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.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has tabled a petition calling on the federal government to take urgent action on Canada’s aging asbestos-cement pipes due to the potential dangers of drinking tap water containing the deadly fibre. “This is an understudied and unregulated problem,” May said Thursday in the House of Commons. “Believe it or not, many municipalities rely on old cement water pipe delivering water to millions of Canadians, and the pipes contain asbestos fibres.”
Oneida Nation of the Thames officials have announced the cancellation of a conserve water alert in the First Nation, after a serious water shortage was first announced on Dec. 16, followed by the declaration of a state of emergency on Dec. 20. Oneida Nation, located just southwest of London, Ont., originally declared a conserve water alert due to the effect of extreme weather conditions on the First Nation's water supply. This put residents under an order to limit water use with the water reserve in the community's water tower, the primary source of water for the 546 homes and 22 buildings in the territory, at all-time low levels.
As Canadians living in most cities around the country enter summer with nary a thought about using clean, potable water to wash their cars, fill their pools, clean their decks and water their lawns, the Public Service Alliance of Canada is turning up the pressure on Ottawa to make good on its long-standing promise to ensure access to safe, clean water for all.
