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 prime minister's multi-stop visit in Winnipeg on Wednesday included a late-day meeting with Scott Gillingham, where the mayor says he cited inflationary pressures among the reasons why the city needs more financial help from the federal government for three major capital projects. "We as a city, the ratepayers of Winnipeg, cannot bear the total cost of the increases related to inflation," Gillingham told CBC News after his meeting with Justin Trudeau.
The total cost of upgrades to the largest of Winnipeg's sewage treatment plants has risen to $2.2 billion and will likely increase further, according to city financial status reports and previous budget documents. This is leading to renewed concerns about the cash required to continue improvements to the North End Water Pollution Control Centre, which processes sewage from the Kildonans, Transcona, Elmwood, the North End, the West End, downtown neighbourhoods and parts of River Heights, St. James and St. Boniface.
