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.
More than a third of the City of Richmond’s pipes delivering drinking water to its residents are made of cement containing asbestos. The statistic came to light last week on CTV’s W5 investigation show, with Richmond having the ninth-highest percentage of asbestos cement pipes - compared to its entire network - among the 100 cities contacted nationwide.
L'Oréal Canada today announced the launch of L'Oréal's Product Impact Labeling system in Canada. The initiative provides consumers with science-based, transparent information about a product's environmental and social impact, compared to other L'Oréal products in the same category. This transparency gives consumers the power to make sustainable choices, which 80% of Canadians have expressed a desire to do.
The First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is calling on the federal government to fund First Nations infrastructure projects the same way it funds municipal and provincial projects to fulfill its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. A news release from FNFA says this relationship would be rooted in “partnership rather than paternalism.”
Light, buoyant and cheap, polystyrene foam is commonly used for docks, buoys, pontoons at marinas and other water activities throughout Canada. But the plastic, oil-based product is causing a wave of pollution in oceans and waters across the country, says B.C. NDP MP Rachel Blaney. The federal government needs to ban the use of expanded polystyrene (ESP) and extruded polystyrene (XP), commonly known as Styrofoam, in floating structures in both freshwater and saltwater, said Blaney, the MP for North Island-Powell River.
French President Emmanuel Macron sought to rally citizens around a plan to save water on Thursday and stressed that protests will not stop reforms, in a nod to both climate change and an unpopular pension bill. The water-saving plan includes 50 measures, such as fixing leaking pipes, adapting the way farmers and the nuclear industry use water and making water more expensive for those who use it in excess of basic needs.
Nancy Basinger says she saw little ripples of movement inside a bucket of water from her bathroom, and she almost couldn't believe her eyes. The downtown Windsor, Ont., tenant says she immediately called over a friend to take a look at what she thought were little tiny fish swimming in her water. But she says she's since had them identified by a researcher as crustaceans — aquatic invertebrates known as amphipods.
The Simpcw First Nation has become the latest community to declare a part of its traditional territory near the B.C.-Alberta border to be protected from logging and other extractive activities. On Monday, the First Nation announced it had declared the Raush Valley watershed — home to rare temperate rainforests located in the Rocky Mountains, halfway between Valemount and McBride — as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA), based on what it says is the community's inherent right over its unceded territory.
Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse of the Assembly of First Nations spoke at the United Nations Water Conference in New York, advocating for the rights of First Nations in any action related to water governance. She emphasized the need for intensified action to achieve safe drinking water and sanitation for all Indigenous peoples, which is a fundamental human right.
“Few could recall any recent actions taken by the government of Canada specifically related to ensuring access to clean drinking water,” said Canadians Views. Indigenous people also told pollsters more immediate concerns included inadequate housing, lack of high-speed internet, crime rates, and “a strained relationship with law enforcement.”
Sault Ste. Marie’s pitch to host the new Canada Water Agency was not successful. A tiny few lines in Thursday’s federal budget under the heading Protecting Our Freshwater awarded the new agency to Winnipeg. The 2023 federal budget proposes to inject $85.1 million over five years to support the creation of the Canada Water Agency, “which will be headquartered in Winnipeg.” “By the end of 2023, the government will introduce legislation that will fully establish the Canada Water Agency as a standalone entity,” the document reads. The announcement comes just one week after World Water Day, on March 22. Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi, who led the charge to have the agency located here, said he was disappointed.
Students and teachers from Beaverlodge Regional High School took part in a youth leadership summit earlier this month focused on aspects related to the climate, water, and energy. From March 16th to 19th the members of the Beaverlodge high school along with students and teachers from 19 other schools across Alberta and northeast British Columbia took part in the 2023 Generate/Navigate Youth Leadership Summit in Canmore where they had the opportunity to learn from and listen to experts in these areas. The summit also included a series of hands-on energy and water-focused workshops, wind turbine model-building, water DNA extractions, and guided tours of hydroelectric dams.
U.S. Indigenous leaders from the Pacific Northwest say they won’t give up trying to convince Canada’s federal government to agree to a bilateral investigation of toxic mining runoff from the B.C. Interior. Representatives from several U.S. tribes were in D.C. Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with officials from the White House, the State Department and the Department of the Interior, as well as with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Another round of negotiations over the Columbia River Treaty have wrapped up in Washington, D.C., as delegations with Canada and the U.S. met for the 16th time to discuss modernizing the water sharing agreement. The latest talks focused on strengthening co-operation to support aquatic life and biodiversity in the Columbia River Basin, ongoing studies regarding salmon reintroduction, flood-risk management and greater flexibility for how treaty dams are operated, according to an update from the province.
A rare and fatal flesh-eating bacteria is slowly creeping up the eastern U.S. coast, and some experts warn that it could eventually find its way into Canada if climate change continues to heat our oceans and lakes. The bacteria Vibrio vulnificus is usually found in subtropical regions, like the Gulf Coast (in states like Florida and Texas), which is home to warm waters with low salt content. But a recent study published on March 23 in the Scientific Reports journal said that over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the bacteria in northern locations near New Jersey and Delaware.
A rare and fatal flesh-eating bacteria is slowly creeping up the eastern U.S. coast, and some experts warn that it could eventually find its way into Canada if climate change continues to heat our oceans and lakes. The bacteria Vibrio vulnificus is usually found in subtropical regions, like the Gulf Coast (in states like Florida and Texas), which is home to warm waters with low salt content. But a recent study published on March 23 in the Scientific Reports journal said that over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the bacteria in northern locations near New Jersey and Delaware.
Twelve City of Hamilton water main breaks in Dundas last year cost $85,997.31 to repair, with 32 per cent of that money spent on two large breaks at Grant Boulevard and Market Street South. The 2022 water main Break report to city’s March 20 Public Works Committee had incorrect dates for all 12 reported municipal breaks, originally reporting all 12 breaks took place within a two-week stretch of March 22. The list was later corrected, indicating Dundas water main breaks in January (3), February, March, August (2) and December (5) last year.
Decades of logging activities near rivers in B.C.'s Interior are driving up the temperatures of coho salmon habitats and threatening the species' survival, according to a new study. The study by Simon Fraser University and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), published last month in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, looked into 28 tributaries of the North Thompson River watershed from Kamloops to Valemount.
Ocean temperatures off Nova Scotia hit record highs last summer, eclipsing the record-breaking temperatures set in the Atlantic a decade earlier. "It's pretty alarming," said Fisheries and Oceans Canada research scientist Chantelle Layton. Layton is part of the DFO team analyzing results from the annual Atlantic Ocean monitoring program in eastern Canada. Canadian scientists are discussing the 2022 data this week.
Today’s federal budget recognized that investing in clean water and climate action will deliver many benefits to the economy, to communities, as well as to the health and quality of life of Canadians. As the Government of Canada outlined its intentions to build a clean economy, one that aims to advance sustainable development while reducing environmental risks, new investments in freshwater protection and biodiversity will make important contributions to this goal. Budget 2023 announced new measures to support monitoring, assessment, and restoration of some of Canada’s most iconic – and threatened – lakes and rivers. Over 10 years, $650 million will help to assess and rejuvenate the Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Lake of the Woods, St. Lawrence River, Fraser River, Saint John River, Mackenzie River, and Lake Simcoe.
WWF-Canada welcomes important investments in the 2023 federal budget to maintain momentum toward protecting and restoring 30 per cent of land and waters by 2030, including a new Canada Water Agency; monitoring, assessing and restoring key freshwater ecosystems; protection of endangered whales and their habitats; and ongoing support for species at risk.
