Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

expanded polystyrene

West Coast MP wants Ottawa to ban plastic foam causing a wave of pollution

West Coast MP wants Ottawa to ban plastic foam causing a wave of pollution

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.

MP wants to ban polystyrene to keep foams out of Canada’s oceans, Island shores

MP wants to ban polystyrene to keep foams out of Canada’s oceans, Island shores

North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney wants to take polystyrene out of Canada’s oceans. Blaney introduced a private member’s motion to the House of Commons urging the government to ban both expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) from floating structures like docks. “Research suggests that dock flotation foam is one of the leading causes of plastic pollution in Canada’s oceans, lakes, and rivers,” Blaney says. “When microparticles become part of the aquatic environment, they are consumed by fish, dolphins, whales, and birds. They can also work their way into the food system. This is a critical threat to the ocean, the ecosystem, and to human health.”

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