P.E.I. during a drought would not be allowed under the new Water Act, says the province's manager of water and air monitoring. Bruce Raymond made the comments while appearing before a standing committee of the legislature. Last summer, five farmers in the Kinkora-Bedeque region were allowed to use surface water in the Dunk in August despite that waterway being 5 centimetres below levels when water use should be cut off, according to current provincial regulations.
“Through the Canada Water Agency, our government is looking to strengthen collaboration between the federal government, the provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples and other partners to find the best ways to safeguard our freshwater consultations are an important part of this process and I look forward to input from Canadians,” Terry Duguid said in a statement. Mr. Duguid is Parliamentary Secretary to Minister Wilkinson and has been key in the development process. The discussion paper, ‘Toward the Creation of a Canada Water Agency,’ presents key issues and provides an overview of the federal government’s existing activities to enhance freshwater management, and a virtual national freshwater policy forum is planned for January 27 and 28. A series of regional forums will be held in February that will provide additional opportunities to participate in consultations. The discussion paper and additional information can be found at placespeak.ca. Comments can be submitted until March 1.
