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.
Despite the increase in flooding and the resulting damage to properties, homes and livelihoods, many Canadians are still unprepared and don’t know how to mitigate flood risk. A recent survey commissioned by RSA Canada and WWF-Canada found that 37% of Canadians don’t know how to protect their homes from flooding. The biggest awareness gap was among 18-34-year-olds at 54%, compared to 40% of 35-54-year-olds and 23% of those aged 55+.
