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.
Imperial Oil is travelling to all five Sahtu communities in the N.W.T. this week for what it's calling "neighbour week." The 143-year-old company says the purpose of the visits are for people to learn about its oil operation in Norman Wells, N.W.T., to ask questions, and to provide feedback. Company representatives will be in Norman Wells on Monday, Fort Good Hope on Tuesday, Tulita on Wednesday, Délı̨nę on Thursday and Colville Lake on Friday.
Nunavut's capital was able to avert a water-shortage crisis last week, but the member of Parliament for the territory says infrastructure in the North is an issue of Arctic security. Lori Idlout says federal investments in the North have often been inadequate to meet all of the infrastructure needs of communities and Ottawa tends to respond to emergencies rather than invest in long-term prevention.
The Canadian Armed Forces is now providing potable water in Iqaluit amid its ongoing water contamination crisis. The city has been under a state of emergency since Oct. 12, when staff confirmed evidence of fuel contamination in the city's treated water supply. Residents were told the water is unsafe to drink, even if filtered or boiled. The CAF is using mobile water treatment units to treat water from the Sylvia Grinnell River using reverse osmosis. It then transfers potable water to a designated city water truck that carries it to water filling depots at the Arctic Winter Games and the library parking lots.
A week-long water crisis that has left residents of Nunavut's capital city Iqaluit without drinking water is also exposing a chronic problem for many northern communities: It's almost impossible to safely get rid of garbage. Close to 750,000 plastic water bottles have flooded the city in recent days after city staff last week found fuel in Iqaluit's water supply. While a coalition of businesses has since teamed up to ship the empty bottles back, most of the city's trash never returns south.
