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.
A group of women in Pine Grove Correctional Centre are on hunger strike over alleged poor living conditions at the jail. Faith Eagle said she initially began the strike on Oct. 31 as a ceremonial fast for an inmate in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre, who she says can't visit his daughter in hospital. The fast escalated to a hunger strike against poor conditions, she said, including the quality of drinking water.
Drinking water tested: The quality of drinking water was another concern for the inmates participating in the hunger strike. Eagle said last month the water smelled and tasted so bad she was boiling it, Maier said on Thursday. According to the provincial Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement, which manages and maintains provincial government buildings, the water at Pine Grove was tested and sent to a Saskatchewan Research Council lab for analysis on Oct. 5. A total of 30 tests were done, and officials on-site did not detect any unusual odour or taste in the water, the ministry said in an email to CBC on Friday.
A Windsor-based engineer said climate change is taking a toll on the health of the Great Lakes and this could in turn have an impact on the quality of drinking water for millions of people. Saad Jasim, who is also president of the International Ozone Association, said the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes is quite visible in the form of harmful algal blooms. "But it's not just the way it looks, these algal blooms produce some fatal toxins … there are different species of those toxins [and] unfortunately only one of the species is regulated by Health Canada," Jasim told CBC Windsor.
Canadians could be encouraged by the existence of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). When it was enacted in 1999, the legislation was forward-thinking and ambitious. It lay the groundwork for a sustainable society, supported by enforceable regulations to implement some lofty ideals. CEPA makes it possible to protect biodiversity, the quality of drinking water, and human health from hazardous chemicals. It also encourages the sustainable practices of a “circular economy.”
