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 N.W.T. government has put out a call for tenders for an emergency dredging program in the Hay River harbour. It's been over a decade since the harbour was last dredged and last year residents of Hay River said the sediment buildup in the harbour was the worst they'd seen. Barges belonging to the government's marine transportation service (MTS) and even a Coast Guard vessel were held up on sand bars.
