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 city of Montreal is planning to build more urban "sponge" infrastructure to protect against future flood waters brought on by climate change. The announcement Tuesday came as Montreal once again found itself drying out after heavy rainfall pummelled the city in the early morning. The city plans to build 30 sponge parks and 400 more sponge sidewalks by 2025 — green spaces that naturally absorb excess rainfall instead of draining the water directly into neighbourhood sewers.
