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.
For a day and a half, Susan Holita lived with the prospect of having her water shut off — through no fault of her own. She was stressed and wasn't exactly sure when the water would stop. Not knowing when it would happen was almost as stressful as the prospect of living without running water. Holita has been living in the one-bedroom condo on Golding Street, near St. Joseph's Hospital, since she moved to Saint John, N.B., in 2018 and has always paid her rent, which includes water.
A Temagami man says he's prepared to go without running water this winter to avoid a $12,000 repair bill — part of which he thinks the town should pay. That's how much it would cost to replace his water line which runs through two municipal lots before getting to his house. James Black says he had an agreement with the town to cover two-thirds of the cost, but council changed its mind.
The NDP MPP for the region with the longest-running boil water advisories of any First Nations in Canada is demanding the Ontario government become part of the solution. Sol Mamakwa, who represents the riding of Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario, said the provincial government could do more to help alleviate the suffering of communities on long-term drinking water advisories.
