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

pulp mill

A Mi’kmaq community’s fears of toxic water recede as Northern Pulp mill winds down

A Mi’kmaq community’s fears of toxic water recede as Northern Pulp mill winds down

For decades, Pictou Landing First Nation has lived uneasily near an industrial plant emitting brown, foul-smelling waste and the effluent treatment facility they say causes respiratory and skin illnesses. Now, the mill is being mothballed. Ms. Francis, a member of Pictou Landing First Nation, fought for years to stop toxic wastewater from the Northern Pulp plant from being pumped into a tidal estuary next to her community. After decades of court battles, environmental studies and protests, people on the Nova Scotia reserve are hopeful they may one day be able trust their water and land again.

Nova Scotia Premier rejects pulp mill’s request to keep dumping waste water near First Nation

Nova Scotia Premier rejects pulp mill’s request to keep dumping waste water near First Nation

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has sided against a pulp mill’s plea for a lifeline in a move that has bitterly split his province, earning praise from environmental, fisheries and Indigenous groups, but angering many in the province’s forestry sector. The Northern Pulp mill in Pictou had been asking for an extension on a provincially imposed deadline to stop dumping contaminated wastewater in Boat Harbour, next to the Pictou Landing First Nation, in what many have called one of the province’s worst examples of pollution linked to racism.

Pulp mill 'at risk,' CEO says after N.S. review of contentious wastewater plan

Pulp mill 'at risk,' CEO says after N.S. review of contentious wastewater plan

The future of a Nova Scotia pulp mill remained uncertain Friday as the province asked for more work on its contentious proposal to pipe 85 million litres of its treated wastewater into the Northumberland Strait. The Northern Pulp paper mill has become a flashpoint, with its plan to pump waste into rich fishing grounds pitting forest industry workers against fishermen, environmentalists and even the P.E.I. government — which opposes the plan due to concerns over the impact on lobster harvesting.

Pictou officials learned of Northern Pulp pipe route from media reports

Pictou officials learned of Northern Pulp pipe route from media reports

Representatives for the town of Pictou, N.S., did not learn the proposed route for a new effluent pipe from Northern Pulp would cross their watershed until the plan was made public in media reports. Officials from the pulp mill met with Pictou Landing First Nation officials and fishermen's associations several weeks ago to detail the new proposed route after problems were discovered with the original route.

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