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.
Canada should be exploiting its enormous water resources to be both a sustainable food powerhouse and a global water research superpower, says a new paper from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. Yet the country’s water policies, management and research efforts are underdeveloped and unco-ordinated, leaving water resources and challenges largely unaddressed. That’s something that a national plan should fix, says the report written by Tyler McCann, Angele Poirier and Nicolas Mesly.
The Government of Manitoba has launched public engagement on its first ever water strategy action plan. “We’re inviting all Manitobans to provide feedback and help identify the priorities for our province’s first water management strategy action plan,” said Minister of Environment, Climate and Parks Jeff Wharton in a news release. To access the survey, go to https://engagemb.ca/water-strategy. The survey will close on February 15, 2023. The water strategy action plan is expected for release in spring, 2023, according to the release.
