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.
Students living in a new downtown McMaster University residence are demanding action from the university in Hamilton after ongoing construction has caused a slew of problems from electrical outages, to a bug infestation, to rashes and gastrointestinal issues from contaminated water. In one instance, the tenants’ group at 10 Bay St. says, a female student exited her shower to find a male construction worker in her kitchen.
In Curve Lake First Nation, illnesses from what’s believed to be related to water quality have been so systemic that some people don’t believe reporting them would make a difference, according to the community’s chief. Emily Whetung, the chief of Curve Lake First Nation — just north of Peterborough, Ont., — said she and her family got sick from what’s believed to be related to bad water about seven or eight years ago.
The true toll of the water crisis in First Nations communities across Canada can’t be known because the government has failed to track and study water-related illnesses. That stands in the way of tackling the problem, experts told the Institute for Investigative Journalism as part of “Clean Water, Broken Promises,” a year-long investigation conducted in collaboration with universities across the country and a consortium of media outlets including The Tyee. Some critics charge the “black hole” of information is intentional because it allows authorities to duck responsibility. A disproportionate number of illnesses that occur as a result of contaminated drinking water are in First Nations communities with substandard water systems, but the data needed to map the reality are missing.
