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.
Today, Chief Lynn Indian of Big Grassy First Nation; Chief Jeff Copenace of Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation; the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations; and the Honourable Greg Rickford, Ontario's Minister of Indigenous Affairs, announced that the Big Grassy and Ojibways of Onigaming First Nations, the Government of Canada, and the Government of Ontario have concluded tripartite negotiations and reached a settlement agreement for the First Nations' flooding claims.
Ontario orders Hamilton to improve sewage monitoring after spill into Lake Ontario. Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has issued a provincial officer order to the City of Hamilton to improve the way it inspects its sewage system, following the discovery of two recent large-scale spills. The two spillways collectively saw an estimated 396 million liters of wastewater flow into Lake Ontario since 1996.
On October 25, 2022, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 This bill touches on many areas of legislation and policy including: a commitment to offset development pressures on wetlands by requiring a net positive impact, a review of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) to find opportunities to remove duplicates and streamline evaluation processes, and changes to the Conservation Authority Act, which would affect how Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities regulate development activities within municipalities, improving consistency in policies and processes which reduce the impacts of flooding and natural hazards
In Welland, this investment will support the installation of approximately 1,500 metres of watermain, along with seven new hydrants on Canal Bank Road. The improvements will help ensure that residents continue to have reliable access to clean drinking water. Roads and sidewalks impacted by work on this project will also be restored through this investment.
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing $2.58 million to protect the province’s lakes and water sources by helping farmers implement sustainable farming practices that build more resilient farm operations. Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership), the final Lake Erie Agriculture Demonstrating Sustainability (LEADS) initiative intake, will support on-farm projects that improve soil health and reduce the risk of nutrient losses on their farms while improving water quality in the Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair watershed areas.
Ontario is proposing to extend a moratorium on water bottling permits for nine months to give the government more time to consider the science behind it. Over the past year, the government reviewed the state of water resources in key areas of the province and the effect that taking water out of the ground has on those resources, a spokesman for Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said.
