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

Manitoba Hydro

Promised Manitoba Hydro rate freeze might be delayed as deficit at utility looms: minister

Promised Manitoba Hydro rate freeze might be delayed as deficit at utility looms: minister

Manitoba's new NDP government might push back a promise to freeze hydroelectric rates for one year. New numbers from Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro show the utility is now expecting a net loss this year instead of the profit it predicted in the spring. The utility blames, in part, dry summer conditions and lower levels of power-generating water. Finance Minister Adrien Sala says the government still intends to temporarily freeze hydroelectric rates, but it might happen later than had been promised during the election campaign.

Another drought has Manitoba Hydro firing up Brandon natural gas plant early

Another drought has Manitoba Hydro firing up Brandon natural gas plant early

Widespread drought across the Lake Winnipeg watershed has forced Manitoba Hydro to operate its Brandon generating station months before the depths of winter, when the natural gas-fired plant is usually put into service as a last resort. The Brandon station, which usually only operates during peak periods of cold-weather demand, has been running since late October, Manitoba Hydro said Friday in a statement.

Manitoba Hydro revises its rate-hike request, cites cut in government charges

Manitoba Hydro revises its rate-hike request, cites cut in government charges

Manitoba Hydro is reducing its request for rate increases for the next two years and is crediting a recent provincial government fee reduction. Earlier this month, the Crown-owned utility said it would ask the provincial regulator, the Public Utilities Board, for rate hikes of 3.5 per cent in each of the next two years. The utility said Tuesday it is revising that request to two per cent in each year.

Manitoba Hydro says it needs 3.5% rate hikes in next 2 years to manage risks from debt, water levels

Manitoba Hydro says it needs 3.5% rate hikes in next 2 years to manage risks from debt, water levels

Manitoba Hydro is asking the provincial regulator, the Public Utilities Board, to approve electricity rate increases of 3.5 per cent in each of the next two years. It also warns that it will likely need rate hikes above the rate of inflation in the future if it is to meet government debt-reduction targets. "These proposed increases will help ensure Manitoba Hydro has the financial resources available to handle the risks created by our $24-billion debt load and factors that are out of our control like fluctuating interest rates, export market prices and water levels," Jay Grewal, president and CEO of the Crown-owned utility, said in a press release Wednesday.

In a landscape transformed by dams, young Fox Lake Cree Nation fishers, hunters work to preserve traditions

In a landscape transformed by dams, young Fox Lake Cree Nation fishers, hunters work to preserve traditions

On a clear crisp morning in northern Manitoba, John Henderson III and Drayden Jobb launch a single-engine boat from the Conawapa boat launch in Gilliam into the waters of the Nelson River, to pull the net they set overnight to catch sturgeon. The two young men, both in their 20s, are from the Fox Lake Cree Nation, whose people have been hunting alongside the river and fishing it for generations. "The mighty Nelson," Jobb says as the boat makes its way from shore.

High water levels on Lake Winnipeg play havoc with businesses, tourism

High water levels on Lake Winnipeg play havoc with businesses, tourism

Sandy Roman calls her work "the best job in the whole world," but lately, she's been facing a world of frustration. Roman owns Sandy's Chipstand, a snack shack in Patricia Beach Provincial Park, along the east side of Lake Winnipeg, which is seeing its worst flooding since Manitoba Hydro started regulating levels in 1976. "It's a little difficult. It's a little difficult for sure. You just don't know when you wake up in the morning, am I going to work today? Are people are going to get fries?" she told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Friday.

Winnipeg River, already flowing at a record volume, slated to rise even higher

Winnipeg River, already flowing at a record volume, slated to rise even higher

The Winnipeg River is flowing at a record volume in Manitoba because officials no longer have any other option to control flooding across a vast swath of northwestern Ontario and northern Minnesota. Flooding on the Winnipeg River, which is running at about 3.5 times its usual volume at this time of year, has already forced hundreds of people from their homes and washed out roads in Whiteshell Provincial Park. This is the result of inflows that are only expected to increase in the coming days, raising water levels up to two-thirds of a metre higher in some locations in Manitoba.

Weekend flooding at Pine Creek First Nation destroys 4 homes

Weekend flooding at Pine Creek First Nation destroys 4 homes

Four homes at Manitoba's Pine Creek First Nation were destroyed and 17 were evacuated due to weekend flooding in the low-lying lands between Duck Mountain and the southern basin of Lake Winnipegosis. Derek Nepinak, chief of the Anishinaabe nation about 100 kilometres north of Dauphin, said about 30 people were forced to leave their homes, which have been cut off from the rest of the community and have no access to fresh water or supplies.

Manitoba Hydro electricity rates going up 3.6% starting in new year

Manitoba Hydro electricity rates going up 3.6% starting in new year

Manitoba Hydro's wish for a five per cent electricity rate increase did not come true this year. The Public Utilities Board, which oversees utilities, approved a 3.6 per cent interim rate increase beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The increase expires Nov. 15, 2022, barring a subsequent successful rate hike application by Manitoba Hydro. "This increase recognizes the financial consequences of the drought experienced in Manitoba in 2021 and the board's objective to avoid rate shock by smoothing the rate increases to customers required to address the costs of major capital projects entering service," the board wrote in a press release.

Drought lowers river levels to the point where Manitoba Hydro expects $200M deficit

Drought lowers river levels to the point where Manitoba Hydro expects $200M deficit

The extreme drought across the Canadian Prairies over the past year is expected to leave Manitoba Hydro with a deficit in the $200-million range for the current fiscal year. The Crown corporation disclosed low river levels will deprive the utility of about $400 million in export revenue over the coming months. This will leave Manitoba Hydro with a deficit between $190 million and $200 million for the 2021-22 fiscal year, the corporation disclosed after publishing its second-quarter financial report.

Manitoba Hydro won't meet winter export budget, thanks to widespread drought and low water

Manitoba Hydro won't meet winter export budget, thanks to widespread drought and low water

Manitoba Hydro doesn't expect to generate enough electricity this winter to meet its export budget, thanks to months of dry conditions across the Lake Winnipeg watershed. The Crown corporation is trying to hold back as much water as possible to ensure Manitobans have enough electricity this winter. But there won't be enough water flowing through the Nelson River to allow the province to meet its targets for exporting power outside its borders.

Province issues permanent licence for Manitoba Hydro's Churchill River Diversion

Province issues permanent licence for Manitoba Hydro's Churchill River Diversion

The provincial government has issued licences with new operational terms to Manitoba Hydro for two programs that critics say have devastated the environment and economy in parts of the north. Manitoba Hydro's Churchill River Diversion and Lake Winnipeg regulation projects both control water levels of the Nelson River. Created in the 1970s and renewed annually since 1986, both have been controversial when it comes to impacts on Indigenous communities.

Manitoba Hydro diversion devastates environment, campaign demanding action from conservation minister says

Manitoba Hydro diversion devastates environment, campaign demanding action from conservation minister says

A billboard in Winnipeg's Fort Richmond area calls on Manitoba's environment minister to take action on what advocates say is a decades-long problem with environmental degradation caused by a Manitoba Hydro diversion program. The billboard points to an online petition asking the Conservation Minister Sarah Guillemard — the MLA for Fort Richmond — to decline a permanent licence request for Manitoba Hydro's Churchill River Diversion, which was created to increase water flow to generating stations.

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